How to become a soroban teacher:
qualifications, the job, and training

Do I need a qualification? What grade is the guideline?

There is no national qualification or license for becoming a soroban teacher. To teach children, though, you need to be able to use the soroban (Japanese abacus) properly yourself. The guideline many schools use is 3rd kyu or higher in the soroban grade exams (shuzan kentei). Kodomo School also requires “3rd kyu or higher” for soroban teaching staff (there are no particular requirements for calligraphy teaching staff).

If you are thinking “I’ve forgotten the grade I earned as a child,” there’s no need to worry. Your fingers remember more than you expect, and in training you refresh your skills while learning how to teach (face-to-face guidance, how to talk to children, and where they tend to get stuck).

A teacher’s day and what the job involves

15:15–	Arrive at the classroom and prepare for lessons (materials, the attendance list, arranging desks)
16:10–18:30	Lessons. Children come on a flexible drop-in system, arriving at a time that suits them and studying for 60 minutes. You look at each child’s progress, set their tasks, and mark their work on the spot. *From 15:00 at classrooms with an extra class
Until around 18:45	Clean-up and reporting to the head office

In addition, there is a materials hand-off (every other month), training sessions (twice a year, spring and fall), and area meal get-togethers (summer and winter). Classrooms are in familiar local places such as community centers.

The heart of the job is not so much “teaching” as finding each child’s “I did it!” and praising it. At Kodomo School, love for children matters more than soroban skills.

Training steps (from no experience to running a classroom)

1. Beginner course (1 session, 10:00–16:00)

   At our head office (Toyohashi), you learn the basic skills and the key points of teaching that help children enjoy learning on their own.

2. Hands-on classroom training (4 sessions, 15:15–18:30)

   Training in a real classroom, under an experienced teacher. You can add more sessions until you feel confident.

3. Follow-up course (1 session, 10:00–15:00)

   We clear up every question and worry that came up during hands-on training, down to the details. The head office keeps supporting you after training, too.

Training takes about two months. After that, you take charge of your own classroom. On top of this, every April and October we hold training sessions in each area (on self-esteem, understanding developmental disorders, lessons for young children, working with parents, and more).

How you work, and pay

Work days	Weekdays only, from 1 day a week (1–5 days a week). Weekends and national holidays are off
Hours	15:15–18:45
Pay	¥1,200–1,980 per hour (based on experience and skills) plus a commuting allowance. You are paid hourly during training, too
Work location	Decided together with you, within each area (Hamamatsu, Okazaki, Toyohashi)
Easy to keep going	More than 90% of our teachers have stayed with us. If you are raising children, on days you can’t make it you can move the lesson to a make-up lesson or swap with another teacher. With our “Free Supporter system,” you can also take a break without resigning and come back later

Kodomo School’s teachers range from their 20s to their 60s. Most teachers work 2 days a week (56%), followed by 3 days (28%) and 1 day (14%).

Who it suits

• People who love children and can share the joy of “I did it!”
• People who learned soroban long ago and would like to pick it up again
• Parents raising children who want to work 1–2 days a week on weekday afternoons
• People who want a job that helps the children of their community
• People who are honest, humble, and steadily hardworking (this matters more than how good you are at soroban)

For those who want to open their own classroom (Certified Soroban Teacher Course)

For people who want to open their own soroban classroom someday, the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Education in Local Communities (a general incorporated association) has run a “Certified Soroban Teacher Course.” In three levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced, you learn the history of the soroban, how it relates to Japan’s national curriculum guidelines, its benefits from the viewpoint of brain science, teaching methods based on child psychology, and teaching techniques such as face-to-face guidance, modoshi-zan (correcting a quotient that was set too high in division), and kyu-rissho (setting 9 as the quotient).

Beginner	3 hours × 1 day (3 hours total) · Course fee ¥5,000
Intermediate	3 hours × 3 days (9 hours total) · Course fee ¥10,000
Advanced	3 hours × 5 days (15 hours total) · Course fee ¥35,000
Certification fee	¥30,000 (paid once, for the highest level completed)

*The certification course has been paused since April 2023. When it resumes, we will announce it on this page and in our news. For more about the association, see the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Education in Local Communities page.

From participants (translated from Japanese): “I rediscovered what makes the soroban so good.” “I learned methods like modoshi-zan and kyu-rissho that I knew by name but didn’t know how to do.” “What stayed with me is that raising children = giving them confidence and encouragement = praising them.”

FAQ

I reached 2nd kyu as a child, but it’s been 20 years. Is that okay?

Yes. In fact, that describes most of our teachers. In training you refresh your skills and learn how to teach.

Do I need a teaching license or a childcare qualification?

No. For teaching soroban, the guideline is 3rd kyu or higher in the soroban grade exams; for calligraphy, there are no particular requirements.

Can I work just one day a week?

Yes. Each Kodomo School class meets once a week, so if you work one day a week, you take charge of one classroom. If you work two or more days, you take charge of several classrooms.

Can men apply?

All of our current classroom teachers are women, but men are welcome to apply. Please get in touch first.