Totto – chan : The Little Girl at the Window is an account of the experiences of Tetsuko Kuronayagi in the two or so years she studies at a school named Tomoe Gakuen, a non-traditional school situated in southwest Tokyo (around 1945). It is an easy but enlightening read. In simple, beautiful language, the author and translator capture the innocence and inquisitiveness of the child trying to understand the world. The book basically describes the day-to-day activities and experiences at the school that leaves a lasting impression on the book’s main character, the six-year-old Totto-chan.
Going through the book, I came to believe that childhood experiences have a profound impact on how we experience the world as adults. They establish the expectations we set for ourselves, those we interact with, and the world in general. The home environment – parents and caretakers – plays a huge role in the child’s development. But the school environment, and teachers, play an equally important, in some regards even more so, since these tend to be the first experiences outside the child’s comfort zone.
As it is said that “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” Similar does the school Tomoe Gakuen does provide a space for the children studying over their. Reading this book I was seeing myself in place of Totto-chan reading in a school all setted-up in a train where the school had a curriculum, but children had the autonomy to plan their days around lessons and activities they enjoyed instead of conforming to a rigid structure. Teachers served as guides, not instructors. They learnt from books and lectures but had regular interactions with the real-world. At lunch they learnt about good eating habits, the different types of foods, and how they were prepared. And on their regular afternoon walks, they learnt about nature, the environment, and the history of the region.
All these instances let me remind of our school space . Being a part of N.P.S., I have seen how the things works in a real world connecting it all with the school academics syllabus. Working in community library , having our class meetings without any teachers, criticizing teachers sometimes, working in a ecosystem of our choice, getting a safe space to put our voices ahead , learning from juniors and seniors, all are the things I have experienced and am experiencing as well by being a part of this community.
With all this , the story also showed that with the proper support and encouragement, every child can flourish, even one as mischievous as Totto-chan. As a ending note I will say that Tomoe Gakuen gives us a example of an idol school and its working structure which helps students to learn the life skills and be a real human.
– Aanchal