How are Japanese schools?
This week I went to Gifu prefecture, Japan, specifically to the town of Tajimi. Why? Well my language school organised it, for our language and cultural benefit. And it was brilliant! So well organised - I see now why people like bus holidays just be taken direct to restaurants that are waiting for you, and then off to some sightseeing spot, just saves time so you can do more in a short time. (NB. Obviously it's fun to search for your own restaurant; this is just a different choice of holiday!)
Our trip was quite high-profile; we even met the major of the town, went in the city offices, and were clapped by all the pupils of the high school we spent 24 hours with. We each spent time with a designated class (mine was Class 3B, the 15 year olds of Heiwa ('peace') Junior High School), and it was fascinating to see the differences between UK and Japanese schools.
First of all, there's a lot more student-led activities in Japanese schools compared to UK schools. There were two class leaders (they are changed every six months), a oy and a girl, and they led all the non-study times. This included the school song in the morning, keeping timing of the private study period before the first lesson started, they organised two class games in the break, they gave greeting practices to the class, and then played them out for real as they welcomed the teachers to the front when it was their turn. On their command, we all bowed, and then chanted, 'Onegaishimasu', which kind of means 'thanks for taking the trouble to help us from here'. At the end of the lesson we stood up again and bowed, saying 'arigatou gozaimasu' (thank you very much) to the teacher. The same student-led approach happened in the sports time. The students do sports every day, and choose which sports club they are in. I joined the girls’ volleyball team. No teacher was present in our club, so the girls arranged it themselves: ball 'digging' practices outside, and then inside, and then playing dodgeball, (until we were told off by a teacher for not putting up the volleyball net).
Second, there were more varied activities than just lessons. For example there was the class song after the lunch break, (different to the school song in the morning). They always have one on the go, practicing it about six times before moving onto a new one. Each classroom has a piano in it, and the teacher told me there was always one student who could play the piano. So one student did, and the rest of the class sang, producing a wonderful sound in four-part harmony! It was absolutely incredible to listen to. And for 5 minutes either side we could hear the other Year 3 classes also singing the same song in their classrooms! The students seemed to really enjoy it, one or two even had their eyes closed they were so into it! Now in the UK, I don't think you would get all the tough 15-year old boys singing like that, or even the male teacher joining in loudly, in his PE kit! Another activity (apart from the games mentioned above) was the school cleaning. Now Japanese schools don't employ cleaners - the students do it all. For us, 20 minutes each day, after lunch. Each student knows which area they are responsible for, so just get on with it. This means kids don't drop litter, and again they respect the teachers by even cleaning their offices.
Third, because of the student-led decisions, there was a real group culture, and didn't seem to be the unfriendly cliques that come up in British schools, (or at least in mine, way back when). Everyone seemed to be friends, (apart from one little boy who kept very quiet and had his head engrossed in Harry Potter in every break, and was wearing an old wholly t-shirt, inside out, which made me feel quite sad for him). Even lunch was eaten in the classroom: the students moved the desks together to make two large tables, then each student brought out their own little colourful cloth and chopsticks, spread the cloth out on their desk, and then the student volunteers dished out the lunch at the front - rice, stew, yogurt and a carton of milk. Afterwards they did scissors-paper-stone game to see who would collect everyone's dishes - and that person took all the dishes to the sink, broke up the milk cartons in the right manner for recycling, and then a small team went out to the sinks outside the classroom to do the washing up. Impressed?!
After the school experience I went back with one of the teachers for my 'homestay' experience. The family was so relaxed, I was so surprised. I was also surprised that the husband really pulled his weight - we all went to the supermarket together, the husband then made sushi and sashimi (raw fish), rolling it out on the mat, while the wife made tempura (deep fried fish) and salad. The leftover sushi was ready for breakfast! They asked why I was learning Japanese (of course!), so I told them I hoped to work in Japan, for a church, (hoping they wouldn't feel too embarrassed seeing as they'd already told me how they liked drinking!) As a result, they thought they'd take me to see one of the town's main highlights: Japan's main Catholic monastery, which is actually where they got married 20 years ago. The monastery produces it's own wine from a vineyard outside, so all the wedding reception guests can also have wine from there! They were also kind in that the wife had got some books out from the library on England, so we could look at them and I could show her where I was from; and she also had some Roybos tea and milk ready for breakfast!
I slept in the spare room - a tatami mat room downstairs. Not a very good night's sleep as it was hot, and I thought I had been told the teenage boys were in the room behind the screen so I wasn't very relaxed; as it happened I was wrong! The whole family love basketball, and also having fun - before the couple had their two children (now 17 and 14), they liked going to Spain for the bars there! Just not very Japanese at all. They did give me a gift when I left, some bath salts; I had embarrassing forgotten to bring mine (English tea!), so sent it through the post yesterday.
