Japanese Classrooms
Well this post probably should have gone up sooner! This time around I want to talk about the classrooms in Japan. Obviously my experience is limited, and anything I write about is from my personal experience in a semi-high-level all-girls senior high school, so I'm sure some things don't carry to all Japanese high schools, but here we go!
To start, I'll mention that students must take entrance exams to get into senior high school. It's not uncommon for students to take the tests at multiple schools in case they don't get accepted into the one they want. If a student passes the exam, they're placed in a class based on their academic performance. For example, if a student scores really well on the exam and is admitted, they may be placed in class 1-1, or Year One - Class One. Students who are admitted but fell in the lower tier of scoring may be placed in 1-4, or Year One - Class Four. Obviously this depends on the size of the school, how many classes there are, and the class size. On average I think most classrooms are between 30 and 40 students.
Now, students take all different subjects in senior high school, just like in other countries. Math, science, history, literature, etc. But instead of students moving between classrooms, the teachers are the ones that move about. Every class is assigned a homeroom teacher who runs the class for a brief time in the morning and at the end of the day, taking care of class business, announcements, and so on. When a teacher starts a class, the class will stand at a word from the class representative and bow, and the teacher bows back, exchanging a greeting such as 'onegaishimasu' which is difficult to translate properly in this context. Basically it's like, 'look after me, please teach us well, please be good students' that kind of thing. The process is again repeated at the end of class with the teachers and students bowing again.
Now inside the classroom, there are rows of desks, each with a number. Again based on academic performance, students are assigned ranking within their classes, so a class of 37 students will have students ranked 1-37. This number corresponds to a lot, so they always know their number. Sometimes teachers call numbers instead of names when wanting someone to answer a question, or the number is the order in which students will have test returned. Basically it's sorting the class numerically rather than alphabetically, which is what I'm used to in America.
Also chalkboards/blackboards are the norm in Japan. I have never seen a whiteboard anywhere. Of course there are different colors of chalk available to make things more interesting [I like using yellow!] At the end of class, the designated student will erase the board, rather than the teacher. This I found interesting. Because of this, there is also a way to clean the chalkboard erasers. My school has electric ones, which are small boxes that you turn on, and run the eraser over a small vent which sucks all the chalk dust off of it. Neat.
The one thing I don't quite understand in classrooms is storage. Students have desks, which they can store things in, and they also have a hook on the desk where they hang their backpack or bag. But then outside in the hallway are another set of hangers for bags, possibly for coats and P.E. uniforms (just like students all wear matching uniforms to school, they also have matching P.E. uniforms), and a small locker for each student. I only ever had a locker in America, switching my books in and out between classes, so I can't imagine how much stuff these students have if they have so many storage spaces!
Last bit I want to cover, for no real reason, is what you'll find in a students desk. In addition to the typical books and notebooks, and of course a lunch bag/box and thermos, there are some things I don't remember really seeing in America. First, pencil cases. OK this isn't that weird, but every student always has a small BAG of pencils on their desk, usually with some character or pattern on it. And inside is more pens than pencils. Primarily multi-colored pens because whenever students or teachers check papers, they always use a RED pen (not me, I hate using red for that, so I use teal! Much friendlier color). And erasers. Everyone uses mechanical pencils, but they don't have erasers at the top. Or if they do, no one uses them. Instead every student has a small block eraser that they use. White-out correction tape, tab markers, and highlighters are also common pieces in a student's pencil bag. Then there's the weird plastic sheet that many students have. It is literally just a thick plastic sheet, usually with some kind of design or character on it, but they just put it under documents when they write. I don't really know why...I found one in my desk and I use it sometimes, but I don't feel like it serves a purpose... Files are different too. I'm used to 3-ring binders and papery pocket folders, but that's not the case here. Japan uses 2-hole punches for binders (including ones made of the same stuff as our pocket folders back in America) and folders are called 'clear files'. They don't have pockets or anything, it's just a file folder. But they're made of plastic so I have found I prefer these to the pocket folders as those always ripped on me or got wrecked from overuse. Not so with clear files! Students also sometimes have seat cushions at their desks, and I can't blame them considering they're sitting in these hard wooden chairs all day, and of course blankets for the winter. My school is all girls, and even in winter (when rooms are kept in the 60s) they wear their uniforms: a skirt and tights. No wonder they get cold. So they all bring blankets to wrap around their legs in the classroom, many of those said blankets equipped to snap or hook so that they stay wrapped around the waist. Neat huh?
OK, that's all I have for Japanese classrooms! Some aspects are similar to American schools, but others seem vastly different!
