I've spent most of this last week visiting schools for students of all ages, from elementary to college. The schools are not so much different than ours... except for lunch and clean up.
At lunch time everyone stays in the classroom. Six students, wearing surgical gowns and masks, run to the cafeteria and bring lunch back to everyone in class. Everyone-- the students, the teacher and guests like me, eats the same thing. On this day we ate rice, dried anchovies with pickled vegetables, and a broth with tofu pieces. No choice, no complaining, and everything on your plate must be eaten! (On the next day one of the American teachers played sick in order to skip the lunch.)
After lunch is clean up time. Everyone has a job. The schools employ no custodians or janitors. Students do it all. The desks are moved every day and the floor mopped by the students. Don't forget the bathrooms! The principal at the school said clean up was the most important aspect of school because it taught diligence and community cooperation.
One other thing that was different is that on every campus we visited I did not see a piece of paper or litter or any sort on the ground. If they can do it, why can't we?
5 comments:
Hi Mr. Lahr,
That's a pretty different curriculum from ours. Did you enjoy spending time in a Japanese classroom? It sounds pretty different from ours. I do think it's cool how they all clean up afterwards, but do they have classroom periods too?
-Shadow
Hi again Uncle Jeff,
Are their school days longer than ours? How is the discipline, do they have any of the same problems we have? The clean up probably gives the students a feeling of ownership of their school so they're more likely to be respectful of the property and take pride in their campus. Is that what you've observed?
Yes, their day is much like our school day. They have fifty minute classes in the morning and early in the afternoon. They then have "club" which is like an elective. Some clubs are traditional Japanese arts like: tea ceremony, origami, and martial arts. Other classes include music and art. But the most popular ones are the sports clubs: basketball, softball and baseball, volleyball and table tennis.
At the elementary school I did not witness any misbeavior other than the typical rowdy boys. At the middle school there were more student disruptions. The teachers repsonded more as parents than we're allowed to in the U.S. (if you know what I mean). But overall the students are very well behaved. Everyone has all their materials, everyone sits up straight in their seats. I did not see one cell phone or Ipod. (In fact, on Shikoku, I hardly saw anyone on a cell phone.)
An interesting side note, the Japanese government hires teachers from the U.S. and other English speaking countries to come assist the Japanese langauage teachers so that the students can hear the English language as it is spoken outside of Japan.
Yum, anchovies. Kinda makes me appreciate food from the DC :)
Hello Mr. Lahr,
Yes! We should probably help clean up the school. I mean we shouldn't do all the work, but I think we should do as much as possible! It never hurts to clean up and we learn how to clean up properly!
Your EPIC Student,
Akash Salam
Ultimate Math Matician
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