In Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, a railway company has created a new place for truant children to deepen their learning on the theme of railways.
This learning center, named "AOi School," was opened on a trial basis by Odakyu Electric Railway on September 9 at a commercial facility adjacent to Zenko Station in Fujisawa City to support children who refuse to go to school.
The target is from the fourth grade of elementary school to the third grade of junior high school, and the staff is an active young driver who has experienced truancy who proposed this initiative, and an employee who has a child who has experienced truancy.
There is no curriculum, and children can learn about their favorite themes, such as the mechanism of rolling stock and community development along the railway line, in an environment where railway-related materials such as route maps and specialized magazines are prepared.
The fee is 1,3 yen per month for a three-hour course once a week, and Odakyu Electric Railway hopes to open the school in earnest after assessing its business feasibility with a test period until the end of August next year.
One of the people who proposed this initiative, driver Takatoshi Bessho, said, "I want children to be able to do what they like to the fullest."
* Taka is on the right side of "Akatsuki".