Wouldn't it be great if you could sit down with the mayor of your town and tell him what you think? That's exactly what the ninth graders at Musashino Dai-ichi Junior High School in Musashino City did for a class project this year.

It all started in seventh grade when the kids began learning how to make presentations and talk in front of people. According to one of their teachers, Akihiko Tsujimoto, the students found this really difficult at first. At that time, he had to assign them topics to research, but by ninth grade they were finding and researching their own topics. It took much effort from the students, but Mr. Tsujimoto says he is really impressed with how much they learned.

The kids had to do a lot of work before they were ready to speak to the mayor, though. First, they did surveys in order to gather people's opinions about what things could be improved in Musashino. Then, they picked a topic from these surveys. Next, they researched the topic and came up with solutions to the problem. Finally, they prepared a presentation and spoke in front of people.

The presentations they gave were called "poster sessions." The students made booths decorated with posters and explained to visitors what problems they were trying to tackle and what their plans were for solving them. Not only the mayor but also ordinary people came to listen to what the kids had to say. Everyone was impressed with how well they thought about and prepared their projects.

The mayor was on hand to hear their ideas, and he gave out "The Mayor's Prize" to the best teams. The topic of one of the three winning teams was "Aim for a 30% Green Musashino!" At the moment about 20% of Musashino City is green space (space with trees and plants). The kids did a lot of research and found ways that Musashino could increase the amount of green space that people can see to 30%, for example putting plants on walls.

Asked what was good about the class, one of the kids said, "I thought about where I am living, made a plan to improve it, and I realized the importance of presenting my ideas." The kids in Musashino City have shown that researching and thinking about problems pays off - and that kids can make a difference!

Photos: (Top) Students explain their ideas to guests; (Middle) The students set up booths in the school gym; (Bottom) Guests listened intently to the students' presentations. (Musashino Dai-ichi Junior High School)