I remember when I had a trapper-keeper...anyone else remember those? I wonder if they ever got to Japan....
To start, I'll mention that students must take entrance exams to get into senior high school. It's not uncommon for students to take the tests at multiple schools in case they don't get accepted into the one they want. If a student passes the exam, they're placed in a class based on their academic performance. For example, if a student scores really well on the exam and is admitted, they may be placed in class 1-1, or Year One - Class One. Students who are admitted but fell in the lower tier of scoring may be placed in 1-4, or Year One - Class Four. Obviously this depends on the size of the school, how many classes there are, and the class size. On average I think most classrooms are between 30 and 40 students.
Now, students take all different subjects in senior high school, just like in other countries. Math, science, history, literature, etc. But instead of students moving between classrooms, the teachers are the ones that move about. Every class is assigned a homeroom teacher who runs the class for a brief time in the morning and at the end of the day, taking care of class business, announcements, and so on. When a teacher starts a class, the class will stand at a word from the class representative and bow, and the teacher bows back, exchanging a greeting such as 'onegaishimasu' which is difficult to translate properly in this context. Basically it's like, 'look after me, please teach us well, please be good students' that kind of thing. The process is again repeated at the end of class with the teachers and students bowing again.
Now inside the classroom, there are rows of desks, each with a number. Again based on academic performance, students are assigned ranking within their classes, so a class of 37 students will have students ranked 1-37. This number corresponds to a lot, so they always know their number. Sometimes teachers call numbers instead of names when wanting someone to answer a question, or the number is the order in which students will have test returned. Basically it's sorting the class numerically rather than alphabetically, which is what I'm used to in America.
Also chalkboards/blackboards are the norm in Japan. I have never seen a whiteboard anywhere. Of course there are different colors of chalk available to make things more interesting [I like using yellow!] At the end of class, the designated student will erase the board, rather than the teacher. This I found interesting. Because of this, there is also a way to clean the chalkboard erasers. My school has electric ones, which are small boxes that you turn on, and run the eraser over a small vent which sucks all the chalk dust off of it. Neat.
The one thing I don't quite understand in classrooms is storage. Students have desks, which they can store things in, and they also have a hook on the desk where they hang their backpack or bag. But then outside in the hallway are another set of hangers for bags, possibly for coats and P.E. uniforms (just like students all wear matching uniforms to school, they also have matching P.E. uniforms), and a small locker for each student. I only ever had a locker in America, switching my books in and out between classes, so I can't imagine how much stuff these students have if they have so many storage spaces!
Last bit I want to cover, for no real reason, is what you'll find in a students desk. In addition to the typical books and notebooks, and of course a lunch bag/box and thermos, there are some things I don't remember really seeing in America. First, pencil cases. OK this isn't that weird, but every student always has a small BAG of pencils on their desk, usually with some character or pattern on it. And inside is more pens than pencils. Primarily multi-colored pens because whenever students or teachers check papers, they always use a RED pen (not me, I hate using red for that, so I use teal! Much friendlier color). And erasers. Everyone uses mechanical pencils, but they don't have erasers at the top. Or if they do, no one uses them. Instead every student has a small block eraser that they use. White-out correction tape, tab markers, and highlighters are also common pieces in a student's pencil bag. Then there's the weird plastic sheet that many students have. It is literally just a thick plastic sheet, usually with some kind of design or character on it, but they just put it under documents when they write. I don't really know why...I found one in my desk and I use it sometimes, but I don't feel like it serves a purpose... Files are different too. I'm used to 3-ring binders and papery pocket folders, but that's not the case here. Japan uses 2-hole punches for binders (including ones made of the same stuff as our pocket folders back in America) and folders are called 'clear files'. They don't have pockets or anything, it's just a file folder. But they're made of plastic so I have found I prefer these to the pocket folders as those always ripped on me or got wrecked from overuse. Not so with clear files! Students also sometimes have seat cushions at their desks, and I can't blame them considering they're sitting in these hard wooden chairs all day, and of course blankets for the winter. My school is all girls, and even in winter (when rooms are kept in the 60s) they wear their uniforms: a skirt and tights. No wonder they get cold. So they all bring blankets to wrap around their legs in the classroom, many of those said blankets equipped to snap or hook so that they stay wrapped around the waist. Neat huh?
OK, that's all I have for Japanese classrooms! Some aspects are similar to American schools, but others seem vastly different!
I remember when I had a trapper-keeper...anyone else remember those? I wonder if they ever got to Japan....
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