​SDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals. Do you remember what the 4^th goal out of all 17 goal　is? It is "Quality Education". This year has been a quite uneasy year for all of us. The coronavirus pandemic has made our "normal" lifestyle disappear. Many students were not able to go to school for months. I also was not able to go to school until the end of May, and then in a staggered attendance. Fortunately, in Fuji Sacred Heart, we have been able to take online classes since April so we didn't have much struggle to study. We were able to take classes online just like we were at school, but most schools did not have access to online classes at that time. Many students struggled to study and this has caused big education gaps.

    In May, I had an opportunity to take part in the UNESCO's Global Webinar COVID19-Reflections. We discussed issues and the experience of remote learning. Listening to many countries students experience, I noticed that in Japan, not many schools have access to online classes.  I was able to have access to school online because I go to a private school, but students in public schools spend their quarantine without any online classes but just receive homework sent by their teachers. This leads them to having only 2 weeks of summer vacation this year in order to catch up in their studies. This situation made me think Japan's education should be more equal for all students whether it is a public school or not.

    For all students to have good access to education, we have to solve several problems. First, not all students have devices such as computers or tablets. Some families can't afford them.  Second, there are students who don't know how to use electrical devices well. These issues can lead to big differences in studying in online.  Although, in my feature, remote learning is absolutely necessary and the best way to work with education right now. So, personally I think there should be a device just for remote learning that is easy to use so that anyone can use it. We can distribute them to all students in the country. This way, there will be less education gap. Not only for the issue going on right now, we can use it to interact with people from other countries. The experience of taking part in the webinar made me notice it is very easy to connect with people from all around the world through the internet. Even though, we are not able to go to other countries right now, we can use remote learning to have more access to other countries cultures, for example by participating to other countries' online classes. I hope this situation ends as soon as possible and all students will have the opportunity to get an education no matter what the situation is. What is your idea to realize the 4^th goal, "Quality Education"? Not only in Japan but throughout the world. Quality Education is necessary for all of us. Thank you for listening.

Hanano Hisatomi, Fuji Seishin, ASPnet school, Japan