The New Trend of Disaster Mitigation Education in Japan

3-5 Encouragement of the imitation of the educational activities of Maiko High School

The Environment and Disaster Mitigation Course at Maiko High School started in 2002, seven years after the Kobe Earthquake. At this course we can use about 1/3 of the school lessons to the disaster mitigation education for three years. The total hours we can use are approximately 750 hours. That's why we are lucky to be able to try various activities. It seems hard for the other general courses, on the other hand, to do everything we do at Maiko High School. They are busy studying general subjects and seem to have no time to learn disaster management. It seems possible, however, for those schools to choose one or two activities implemented at Maiko High School and arrange them by adding the regional disasters and culture. This enables any school to tackle the disaster mitigation education. This following passage is written with such purpose. In this passage the topics such as the mechanism of the earthquake, volcanoes, weather, and so on (they are all related to the natural environment) are omitted because there are already a lot of textbooks and teaching materials for the students and teachers. What is written here is limited to something to do with the social environment.

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<< Previous: 3-4 Maiko High School Environment and Disaster Mitigation Course

3-6 Examples of the educational activities

All the examples of the educational activities here were really offered to the high school students. It is possible to practice the same activities to the pupils of elementary schools and the students of junior high schools by arranging the degree of the quality of the contents. All the activities here are the materials or the ingredients. It depends on the teachers how to cook them.

1. Speeches by those who experienced Kobe Earthquake
2. Learning at Disaster Museums
3. Making of "Concept Map"
4. Simulation to Cope with the Disaster
5. Making of "Related Map of the Disaster"
6. Making of "Safety Map" of the Community
7. Disaster Imagination Game
8. Disaster Management of my House
9. Disaster Management of a Imaginary Town
10. Making of "Wall Newspaper"
11. Making of the "World Hazard Map"
12. Town Walking in the Disaster Area
13. Field Work at Mt. Rokko
14. Ten Ideas to Make Community Safer
15. Learning with the Different Ages
16. The Memorial Event of Kobe Earthquake

>> Next: 3-7 Some Suggestions to Make Disaster Mitigation Education more Familiar
<< Previous: 3-5 Encouragement of the imitation of the educational activities of Maiko High School

(2006.6.1)