ISAK: Next Gen ‘Transformational Leaders’ from Asia
International boarding school, ISAK, opens in Japan
by Nobi Oda
Asia’s economy is, without a doubt, one of the fastest growing in the world today. Those at the forefront typically come from a Western educational background. However, students now have an innovative alternative to the typical Western education. ISAK (International School of Asia, Karuizawa), Japan’s first fully residential international boarding high school, offers a unique education, combining the best of both East and West.
What does ISAK hope to achieve with its unique educational mission? What caused the school’s founders to open a completely new kind of high school? We caught up with Lin Kobayashi, Chair of the Board, to learn the full story.
A School that seeks to transform students into global change makers
Scenic Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture is home to some of the most picturesque resorts in Japan. Just a 70-minute train ride from Tokyo by bullet train, Karuizawa is now also home to the newly opened ISAK international boarding school.
ISAK is surrounded by Karuizawa’s picturesque scenery
ISAK’s location in one of Japan’s most beautiful resort areas is just one of many factors that make this school unique. There are two other factors we discovered about ISAK that particularly caught our attention.
The first is ISAK’s approach to attracting a diverse student population from across the globe. International schools are nothing new to Japan. There are currently over 100 international schools in the country with around 20 holding the majority of their classes in English. Most of these schools were established to meet domestic demand, catering to children from both foreign families living in Japan, returning Japanese expats, and Japanese parents who want their children to study in English. In contrast, ISAK actively seeks students from various socio-economic backgrounds, in particular students coming from the Asia-Pacific region.
The second factor that sets ISAK apart is its mission:
To develop transformational leaders who explore new frontiers in service for the greater good of Asia and beyond.
A lofty goal for any ordinary institution but, as we found out, this is no ordinary high school.
Becoming a leader at ISAK does not necessarily mean becoming a president, a CEO, or a millionaire. At ISAK, a leader is defined as someone who is a change maker. Change makers operate on a much larger scale than leaders in the traditional sense, because they are able to influence others and call upon those around them to invoke positive change. Students at ISAK actively practice leadership in and out of the classroom, and students from all backgrounds learn quickly that leadership is not something you are born with. Rather, it is a skill that can be achieved by anyone through hard work and education.
The type of leadership students learn at ISAK is based on the neuroscience principles of mindfulness and self-discipline, two philosophies more often associated with Asian cultures than with the teachings of the West. To develop these two skills, students use “Design Thinking,” a modern approach to problem solving which requires both mindfulness and self-discipline.
Making the world a better place, the Japanese way
How did this innovative school begin? The story starts with two people, Lin Kobayashi and Mamoru Taniya (Managing Director at Asuka Asset Mangement).
As a young investment banker, Mamoru Taniya became involved with business in developing Asian countries. Taniya’s experiences led him to understand the importance of education in the developing world. As he became more successful in business, he realized that developing countries in Asia would soon be the driving force behind the global economy of the future. But where would the future’s leaders come from? Seeing a general lack of educational institutions focused on leadership in Asia, Taniya decided it was time to take action and establish a school in Japan that would focus on leadership.
His first thought was to open a university. But, opening a new university in Japan posed a serious challenge, given the number of well-financed universities in the US already competing for Asian students. This fact led Taniya to reconsider. His thoughts quickly turned to a high school. Taniya believes that Japan’s high school students, having grown up in a stable and wealthy society, have lost the will to challenge and innovate. By living and learning with students from developing nations, Taniya speculated that Japanese students could be re-inspired to tackle difficult problems and see the world differently. Soon, Taniya began to look for people to help him accomplish his vision.
ISAK’s Chair of the Board, Lin Kobayashi, is also passionate about educating leaders. At age 16, Kobayashi left her high school in Japan and moved to Canada. She enrolled in an international boarding school and began to see first-hand the lack of opportunity for education in developing countries.
“During a break from school, a good friend invited me back to her home in Mexico. I was really taken aback by what I saw there. My friend’s family was all squeezed into a tiny home. What really hit me the most was finding out that of all 6 siblings, my friend was the only one who could go to high school. The family simply couldn’t afford for their children to go. My friend was only attending school in Canada because she was lucky enough to get a scholarship.”
For Kobayashi, this inequity did not feel right and it was a life-changing experience. After graduating from the University of Tokyo with a BA in Development Economics, Kobayashi went on to work at Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). She holds an MA in International Educational Policy Analysis from Stanford University and has even worked for UNICEF, where she ran non-formal education projects for thousands of street children in the Philippines.
“I realized early on that in a society rife with corruption, addressing the educational needs of the poor wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem. Sure it might improve the lives of individuals, but it just wasn’t enough to kick start the change that society badly needed.”
