“The melting pot” was a metaphor ever used to describe the United States. The trend nowadays is changed to call it “The salad bowl.” That better describes about their multiculturalism, to respect diversity, tolerate others and recognize individual differences. People in the United States coexist with each other, not melting to assimilate.

This January, the Trump administration has begun. The United Stares now has got the world’s attention. Especially, the world is watching how the new president is going to lead the country with his words and pledges, that have been concerned by many, that could endanger some of the country’s known values such as equality and diversity. How this impacts children and education there? How parents feel about it?

In Japan, parenting or education tends to be undifferentiated. How are parenting and education like in the US now?

With our questions, we have made trips to two significant cities in the US, San Francisco & Bay Area, and New York City, for interviewing 11 families, and educators from schools and museums.

This whole year, we would like to report the real voices of those people who all generously gave us their time to tell us their stories to share.

We will start with two families from San Francisco & Bay Area this week. We will then keep adding two families every week for the next 6 weeks introducing “Diversity of families” from the United States. Voices of educators will follow after.

• James Sword and Jen Hein Demause,
  and their children Milo, 3, & Elliott, 1month
• Fanny and Jose Infante,
  and their children Isaac,16, & Estrella, 8
• Bobby Watts and Miyuki Noma,
  and their children Colter, 5, and Emmett, 3
• Michelle and Collin Delaney,
  and their children Saoirse, 5, and Kayleigh, 2
• Jessica Lifland and Darragh Caffrey and
  their daughter, Katie Caffrey, 5
• Jennifer King and Emmanuel Weisgant and
  their children, Emile 8, Remington 5 ½, and Maya, 18



• Jacky Tran and Tim Saputo, and
  their daughter Antonia Saputo, 1
• Jeffrey and Stacy Cousino, and
  their children Gerard, 8, and Graham, 4
• Mohan and Holiday Kumar, and
  their children Layla, 5, and Alexei, 5

• Douglas Zimmerman Journalist /Photojournalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His understanding about the importance in education was instilled by his mother who was a career teacher and school administrator in public schools in in the state of Connecticut in the United States. As a photojournalist, Douglas has spent the past fifteen years covering football (soccer) culture in the United States and at the FIFA World Cup. He also works as an online photo editor and reporter for SFGate.com, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Ayumi Nakanishi Photojournalist /Documentary photographer and filmmaker. She has traveled to 40 countries to meet families & communities, especially documenting children issues. Her passion led her based in Jakarta, Indonesia for the last 10 years working on a long-term documentary film project on a punk commune giving a helping hand to others including children. Her film has been screened in Japan and Indonesia.