BOOK REPORT (FORM) Non Fiction
Book Information:
1. Title of Book (Novel) : Totto-chan, The Little Girl At The Window
2. Author : tetsuko kuroyanagi
3. Genre : nonfiksi
4. Publisher : pt. Gramedia Pustaka utama
5. Copy right year : 2003
6. Number of Page : 272
Part I
1.1 Introduction:
What do you remember from your elementary school days? It must be fun with all the games and learning, right? Now this book tells about the unique elementary school education in Tomoe, Japan, where the teachers there do not follow the usual teaching methods in public schools. Every time the teacher enters the classroom, students there are free to do the whatever they like. Whether it's coloring, learning to read, maybe even doing physics experiments. Yes, this book was written on the basis of the author's memorable experience of his childhood education which is also based on his experience working as a UNICEF Good will Ambassador 1984-1996. Kuroyanagi is the director of the Japan branch of the wildlife world fund.
1.2 Summary
This book tells the story of Totto-chan, a little girl who must be expelled from school at the age of 7. The teachers at school thought Totto-chan was bad. Even though this cheerful little girl only has a great curiosity about something and is seen as strange when compared to her friends. Totto-chan was expelled from school because she always made noise in class. Starting from the drawer problem, Totto-chan, who always opened hundreds of times and was closed by slamming it, to call the street musicians who immediately made the students noisy and even stood for hours in front of the window to talk to the swallow perched on the tree beside her class.
Finally, the mother could do nothing but send her child to another school. Schools that can understand and teach their daughters to adapt to other people. After searching everywhere, Mama finally found a school that was appropriate for her purse. Mama didn't tell Totto-chan that she was kicked out of school because Mama didn't want her daughter to suffer mental stress, so she decided not to tell Totto-chan until she grew up. And he registered Totto-chan to Tomoe Gakuen.
Totto-chan was very happy, in that school the students studied in train cars as a substitute for classrooms. He can study while looking at the school grounds and feel that he is traveling by train. The school which has two ancient symbols in the form of a comma in black and white, which is headed by Sosaku Kobayashi, is indeed different from other schools. At Tomoe school students are free to choose the order of lessons they like. The principal also set the lunch with “something from the sea and something from the mountains”. And before lunch, the principal says the word "Itadakimasu" which means happy eating. And usually after lunch Totto-chan and her friends took a walk later, when they passed the flower garden, the teacher would tell them how the mustard flower came into bloom. Because the school was so unique Totto-chan was so happy and loved it so much that she decided to come to school every day and never take a vacation.
The days passed by Totto-chan with joy and unexpected events. To the extent that, he and his other friends did not realize that the Pacific war had broken out. Until then, the war and all its horrors began to be felt in the life of Totto-chan and her family. Every day, the men and young men around his residence were sent away to fight.
Until a few days later, Tomoe was on fire !!
Everything happened at night. Many of the bombs dropped by the B29 aircraft hit the class carriages. Tomoe School is gone. The fire was blazing destroying everything. Totto-chan never knew how the principal felt when she saw her, but what she did know was that her heart felt tight when she knew that her desire to become a teacher at Tomoe had been crushed. And he remembered the parting words that the principal said "we will meet again" and the words he always said to him, "you are a really good boy, you know that, right?". While feeling sure Totto-chan finally fell asleep. The train crept in the dark, carrying passengers who were overcome with anxiety.
Part II
2.1 Evaluation/Analysis
The intelligence and success of a person cannot be seen from academics alone because there are also many people who are successful by means of art or good communication. The author of this book tells of a childhood experience that was deemed unhealthy just because he had a personality that didn't match what the teacher wanted. And he moved to a school where this school has a curriculum that is arguably different from other schools because it frees children to learn what they want and the teacher only guides and guides the child's preferences. The writer really revealed how comfortable it is to go to school in a place where he can do what he likes until finally he still remembers it. Uniquely, it also really reminds us of the time when we felt learning while playing, had experienced life like a child in general, which may be difficult to experience in this day and age. This book teaches us some things that in my opinion are simple but difficult to do, where we have to appreciate if we want to be appreciated like the teachers described in this book where they really appreciate children who do have different interests and help guide the child, so what the teacher does. children also respect the teacher like parents and they feel comfortable and at home to continue learning at the school.
Overall impression:
There are so many advantages of this book that I may not be able to explain one by one, but there cannot be advantages without disadvantages, right? Yes, I feel that there might be a few shortcomings in this book because it cannot be understood clearly, there are some words or sentences that may need translation so that we can understand. but there are also many parts of this book that are very interesting, for example, my favorite part of this book is when the children enjoy their playing time, I really miss my childhood so that when I read that part, I immediately feel nostalgic. There is also a part that makes me a little bit annoyed, where this school had to close because of the war that occurred at that time, I was annoyed because it was rare for schools to use such a system, but when there was it it was destroyed by war. Maybe yes, if I was in a position where I was one of the family that owns the school, I would really like to rebuild a school like that and make the ideals of the school founder achieved. Oh yeah, even though there are no pictures in this book, this book is really interesting to read.
2.2 Conclusion
I highly recommend this book to be read, especially for those of you who may be stressful of work or many things that have not been resolved. Continue reading this book, you will definitely miss the old days that you could say have never felt the things that you now feel. Not to mention the simple story that tells about the author's childhood, the story from this book can inspire you if you feel that you don't feel that you excel academically, maybe you have superior things in other fields. The writer's mother's wisdom also contains a moment of beauty in this novel.
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