Takahiro Takabatake, President and CEO of Z-Kai Educe Co., Ltd.

It is important to fully engage with students and make improvements!

President and CEO of Z-Kai Educe Co., Ltd.
Takabatake Naohiro

Born in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1970, he graduated from the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University in 1993 and joined Z-Kai Co., Ltd. He has been involved in various aspects of the classroom business for most of his career at the company, and was appointed Representative Director and President of Z-Kai Edus Co., Ltd. when the classroom business was spun off into a separate company in 2015. He also serves as an executive officer at Eiko Co., Ltd. and is involved in various classroom businesses within the group. His hobbies are watching soccer (behind the goal) and baseball (outfield seats).

President Takabatake sincerely faces the students in front of him and continues to seek ways to improve the current situation. He says that what children today need is the ability to "output," and that the ability to develop this is important in "writing." What kind of education does President Takabatake, who is always ambitious and boldly takes on new challenges, aim for?

Looking back on my student days, I spent my days doing sports, part-time jobs, and extracurricular activities rather than devoting myself to my studies.
I majored in political science in college, but I also worked as a cram school instructor, so I've always been interested in education and wanted to work for a company where I could take on a variety of challenges. Z-Kai operates a wide range of businesses, including correspondence courses, classrooms, and publishing, and the wide range of options was very appealing. Throughout my job search, I felt that the company had a good atmosphere and that its educational philosophy, which emphasizes essential instruction, was a good fit for me.
For example, large competing cram schools assign a lot of homework and hold classes multiple times a week. On the other hand, Z-kai's educational policy is to have students think carefully about each and every problem and solidify their understanding, allowing students to learn efficiently and improve their grades. In addition, students are able to develop an independent learning attitude, so they can improve their skills by attending classes once or twice a week.

What we need from now on is output power

A key factor in differentiating us from other companies is our focus on each individual student. We believe that writing ability is a skill children will need in the future. It's important not only to encourage input, but also to encourage output, and writing ability is essential for this. I'm concerned about the low level of awareness of writing, to the point that I sometimes feel in my classes that today's children aren't even taught to write vertically in their Japanese classes. At Z-Kai, we were originally founded as a correspondence education company, so we take the time to correct each student's answer sheet. For this reason, we pride ourselves on using red pen more than any other cram school. We instruct students to focus on how to communicate accurately with others, rather than on whether something is right or wrong, by encouraging them to think, "Let's include a reason here" or "Let's write a specific example."
　I believe that contributing to society through education is possible by "devoting all of our energy to the students in front of us." The key is to provide the best possible education to our students. As a result, we hope to increase the number of people who contribute to society. That's why we focus on painstaking correction and expect our teachers to do the same. While improving students' grades is important, what's even more important is "nurturing the intellect and sensibility necessary for individuals who will play a central role in society," and Z-Kai schools have an unwavering belief in this. While increasing the number of students is important, keeping students engaged is also crucial. We also use student retention as an evaluation criterion. This is because student retention is an indicator of whether a cram school is providing adequate services and is a measure of customer satisfaction, leading to long-term trust in the school.

Continuing to pursue better education and take on new challenges

In the future, I would like to open Z-kai classrooms in more cities. To do this, I want to increase the number of people and friends who share my philosophy. I also want to always value on-site experience. I want to continue taking on new challenges in the pursuit of better education. To maintain the joy of teaching and to gain various new ideas by interacting with students, I currently teach junior high school entrance exam classes once a week. I am also always thinking about what new things I can do next year. Rather than just thinking about the distant future of 10 years from now, I am always thinking about how I can improve what is happening right now. Because education is a job that deals with people, I believe that the accumulation of what we do now will ultimately connect to the future and become important.
I support my students so that they can acquire the skills they need in society and grow as people. And the greatest joy is when my students, who will be active in society in the future, remember me. Rather than simply helping students raise their academic scores, I believe our mission is to nurture the intelligence and sensitivity necessary for people who will play a central role in society. When teaching, I always try to praise students, and I always give them a warning after praising them. Praise leads to confidence and trust. I would be happy if parents could also see their children's growth.

＊message＊

I think the most important thing about being a university student is having time, so I hope you will make good use of it and try out a variety of things. As you progress through elementary, middle, high school, and university, you will often find yourself hanging out with similar peers. Your horizons will not broaden if you only hang out with people who think like you. I hope you will increase the number of fresh encounters you can make through part-time jobs, travel, and so on. I think it is important to avoid being a frog in a well and to meet different peers in order to grow as a person.

From the April 20, 2020 issue of the Student Newspaper (Keio University, second-year student, Shiori Harada)

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