A Bridge to Greater Understanding
As we prepare our students to become good citizens, we seek to foster their deeper understanding of life beyond the walls of our school, our city and even our country. We believe in the power of learning through firsthand global connections: vital face-to-face meetings that build bridges to greater understanding. Strengthening relationships and mutual understanding, learning about and from other cultures, and reflecting on our place in the world as Canadians has perhaps never been more important.
For the second year in a row, UTS was honoured to host students and teachers from Tokyo’s Hachioji Higashi School, in partnership with the Centre for the Study of Global Japan at University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. This partnership is built on the basis of our reputation ‒ they sought us out because UTS is known to be an exemplary school and they wanted to learn about the work we do while building relationships between students.
On Tuesday evening, UTS student captains and Ms. Amdemichael, Dean of Academics, attended a reception and dinner at the Consulate General of Japan in Toronto along with 28 Japanese high school students, both an honour and an eye-opening experience to the workings of global diplomacy. Earlier in the afternoon, the students from Japan visited UTS for a collaborative session with our students as well as those from U of T’s Centre for the Study of Global Japan. Each Japanese student came with a learning mindset, working on research projects focused on Canada, looking at areas such as immigration, our health care system, education and other cultural aspects. Their projects considered how this new learning might be applied to their home country. All of the students shared their experiences in education through invigorating round table discussions, providing a window into each other’s lives. This visit was facilitated at UTS by our school’s Eureka! Institute, one of only a few school-based research institutes in Canada.
As everyone got to know each other, it became clear: we may be from opposite sides of the world, but we are not that different after all.
While spring takes hold, and the cherry blossoms in High Park and at U of T’s Robarts Library – symbols of connection between Canada and Japan – begin to emerge, we hope to carry forward our curiosity and open-mindedness about the world we live in. There is so much to learn from the perspectives of others when we take the time to listen, understand and work together in the service of a better future.
