Rina Takeuchi Interview
.png)
When did you start at School at YES?
"I started attending when I was 6 years old. Everyone else was older than me in first grade. I was the only nencho. We didn't really study in 1st grade; it was more playing style studying. I remember I was studying with grade 1 kids who were older than me because the school was really small back then and everyone was in the same class."
What was the hardest thing when you first started?
"I wasn't a first grader so I needed to leave kindergarten earlier than everyone else my age. That was kind of difficult. When the school first opened, there were less teachers and everything wasn't perfect yet so it was hard to learn things in that situation and in English. I wasn't good at English yet so it was harder to study in two languages because I was still learning Japanese as well. Now, I feel that it was the right way to learn because if I went to a normal international school, I may not have studied Japanese. I love how the school taught us both languages equally"
Do you know why your parents wanted you to come to YES?
"My parents said that because I was in an international kindergarten, it was better to put me in a school where I could study English. They thought my skills wouldn't improve in a public school and that it was also important for me to learn Programming from a young age. One of the reasons my dad opened this school was because many other international schools didn't study Japanese with English, so he wanted to open a bilingual school where I could learn both."
Do you feel like YES is different from other schools and your current Junior High School?
"YES is more of an international, private school. Where I am going now in Vancouver is a public school so it's quite different. Like, here in YES, there are more unique, fun, and original classes like ukulele and Shodo. In Canada, the classes are really normal but it's not a bad thing. The subjects aren't really changing but there aren't many types of subjects."
Do you think what you learned at YES is helping you with life in Canada?
"Attending YES really helped my English because I could communicate with teachers from so many different countries like the UK, Australia, and America at YES and the people in my current school are also from many different countries so it's easier to communicate. My friends at my new school are from Iran, India, Nigeria, and obviously Canada. I think coming to YES also helped with English outside the school because of this reason as well."
What would you say to someone who is thinking about joining YES?
"This school is not like a school that makes your English better and makes everything perfect for you. That depends on the student and if they want to learn. This school helps you to learn in a fun way but the teachers won't do everything for you so you need to want to learn yourself and put in effort to learn."
What were your favorite things about YES?
"I think the most important thing for me at YES was that the students got to think by themselves. My friends from public school in Japan tell me that there are a lot of rules and restrictions so they don't really get to think for themselves. I think if I went to another public school, I would be less free-thinking and wouldn't be able to think or do things by myself. At YES, we also got to go outside a lot and learn about our local community. Things like that and going out to play at the park was really fun too."
Was there anything that you didn’t like too much?
"I didn't like Math!"