Wisconsin students said "Konichiwa" to a delegation of Japanese teachers who taught in public schools throughout the state in September. The six-teacher delegation is currently working in 13 schools across the state until it returns home Dec. 9.

Upon arriving in Wisconsin, the Japanese teachers went through a two-week cultural education program in the Madison area and are now spending three to four weeks at each host school for the duration of their stay.

Since 1997, 147 Japanese teachers have come to Wisconsin to teach and promote cultural awareness to students.

Carla Vigue, spokesperson for Gov. Jim Doyle, said students of all ages benefit from the exchange program.

"[It] is a great thing for kids from around the state to learn from other teachers," Vigue said. "It's always good to have students be exposed to different cultures and traditions and teaching styles."

Pam Delfosse, director of the Japan-Wisconsin Education Connection, said the program has been received very positively since its inception.

"[Students and] teachers develop a really strong bond with the visiting teacher," Delfosse said.

The teachers' exchange also includes participating in extracurricular activities to help with their cultural immersion experience. Their Wisconsin program also includes a home-stay with a Wisconsin family, Delfosse said.

"[Japanese teachers] attend sporting events — a number of the teachers this past weekend participated in homecoming activities," Delfosse said. "They get a really great insight into family life."

The program is intended to create deep, long-lasting ties between people from opposite sides of the globe.

"At the farewell event in December, I am able to witness the interpersonal relationships that have been built through the program," Delfosse said. "Ultimately, it is about interpersonal relationship building between cultures, and the strength of those relationships is evident when they have to say goodbye."

The Japanese teachers do not have their own classroom, but work in conjunction with Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction teachers. Delfosse said classroom teachers in schools who choose to participate in the program host a Japanese teacher.

"[Japanese teachers] work with a mentor teacher within the school district who is the lead classroom teacher," Delfosse said. "They are not independent teachers in the classroom."

The delegation aims to teach cultural awareness, ancient and current Asian history and the Japanese language. They also participate in school events in hopes of translating American educational beliefs to their home schools in Japan.

"They serve as a cultural and linguistic resource [and] share information about life and language in Japan," Delfosse said. "In turn, they learn about life here in Wisconsin and our education system."

Patrick Gasper, communications officer for the Wisconsin DPI, said both the Wisconsin schools and Japanese teachers chosen for the program go through a tough screening process.

"It's pretty much evenly split between elementary and secondary schools," Gasper said. "We [also] select schools that offer Japanese language instruction."

The Wisconsin-Japan Education Connection is funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education and is hosted by the Wisconsin DPI.