Ms. Junko Tanaka

Teacher of Japanese Language
Clarendon Elementary School
San Francisco, California

Junko Tanaka is a fourth-grade public school teacher with the Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program at Clarendon Elementary School. She grew up in rural Japan, and her social justice awareness was raised by her father who promoted Burakueducation as a middle school teacher. Her world views were also influenced by her mother who had a physical disability but pursued her career in a male dominant profession. Junko decided to become a teacher to make a difference.

Junko realized the need for a higher education in order to bring broader perspectives into the public school system. To further her goal, she left for the United States to get a master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. She struggled in many ways as a new immigrant and missed working with children, which led to her volunteering at the Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program (JBBP) at Clarendon Elementary School in the San Francisco Unified School District. She was eventually hired as a JBBP classroom teacher.

At that time, JBBP went through a huge transformation that led to the adoption of a teacher-led Foreign Language Elementary School (FLES) model. In this unique model, classroom teachers teach Japanese language on top of the core curriculum and increase opportunities for students to use Japanese language throughout the day whenever appropriate. She has been involved in making this model work successfully. Her work includes language curriculum development, modeling lessons, leadership education among Japanese heritage students, coordinating school and program-wide events with families, community involvement through field trips, and participation in the local Japanese American community events with her students. She has also presented her student-centered projects at conferences such as ACTFL and CLTA.

As Junko learned the history of JBBP, established by Sansei Japanese Americans who did not learn Japanese due to their incarceration experiences during WWII, her professional and personal identity changed. The resilience and resistance that the Japanese American community has shown throughout U.S. history informed and empowered her as both a teacher of color and an immigrant single mother with second language skills. She felt determined to teach Japanese American history and its values and cultural wealth to her young students who are also going through various issues. In 2013 she wrote a biographical play of the Japanese American civil rights activist, Fred Korematsu. Now she coordinates school-wide social justice assemblies in collaboration with local civil rights activists, and also speaks at parent education nights about how her Japanese American studies curriculum promotes social emotional learning. These efforts result in students and their families truly appreciating JBBP as a space where they can learn Japanese language and culture regardless of their racial backgrounds.