Education in Konoha
Headcanon that with each new hokage came a new edition of the textbooks used in the academy’s curriculum. Each one would reflect what each hokage believed was important for the next generations to know.
Hashirama’s era would have provided straightforward education on world history, including the origins of chakra and information on the Warring States period that led up to the founding of the shinobi villages. This foundational history would have been important since there would not be much Konoha-specific history at this point. Rather, the educaiton would focus on encouraging students to contribute to making the village the best that it can be because the next generation was going to play a huge part in whether or not Konoha was successful.
Tobirama’s era would focus on much the same content as Hashirama’s but with a few tweaks here and there. It would be shifted to include an even heavier focus on learning basic ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu with the understanding that learning to fight and defend would be of utmost importance on the field for budding young shinobi.
Hiruzen’s era would be the most revisionist, removing mentions of Kaguya and chakra origins completely and presenting rather biased views influenced by the aftermath of the First and Second Great Ninja Wars.
Minato would aim to change this, desiring the next generation’s curriculum to focus more on the potential for peace, but he did not spend enough time in office to enact many of these changes other than for instructors to put an even greater emphasis on the importance of teamwork.
After Hiruzen resumed office yet again following Minato’s death, any changes to the curriculum (other than the importance of teamwork) were quickly retconned and returned to Hiruzen’s original plan. During these twelve to thirteen years, he likely also made some minor tweaks that included undercurrents of Uchiha discrimination, at the insistence of Danzo, in order to attempt to keep the Uchiha pinned down even as young as academy-age.
Tsunade opted to change much of this upon becoming hokage, removing any anti-Uchiha subtext especially in light of the tensions surrounding Sasuke’s defection and the aftereffects of the Uchiha massacre. She also would have included a brief chapter on the importance of medical ninjutsu, as well as specialty training at large so that teams could be more diverse and well-rounded so that they may be better prepared for anything they may encounter on the battlefield.
Kakashi’s era would likely be the most progressive, bringing back all of the information on Kaguya and the origins of chakra in light of the events of the Fourth Great Ninja War. It would also include basic information on the jinchuriki and the Tailed Beasts, thus contributing to a rise in both acceptance and popularity among the next generation’s youths for both but the Tailed Beasts especially, which in turn would help commerce by creating a veritable marker for Tailed Beast merchandise like Kurama plushies. With the rise in technology, as well, Kakashi would ensure that curriculum is keeping up with the times and taking advantage of all the new technology available to them to make learning more streamlined, interactive, and accessible.
Naruto’s era would probably expand on these concepts even further, especially in terms of technology, but also focus even more on unity, respect, and teamwork among peers. He would work very closely with Iruka to create a curriculum that ensures that every student feels as if they are worth something and can contribute something to the team, seeing as he for so long was cast aside and treated like garbage during his own school years and he would never want anyone else to feel that way ever again. I feel like this would also come with plenty of school assemblies on the dangers of bullying, among plenty of other things to also keep the next generation safe, alert, and educated on not just history and training but also on basic life skills that anyone would benefit from whether they were a ninja or a civilian.
