23 Years Without Being a Homeroom Teacher and the Phrase 'It's Okay to Be Yourself'

What a teacher who became a homeroom teacher after 24 years wants to convey

There is a teacher who could not become a homeroom teacher for 23 years.
That teacher is me.

I was born with cerebral palsy.
I have physical disabilities and am a power wheelchair user.

I have been a junior high school math teacher for 25 years.
I have met many students, taught classes, and shared school life with them.

Even so, there was something that had been weighing on my mind for a long time.

Why can't I become a homeroom teacher?

I have never been given a clear reason.
That is precisely why it was so painful.

I didn't know what or how much I needed to strive for.
I didn't even know what I was lacking.

Time just kept passing by.

As I watched the teachers around me take on homeroom classes
and build their days with their students,
I felt envy, frustration, and emotions I couldn't put into words.

Even so, I kept saying it.

I want to be a homeroom teacher.

And then, in 2024.
For the first time, I was entrusted with being a homeroom teacher.

Although it was in the form of a co-homeroom teacher system,
for the first time, I was able to have a class with students.

Casual interactions in the classroom.
Morning greetings.
End-of-day meetings.

Each one of those moments was special to me.

And that year,
I was entrusted with an even greater role.

November 2025, the school trip to Taiwan.
I was assigned to be the lead teacher in charge of the trip.

There was only one main goal.
For everyone to return home safely.

As a result, I was able to achieve that goal.

This school trip was made possible not only by the students' hard work, but also by
the support of parents, the chaperones, the tour guides, and the cooperation of the entire school.

While I stood at the center of it all as the lead coordinator,
I was simultaneously facing a certain internal conflict.

'Am I really the right person to be the lead coordinator?'

There was the possibility of having to wait on the bus in places where movement was difficult.
Leading an overseas trip in an electric wheelchair.

The weight of the responsibility and the anxiety about my own limitations.

The reason I was still able to move forward
was because I didn't carry it all alone.

Checking traffic lines
Sharing barrier-free information
Considering travel routes

I shared these with the travel agency and all the chaperones,
and we proceeded with preparations as a team.

We included an item called 'Mr. Mito's movements' in the detailed plan,
to visualize the necessary accommodations in advance.

By doing so, I was able to stand on-site not as 'someone being supported,'
but as 'someone fulfilling a role.'

Before the school trip, a student asked me this question:

'Teacher, how do you get on the airplane?'

By actually showing them how, I feel that something
that could not be conveyed through words alone was truly communicated.

Through this experience, there is something I feel strongly.

People change through relationships and their environment.

That is not limited to the students.
I, as a teacher, have changed myself.

If the environment hadn't changed,
if the opportunity hadn't been given,

I would not be who I am today.

In a survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology,
Akita Prefecture's initiatives were introduced as a 'good example of reasonable accommodation.'

However, this is not the result of individual effort.

System
Understanding
Environment

These are things that can only be realized when they overlap.

That is precisely why I think this way.

Regardless of whether one has a disability,
creating an environment where everyone can take on a role
leads to strengthening education itself.

In December 2025, I conveyed this to a representative from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

“If there is a common understanding of reasonable accommodation,
teachers and staff with disabilities can also take on supervisory duties.”

This is not just my own story.
It is a story about the future of education.

This time, my journey so far has been featured
in an article distributed by Kyodo News.

The article has been published in newspapers nationwide,
giving me the opportunity to have it read by many people.

In closing.

A teacher who could not become a homeroom teacher for 23 years
became one and served as the lead supervisor for a school trip.

This is not a special story.

It is simply a story that when relationships and environments change,
people change.

If this experience
can lead to someone else taking a step forward.

I would be happy
if there were opportunities to speak with many people directly.

I share this experience
in places where it is needed.