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Aug 21, 2023 · Yokohama, JAPAN – As each new school year begins, students worldwide likely wonder what school is like on the other side of the globe. Familiar classroom settings and routines can feel like just a small piece of the puzzle, a microcosm of the vast and diverse educational landscapes that span continents. Stepping into Kanagawa Sogo […]
- Dress Code
- No Janitors
- No Substitutes
- The Sasumata
- Kancho-Ing The Teacher
- Lunches
- Greetings
- Saturday School
- Summer Bummer
While only about 20 percent of public schools in the U.S. require uniforms, nearly all Japanese public school students suit up from junior high school on. The traditional uniform is a high-collared, black, military-style suit for boys and a beribboned sailor blouse and pleated skirt for girls (sorry ladies, there’s no pants option). These as-seen-i...
You won’t find a janitor in any Japanese school. Instead, industrious students and teachers roll up their sleeves and spend a few minutes every day mopping the floors, clapping erasers, and even scrubbing the toilets. Which means that students wouldn’t dream of putting gum under their chair or doodling on the desks—‘cause they know they’ll just hav...
Leaving 30 teenagers unsupervised in a classroom would be the stuff of nightmares in an American high school, but that’s exactly what happens when a teacher calls in sick in Japan. Japanese secondary schools rarely use substitutes; instead, students are trusted to study quietly and independently.
Even in a country as safe as Japan, schools have to prepare themselves for the possibility of a violent intruder. Enter the sasumata: an aluminum pole with two curved prongs at one end which is adapted from an ancient samurai weapon—and found today hanging in schools all across Japan. The idea is to use the tool to immobilize the trespasser (who is...
If the sasumata doesn’t work, there’s always the kancho. A favorite prank among elementary and kindergarten students, all foreigners coming to Japan to teach English are duly warned about getting kancho’d. How it works: kids clasp their cute little hands together, extend the pointer fingers, then aim them right at the unsuspecting teacher’s butthol...
Forget PB&J, it’s hot lunch every day at Japanese elementary and junior high schools. Students and teachers forgo cafeterias, instead eating all together at their desks in the classroom. Everyone eats the exact same meal, which is prepared by lunch ladies and served by students who take turns dishing out the rice, fish, and soup to their classmates...
Greetings are an integral part of Japanese culture, and school is no exception. At the beginning and end of each class, students stand and greet the teacher, then bow in unison. Many high schools also bring a little of the dojo into the classroom with a brief mokuso, (closed-eyes meditation) to allow students to center themselves before class.
One-day weekends were the norm for Japanese schools until 1992, when the government began phasing out Saturday lessons as part of a national push for a more relaxed educational system. Despite this, many school boards ignored the change and continue to hold extra lessons on Saturdays—and almost halfof all Tokyo elementary and junior high students s...
Japanese students do get a five-week summer vacation (about half as long as America’s), but calling it a “break” might be a stretch—unlike in America, the Japanese summer break is right in the middle of the school year, and though school is technically out, students and teachers will still typically come to school almost daily for club activities. ...
- Ellen Freeman
Jun 10, 2024 · The US school calendar. The American academic year typically begins in late August or early September and concludes in May or June. The school year is divided into two semesters, with a summer break, winter break, and shorter spring or fall breaks. Japan's school calendar. In contrast, the academic year in Japan starts in April and ends in March.
Sep 18, 2024 · Here are some key differences between Japanese high schools and American high schools. 1. Transportation. In Japan, students don't drive cars to school. In fact, you can only get a license at age 18. Instead, they walk, ride bicycles, or take public transportation. Transportation is a daily commitment. It's not uncommon for students to spend ...
- The School Year. The American School Year. Most schools in the west begin their school terms in September after a long summer break, with the school year running from September to May or June.
- Holidays. American schools definitely carry the advantage here (if you’re asking the kids of course) since they get more holidays than schools in Japan.
- Extra curriculars. It would seem that the approach to extra-curricular activities is different too, according to most students who have had experience with both.
- Uniform (and slippers) In Japanese public schools and American school kids can wear their own casual clothes, but starting in Junior school, Japanese kids must wear a uniform, while most public schools in America have no uniforms at all.
Ch. pter 2: Statu. ica5. North AmericaStatus of Japanese-language education in North AmericaIn North America, the number of institutions is 1,372 (down 14.6% compared to the previous (fiscal 2018) survey), the number of teachers is 4,675 people (down 0.2% compared to the previous survey), and the number of learners is 179,695 people (down 3.6% ...
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Aug 26, 2015 · Though Japanese schools may sometimes feel upside down and backwards, the truth is they are part of a flawed and fully functional system that successfully prepares 10,000,000 human beings a year for real life. Bear in mind that while some things could stand improvement, most things work fine and are simply different.