Our trip was quite high-profile; we even met the major of the town, went in the city offices, and were clapped by all the pupils of the high school we spent 24 hours with. We each spent time with a designated class (mine was Class 3B, the 15 year olds of Heiwa ('peace') Junior High School), and it was fascinating to see the differences between UK and Japanese schools.
First of all, there's a lot more student-led activities in Japanese schools compared to UK schools. There were two class leaders (they are changed every six months), a oy and a girl, and they led all the non-study times. This included the school song in the morning, keeping timing of the private study period before the first lesson started, they organised two class games in the break, they gave greeting practices to the class, and then played them out for real as they welcomed the teachers to the front when it was their turn. On their command, we all bowed, and then chanted, 'Onegaishimasu', which kind of means 'thanks for taking the trouble to help us from here'. At the end of the lesson we stood up again and bowed, saying 'arigatou gozaimasu' (thank you very much) to the teacher. The same student-led approach happened in the sports time. The students do sports every day, and choose which sports club they are in. I joined the girls’ volleyball team. No teacher was present in our club, so the girls arranged it themselves: ball 'digging' practices outside, and then inside, and then playing dodgeball, (until we were told off by a teacher for not putting up the volleyball net).
Second, there were more varied activities than just lessons. For example there was the class song after the lunch break, (different to the school song in the morning). They always have one on the go, practicing it about six times before moving onto a new one. Each classroom has a piano in it, and the teacher told me there was always one student who could play the piano. So one student did, and the rest of the class sang, producing a wonderful sound in four-part harmony! It was absolutely incredible to listen to. And for 5 minutes either side we could hear the other Year 3 classes also singing the same song in their classrooms! The students seemed to really enjoy it, one or two even had their eyes closed they were so into it! Now in the UK, I don't think you would get all the tough 15-year old boys singing like that, or even the male teacher joining in loudly, in his PE kit! Another activity (apart from the games mentioned above) was the school cleaning. Now Japanese schools don't employ cleaners - the students do it all. For us, 20 minutes each day, after lunch. Each student knows which area they are responsible for, so just get on with it. This means kids don't drop litter, and again they respect the teachers by even cleaning their offices.
Third, because of the student-led decisions, there was a real group culture, and didn't seem to be the unfriendly cliques that come up in British schools, (or at least in mine, way back when). Everyone seemed to be friends, (apart from one little boy who kept very quiet and had his head engrossed in Harry Potter in every break, and was wearing an old wholly t-shirt, inside out, which made me feel quite sad for him). Even lunch was eaten in the classroom: the students moved the desks together to make two large tables, then each student brought out their own little colourful cloth and chopsticks, spread the cloth out on their desk, and then the student volunteers dished out the lunch at the front - rice, stew, yogurt and a carton of milk. Afterwards they did scissors-paper-stone game to see who would collect everyone's dishes - and that person took all the dishes to the sink, broke up the milk cartons in the right manner for recycling, and then a small team went out to the sinks outside the classroom to do the washing up. Impressed?!
After the school experience I went back with one of the teachers for my 'homestay' experience. The family was so relaxed, I was so surprised. I was also surprised that the husband really pulled his weight - we all went to the supermarket together, the husband then made sushi and sashimi (raw fish), rolling it out on the mat, while the wife made tempura (deep fried fish) and salad. The leftover sushi was ready for breakfast! They asked why I was learning Japanese (of course!), so I told them I hoped to work in Japan, for a church, (hoping they wouldn't feel too embarrassed seeing as they'd already told me how they liked drinking!) As a result, they thought they'd take me to see one of the town's main highlights: Japan's main Catholic monastery, which is actually where they got married 20 years ago. The monastery produces it's own wine from a vineyard outside, so all the wedding reception guests can also have wine from there! They were also kind in that the wife had got some books out from the library on England, so we could look at them and I could show her where I was from; and she also had some Roybos tea and milk ready for breakfast!
I slept in the spare room - a tatami mat room downstairs. Not a very good night's sleep as it was hot, and I thought I had been told the teenage boys were in the room behind the screen so I wasn't very relaxed; as it happened I was wrong! The whole family love basketball, and also having fun - before the couple had their two children (now 17 and 14), they liked going to Spain for the bars there! Just not very Japanese at all. They did give me a gift when I left, some bath salts; I had embarrassing forgotten to bring mine (English tea!), so sent it through the post yesterday.
posted by Henrietta at
8:57 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home