Japan's Doors Open Wide for 13 California Teachers.

TORRANCE, Calif., July 13 /PRNewswire/ --

When Modesto high school teacher Monica Funes journeyed to Japan as a participant in the Toyota International Teacher Program, she expected to study the subtle rituals of tea ceremonies, flower arrangements and calligraphy.

During her two days at the Oomoto School of Traditional Japanese Arts in Kameoka, Funes did just that. She learned from a Japanese master, Sawada-sensei. But she also found out that, thanks to a multicultural California program, she can continue exploring the ancient Japanese arts back home -- and even bring them to her American students.

In Kameoka, she was introduced to Mario Uribe, a graphic artist, who along with his wife, Liz, operates the American School of Japanese Arts in San Francisco.

Funes, a native of Argentina, says she will ask Uribe, also Hispanic, to help her bring Japanese culture to her students at Central Catholic High School.

"He's going to come to my school and teach a class," Funes said.

Funes was one of 13 California high school teachers on the intensive study tour of Japan. In all, 50 teachers from six states -- California, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and West Virginia, U.S. states with major Toyota facilities -- were selected for the annual, all-expense paid, two-week program in Japan. The study tour ended June 23.

Funded by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) and administered by the Institute of International Education, the program is designed around four major areas -- Japan's culture and values, education, environment, and technology and industry -- and focuses on how these themes are interrelated.

The teachers' rigorous schedule combined lectures from top academics and officials with visits to schools, factories, a fish market, a sumo wrestling stable, castles, museums, shrines and temples. They went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Toyota City, Nagoya, Otsu, Hiroshima, and Kameoka.

Taken together, the many different experiences gave the teachers "an idea of the complexity and texture of life and society today," said Todd Pavel, a history teacher at Mercy High College Preparatory in San Francisco.

Many teachers came away with ideas for sharing their experiences with students.

For instance, conservationist Dr. Makoto Murase -- known as Dr. Rainwater -- showed American teachers how to save water with simple, filter-equipped rain barrels. Dozens of Japanese residents -- even a neighborhood Shinto shrine -- have installed Dr. Rainwater's blue barrels in Tokyo's Sumida Ward.

"It's a creative idea," said Rachel Rubin-Green, who teaches biology and physiology at Culver City High School. "I may try to implement this program."

Another California educator, Mary Duggan, a teacher at San Dieguito High School Academy in Encinitas, says Dr. Rainwater's other demonstrations has inspired her to teach her students how to make recycled paper from used milk cartons.

Phil Jelinek, who teaches a full auto program at Monrovia High School, said he plans to fold information on Japanese technology and industry into a lesson on how they apply to everyday life.

"It's gratifying to see how much these teachers absorbed in Japan and how eager they are to share their experiences with their American students," said Rhonda Glasscock, the TMS senior administrator who has overseen the program's development since its inception in 1998.

In studying…