Jan 24, 2026
International Day of Education
Education plays a transformative role in building peaceful, sustainable societies, and this idea is at the heart of International Day of Education, observed every year on January 24th.
Established by the UN General Assembly in 2018, the day highlights how essential learning is for human development and global progress. It aligns closely with the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the commitment to ensure inclusive, equitable, high‑quality education and lifelong learning for all.
I think Japan 'does' education well. Particularly elementary school. Children receive such a well-balanced education in Japan. Furthermore, it's not just textbook learning, but lots of hands-on experiences too. Moreover, they learn practical skills for living. As I wrote about the other day, food education is big in Japan. Children learn about nutrition and food preparation during the daily school life. There are countless other examples too. Would you agree?
Former nickname was "Saitama". Changed it to save confusion on place review posts! Irish, 20+ years in Japan! I also write on my personal website: insaitama.com
1 Comment
TonetoEdo
on Jan 25
I wrote about Japan's exceptional home economics education with the input of home ec teachers at the school in which I teach - https://www.city-cost.com/blogs/TonetoEdo/GB24A-living Japan's education system gets some things right. I have some experience with public elementary school education. The dedication and ethics of the elementary school teachers are impressive. Middle and high school leave the elementary school quality in the dust. It's a fraught issue in Japan.