Any generation can grow
Possibility as a project
entrepreneur
SaKamoto Satoshi
We asked Satoshi Sakamoto, a co-creation partner who currently runs an education business company, about the appeal of "any" that will be passed on to the next generation.
Satoshi Sakamoto
After graduating from Hitotsubashi University, he got a job at a system development company. After that, he retired and established Kogakusha in 1999. I think about how to teach Japanese by myself, and I teach in a way that suits my students, making use of what I learned overseas.
- What is the vision of Kogakusha, which Mr. Sakamoto runs?
Kogakusha's vision is to produce as many people as possible who can continue to study happily in society, and by doing so, society will become more peaceful and better.
-Why are you working on a business that aims to produce as many people as possible who can go out into society and continue to learn happily? Is there a reason why you decided to spread it to society?
When I started Kogakusha at the age of 26, for example, if I wanted to do something about a child who failed at school or was having trouble at school, everyone had no choice but to do something as a volunteer. I didn't know what to do, so I made a place to belong, nothing more and nothing less. But that alone doesn't make people grow. After all, I thought that I needed stimulation and learning in some way. I thought that I needed a place where I could learn first, and I came up with the idea of creating a business in order to sustain this. It started from a really small place, and now it's finally taking shape, the number of people is increasing, and it's spreading.
ーWhy did you feel that there were people who were frustrated at school or who felt that life was difficult?
At that time, the economic bubble had burst, and among the children I was teaching and the children I was involved with, there were children whose families were separated. Some children couldn't go to school because if they went to school, they would find out that the family had split up.
But those are the kids who are fine. If they stopped going to school because of this, it was obvious that they would be cut off from the general course to enter society at that time. At the time, I thought it would be a waste if I didn't send these children out into society. Also, I thought it would be interesting to create a system that would allow them to successfully return to society after they have fallen out of the framework of school. Kogakusha is a place for children who have failed school to learn what is necessary in society. What you need to do when you go out into the world is different from what you learn at school, so I want you to learn such soft skills here. After that, some of them go on to university, while others join our company as interns.
ーWhat do you focus on and what are you working on with your vision of “a person who can continue to learn happily”?
Kogakusha has stopped conducting classes by dividing them into “subjects”. Having said that, there are some children who come to school while going to school, so I also study subjects as part of the class. We define the "8 powers" that are necessary to enter society, and by developing them anyway, we place importance on building "study strength" so that we can continue to learn.
* Kogakusha defines the “8 powers” as the eight skills (vocabulary, reading comprehension, comprehension, expression, thinking, imagination, empathy, refers to physical strength)
- Why do we need imagination and empathy?
When you read and understand the text, you can't even sympathize with it if you can't imagine it to some extent. In this day and age, as we see social media and various news, opportunities for people to meet face to face are decreasing, and I feel that there are many people who have lost their imagination and empathy. In fact, in order to train these, there is a device for making this classroom.
This is a classroom that has been devised to train the eight powers.
In fact, the training effect is shown by the way the student sits. Now, I have a question for you guys. Where will the students sit? Please try to imagine.
- From the beginning, did you envision the current shape of Kogakusha?
It would be more correct to say that this is what happened. The staff describes it as, ``It's a strange place. At Kogakusha, both high school and elementary school students are called by their first names. For some reason, I used to call everyone by their first names, and even high school and elementary school students call each other by their first names. Not everyone knows their last name. I think this is the origin of our brotherly relationship.
ーPlease tell us why you became a co-creation partner of any.
In order to sustainably carry out what we are working on for our vision, we cannot continue walking unless we have a “personal vision” of “I want to do this!” or “Let’s do this!” I think. any is where it can be done. Have the power to be the base and do this yourself! If you have the thought, you can continue walking by yourself. I felt that it was a place that made me think about something. To be honest, it was also what I wanted to do next, so I participated in any.
ーHow did participating in any affect you and Kogakusha?
Recently, as a co-creation partner of any, I realized something. What we are working on is to acquire the “eight powers” for individuals. However, there are powers that cannot be obtained by just being within an individual. It is important to nurture that power within the Group. And I figured I needed a safe place to do this.
We are now in charge of giving lectures at a vocational school. I think what is needed at that time is a perspective that sees the future. Vocational school students need employment support. Students enter this vocational school to obtain national qualifications. However, there are some students who entered the school with that intention, but when they start studying, they continue to study with a sense of incongruity that something is wrong. When that happens, the approach we can take for them is to think about it and support them from the side so that they can grow their trunk. For now, right in front of me
It is important to keep thinking about a certain thing, and it is an approach that you can see the future by continuing.
However, by participating in any, I realized that we hadn't taken the approach of how to see and think about this from a broad perspective.
I recently felt that it was time to study this approach. I also realized that people who can create spaces are extremely important. I have noticed that the schools that I am participating in are well-equipped with "freedom" and "safe places" (psychological safety). I think the same is true for companies. I feel that it is very important whether or not a company can create such a place in a group of several people after all.
- Do you have any thoughts or episodes about the theme of connecting to the next generation?
I believe that if people in their 20s and 30s can dream and work hard towards it, they will be able to choose to get married and have children. Right now, I feel that most of us are thinking “realistically”, such as whether we should protect the current state or not. I have a feeling that it will be difficult if this is not opened to the future a little more. But I think that any will be the solution to this problem, and I have high hopes for that.
On the other hand, I am a little pessimistic about the senior generation, and I think it will be quite difficult to incorporate this into the cycle. I am 50 years old this year, and I am of a generation that knows a little about the bubble period. I cannot get rid of the feeling that society grows naturally. I think many people in their 50s and older today have such a background. That's why I find it a little difficult to get caught up in a society that assumes no growth.
I think that any takes advantage of the declining birthrate and aging society and advocates an era in which 6.9 adults can support one young person. I feel the potential of this project as a project that encourages circulation and allows both generations to grow.