Kobayashi began questioning her efforts at UNICEF and sought advice from her good friend, Daisuke Iwase, Managing Director and COO of Lifenet Insurance Company. Iwase had been good friends since university and promptly introduced her to Taniya (Taniya had previously helped Iwase launch the world’s first web based life insurance company). Thanks to Iwase’s introduction, ISAK began quickly gaining shape. Kobayshi was just the person Taniya was looking for to head the new school and develop the next generation of global leaders.
A common goal, a common belief
What really brings Taniya and Kobayshi together is their belief that a new form of capitalism is what is needed for a growing world population and the growing economy in Asia.
“Both the population and economy in Asia are rapidly growing. In the near future, Asia will be a major driving force in the global economy. Adopting a Western capitalism approach 100% is not necessarily the answer. Perhaps a new form of post-capitalism would be more fitting for Asia — one that combines Western education with Asian values and principles. Even core principles such as leadership may need to be reshaped for the Asia of the future.”
The collapse and bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is a good example of the major pitfalls of profit driven capitalism. Yet, even now, many Western as well as developing countries continue to follow the capitalism model. ISAK’s approach of merging Asian values with capitalism is a refreshing change in thinking and an alternative to traditional capitalism.
Kobayashi added that there is also an important reason for addressing this at the high school level.
“From my own experience, I think that the high school years are some of the most important years of one’s life. In junior high, I think most of us are still trying to find ourselves, but by the time we reach university we have a clear idea of our identity. It’s during the transitional phase in between when we often think about who we are and the kind of lives we want to live. Learning about globalism and diversity is an important step in identifying our values. Some argue that we should start teaching these things in junior high but I don’t feel that would be the best way forward. Once you start working, you will naturally meet all kinds of people. To truly understand diversity, one must have some level of self-identity first. I think that is something you don’t normally achieve until you reach senior high.”
Can ISAK change Asia?
When establishing ISAK, there were many time-consuming hurdles to overcome, both in terms of funding and approval. For example, Japanese law explicitly requires high schools to start the academic year in April and doesn’t have provisions for schools wanting to start in September.
“We were lucky enough to have a lot of people support us and help come up with workarounds,” recalls Kobayashi. “The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, the local authorities, as well as the people of Nagano prefecture and Karuizawa in general all helped a lot. From obtaining teaching licenses for non-Japanese teachers to starting the academic year in September, it was a relentless cycle of finding workarounds.”
ISAK’s teachers are some of the best in the world, including many from top boarding schools across the globe. Resident mathematics teacher, Kok Ming Lee, originally from Malaysia, is one such example. Before teaching at ISAK, he received various accolades, including Best Teacher Award from Chicago University. Although his salary is slightly less than at his previous position, Lee feels the trade-off is worth it to be able to teach at such an innovative institution.
Building a brand-new residential boarding school and recruiting top teachers from around the world is not cheap. But, with Kobayashi’s vision to solve inequality and bring socio-economically diverse students together on campus, a scholarship program has been established to make ISAK attainable and 30% of current students are receiving full scholarship support.
Before the high school opened, ISAK’s summer school program brought middle school students together from around the world. The summer school, which started in 2010, helped ISAK spread the word about the new and innovative high school that was on the way. When the time came to open the doors to ISAK’s first class of 10th graders, ISAK had amassed some 250 applications from 34 different countries. 49 of these applicants (of 15 different nationalities) became the school’s first students, with 70% of the students coming from outside Japan.
ISAK is currently taking student applications for the 2015 academic year starting in Autumn as well as for their summer school in July.
The school’s opening ceremony marked such an interesting milestone in Japanese education that even the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology was in attendance!
Kobayashi has high hopes for the future graduates of ISAK.
“I think they will all grow to be change makers in various fields. Whether it’s making a difference in their home country or on a global scale, our goal is for them to become change makers. Whatever they choose to do in life, we hope they will always make the decisions that will make the world a better place.”
Just before the grand opening of ISAK, Kobayashi made the following entry into her own personal blog:
“Of course universal education is important. But in countries where there is a significant gap between the wealthy and the poor, it is the people at the top that need to change. Those countries need politicians who are not only good at what they do but are willing to let go of self-interests for the sake of creating a balanced society. Companies need to also follow a similar path and be able to pave the way for the future without resorting to violence or corruption. Even artists need to understand that while it’s important to treasure the history of their country, they can create a new culture through their work. The continued development of a country relies on these kind of people.”
Kobayashi understands that one school alone like ISAK cannot change society overnight. However, she has high hopes that the school’s graduates will become the much-needed catalysts for positive change the world needs for a brighter future.
(translation: Atsushi Fujii)
Originally published at ignition.co.
