How are Japanese schools different from America’s?

The only experience I have with the American public school system is when I was a student in the ’70s – ’80s in West-central Florida.
But I’m sure Florida’s public schools aren’t too different from schools in other parts of America. And even though I graduated from high school in 1988 I guess American schools aren’t too different today (with the exception, of course, of fashion and music tastes. And there are probably computers in U.S. classrooms now.)

My experience with the Japanese school system is from having three teenagers who attended Japanese public schools from kindergarten to the high school they’re currently attending (college).

Some differences between these countries’ school systems are:

– In Japan, the school year begins in April and ends in March. In America, the school year starts around September and ends in June. Also, students in Japan have fewer days off than American students.

– There are no school buses in Japan. In Japanese public kindergartens, mothers take their kids to school (often by bicycle). Public elementary schools and junior high schools are close enough for the students to walk to* (*in urban areas, like Tokyo, students must walk to school…no bicycles allowed. But in more rural areas of Japan, kids are often permitted by ride their bikes to school.)
High schools in Japan require passing an Entrance Exam to attend…so these schools usually require the students to take a short commute by train.
(Private schools in Japan, on the other hand, aren’t usually within walking distance from the students’ homes…so kids who attend private schools (even elementary school) can be seen commuting by train with their classmates.)

– In Japanese public schools, elementary school kids wear street clothes to school (like in American schools), but starting in junior high, they must wear a school uniform.

– In Japanese schools, everyone must remove their shoes at the entrance and change into 上履き (indoor shoes).

– In Japanese elementary and junior high schools students and teachers all eat the same school lunch. There are no choices.
In most high schools, students and teachers are required to bring a 弁当 (packed lunch) from home.
And very few Japanese schools have a cafeteria. Students eat lunch in their classroom at their desk.
In American schools, there are “lunch ladies” who prepare the school lunches and then serve the students, but in Japan, the “lunch ladies” cook the lunch but students take turns serving lunch to their classmates.

– Japanese school children don’t take a shower after gym class.

– There are no janitors in Japanese schools. The students clean their school everyday.

– In junior high and high school in Japan, almost every student joins a after-school club or team.

– 夏休み (summer vacation) is about five weeks long in Japan. It was about twice as long in America, if I remember correctly.
And during summer vacation, Japanese students have to go to school many times for their school club / team practice. Also, Japanese students must do a lot of homework during summer vacation.

– In American schools, there are no 入学式 (“School Entrance Ceremony”), and 卒業式 (“School Graduation”) isn’t until high school has been completed.
But in Japan, there are both 入学式 (“School Entrance Ceremonies“) and 卒業式 (“School Graduations“) for kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, high school and college.

– In America, school grades are counted as 1 -5 for 小学校 (elementary school), 6-8 for 中学校 (junior high) and 9-12 for 高等学校 (high school).
In Japan, 小学校 (elementary school) is six years (grades 小1-6), 中学校 (junior high) is three years (grades 中1-3 (equal to grades 7-9)), and 高等学校 (high school) is also three years (grades 高校 1-3 (equal to grades 10-12)).

There are many other differences…such as the way homework and tests are administered and checked, the manner that classes are arranged, the fact that Japanese students stand and greet their teacher at the beginning and end of each class, the way that students are trusted in empty classrooms alone…even in kindergarten.

I’d say that schools in Japan and America have more differences than similarities. And I think education and school life that my children are getting in Japan is superior to what I had in America.

53.3% built

Yesterday was the last day of my kids’ spring vacation. And in Japan, after spring holidays the new school starts in early April.

So, today will be my daughters’ first day in the next grade. My oldest is starting 高校２年 (11th grade), my second daughter will begin 高校１年 (10th grade), and my youngest is now in 中学校２年 (8th grade).

They grow up so fast!

As I said, my second daughter is starting 高校１年 (10th grade). It’s the equivalent to tenth grade in America…but a literal translation would be “high school year 1” because it’s the first year of high school in Japan.

So today is her 高校入学式 (High School Entrance Ceremony).

Last year at this time my oldest daughter had her 高校入学式 (High School Entrance Ceremony) on the same day that my youngest had her 中学校入学式 (Junior High School Entrance Ceremony).
So last year, I went to our oldest daughter’s ceremony and my wife went to our youngest’s ceremony (Click here to read the post I wrote about that day).

But today, both my wife and I will be attending our second daughter’s 高校入学式 (High School Entrance Ceremony).

おめでとう (Congratulations) to her!

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I titled this post “53.3% built” because the Tokyo Sky Tree is now standing at 338 meters (about 1,109 feet) tall.

That makes it taller than the 333 meter tall Tokyo Tower and the tallest structure in Japan.

When it’s completed in late 2011, it will stand 634 meters (about 2,080 feet)…which will make it the world’s tallest tower.

338 meters is 53.3% of 634 meters…hence this post’s title.

I went by the Tokyo Sky Tree yesterday, so here are some of the photos I took (as with all the photos on my blog, click on them to enlarge):

When completed, the Tokyo Sky Tree will be about twice as tall as it is now!

I held my camera diagonally for this shot.

Earthquake

Today (Saturday), was my youngest daughter’s School’s Open House…the day the parents can come watch the classes.

About eight years ago Japan stopped having Saturday be a “school day”…except for special occasions.

Days that parents are expected to come (Open House, Sports Day, etc) are usually on Saturdays…and then the next school day (usually the following Monday) is a day off for the kids.

So my youngest doesn’t have school this Monday.

Anyways, I went to watch her band practice (she plays the trombone) and then her Health Class.

Before we went to her school this morning, though, there was a big 地震 (earthquake) in Northern Japan.

It registered a 6 (out of 7) on the 震度 Japanese Earthquake Scale at the epicenter. It only registered about a “2” in Tokyo…but our house was swaying.

Up in 岩手県 (Iwate Prefecture) and 宮城県 (Miyagi Prefecture), the areas at the epicenter, there were landslides and a broken bridge.

So far, three people have been confirmed dead. One man died when he got hit by a falling rock and another man died in a landslide. Possibly the most tragic death is that of a man who panicked and ran outside…where he was hit by a truck!