The State from Columbia, South Carolina • 52

4-E The S.C., Sunday, Jan. 8, 1989 Japanese From 1-E with a classmate. "South Carolina school is slower. Math is so easy. It's he said.

"This school is faster." While a stint in a foreign country may boost dad's career, many Japanese parents worry their children will fall behind native peers. "It's not their choice to be overseas. The school helps them adjust. I was very concerned about him adjusting to his U.S. school," said Dr.

Hideaki Kobayashi, referring to Hammond Academy, where his son is in the first grade during the week. "It's nice for them to maintain their Japanese speaking ability, at least to communicate with their parents," said Kobayashi, a USC computer engineering instructor, whose 3- year-old daughter also attends the USC supplementary school. "My son speaks better Japanese than English now. They'll be ready for Japanese schools and should be able to get into good schools in Japan." Another parent agrees. "We have a rule at home: no English," said Taki Kunimatsu, executive vice president of American Koyo Bearing Manufacturing Co.

in Orangeburg. "But it's a very limited conversation. In school, all the different families get together. There's more subjects, and they get more "I'm concerned about my son keeping up with his Japanese," said Kunimatsu, who has been in this country for 10 years and was instrumental in getting Matsuba Gakuen started in Columbia. "It is not easy to get both languages simultaneously.

The school is a good bridge between Japan and the U.S." While both Japanese parents want their children to have a good education, it's the mother's role to work directly with their children, said a USC professor familiar with the Japanese culture. "One of the key roles of the mother in Japan is "educational mama" or Kyoiku-mama," Dr. Jeffrey Arpan, a USC professor and director of international business, said. "Mothers constantly push their children to excel. They also act as tutor, motivator, disciplinarian." We've got what you're looking for in the classifieds.

The State An education for a woman is kind of a dowry in Japan, according to Arpan. "It makes her a better educational mama. Rather than belonging to the PTA, it's a one-on-one approach with the mother to her child." During the class, "educational mamas" hover over their preschoolage children and assist them with writing drills. "I want my children to be prepared when we get back to Japan," said mother of two Mytsuko Saeki, who speaks very little English, but communicated with translation assistance. "South Carolina is a nice place to raise a child.

My children have adapted really well." Instructors at the supplementary school don't mind having the mothers in the classroom. "The teacher can learn from the mother," Mrs. Sakakibara said. "You need more hands with little ones." Even though many of the Japanese wives have minimal English skills, they are not isolated because of the close-knit Japanese community in the area. The Saturday school is a prime opportunity for the mothers to get together.

"It's easy to make friends when you have a child," Mrs. Sakakibara said. "'The Japanese wives who do not have children are the ones who have a had time adjusting in a foreign country." That community is growing as more Japanese companies, such as Fuji Photo Film Inc. in Greenwood and Showa Denko Carbon Inc. in Ridgeville, locate businesses in the state.

Academics aside, the sessions are a good opportunity for the children to make friends in a foreign land. So classes are not all hard work. Occasionally the teachers let the kids just be kids, allowing them short breaks from the books and taking them for a walk outside. Or they might celebrate a classmate's birthday with cupcakes and punch. And while the school is aimed at easing Japanese children's readjustment to their native academic sys- Concerned About Your Weight, Cholesterol and Fitness? Shape up this new year by joining the USC School of Public Health Weight Loss, Cholesterol Management Clinic, a 45-session diet and fitness program.

The clinic begins Jan. 16 and meets on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 777-6255 or 777-7096. 16193-68 The Baccarat Whale A new addition to the Baccarat collection of animals. Available in two sizes: inches high 6 inches long at $135 and inches inches at $315.

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OFF 32" CANVAS OFF CLEAR A Whole Lot More Than A Fabric Store CAPITOL SQUARE STORE HOURS: LANDMARK SQUARE SUMTER HWY. HWY 378 ACROSS FROM WEST COLUMBIA SAT ONLY VA HOSPITAL 791-0660 776-5467 14268-54 tem, the school could be a key in South Carolina's growth. "It's beneficial for the state in attracting Japanese companies," Kunimatsu said. "The first thing Japanese visitors ask is if there is a supplementary school." Japan ranks fourth among foreign countries in cumulative investment in the state through 1987, according to State Development Board statistics. Japan ranked second during 1987, with $163 million in investment in the state, which was 26.4 percent of total foreign investment for that year.

oriented programs. He eventually As the school grows, more funds hopes to have a separate "Japan are needed for it to operate and pay House" on the USC campus. instructors, Sakakibara said. In addition to the supplementary Now, parents pay $35 per month school, the building also would house for elementary-aged children and $25 the Japan portion of the master's proper month for preschoolers. gram in international business and The program receives $4,000 an- the Japanese language department.

nually from the Japanese govern- "It would be a total immersion ment. USC provides free classroom atmosphere," said Sakakibara, who space and the program is presently hopes he could recreate a Japaneseseeking financial assistance from the style classroom. "We would have culstate. tural activities such as the tea cereSakakibara has lofty dreams for mony and a complete Japan-related the school and other USC Japanese- JANUARY FIELDS WHITE SALE! HOME FASHION CENTER Boozer Shopping Center 772-9561 GUARANTEED Reg. Price OFF NON MILDEW Reg.

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