Tuesday, January 24, 2012

What are the middle and high schools like in Japan


What are the middle and high schools like in Japan?
I'm just curious. LIke how long per year are classes? How many breaks are there and is it true there is school on saturdays? And do most students walk to school, take the bus, or driven? I have a big interest in Japan and its culture and society life. Thanks! Feel free to provide extra information on interesting facts of Japanese school life! (:
Japan - 4 Answers
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1 :
Without going into too much detail, its kinda like anywhere else (western countries). Notable difference I will point out: - Most schools host lunch time in their home rooms - Teachers rarely discipline bad behavior effectively - Most students take bus or train or obviously they walk, if they live within walking distance, I have never seen anyone dropped off at school, unless its a international school. - Sometimes you'll find teachers don't have teaching rooms they always teach in, they are prone to travel to different classes. - Extracurricular activities are just a must, everyone does them - After school hours you'll often see groups of school kids jogging around the street, especially in chiyoda ku, tokyo - Middle High school is more strict than high school - Girls in high school normally roll their skirts up, and boys unbutton their shirts - Schools in tokyo, don't know if anywhere else: Supply free milk lol. - Some schools don't have outdoor playing grounds, in break time, they just hang out in classes and hallways - SLeeping in class is very popular
2 :
Japanese school has a month-long summer break, a New Year's break, and since their school year ends in March and starts in April; a short Spring break. The school day usually lasts from 8:30-3:00, but they have numerous days when students go home early. I do think that there is still a half day of school on Saturday; mothers got upset when they last tried to change this-they didn't want their kids to be at home since it was time with their spouse. Schools require students to participate in some type of "club" activities- sports or other interest groups. This takes place before and after school and often on weekends. It would be rare to be driven to school, most students walk or take the train and/or bus. Students must take exams for junior and senior high. If you want to go to a good school, you must test well to be admitted. Students also wear uniforms, which are also required to attend away from school events. Each school's uniform is unique and there used to be a kind of inspection each day to make sure you are wearing all required parts of the uniform. If your name tag or neck wear was missing, you received a demerit. Too many demerits and you would be disciplined by suspension or expulsion. Most school buildings look alike: cream stucco 2-3 story buildings with an adjoining packed-dirt area for practicing sports. Since space is limited in Japan, they try to use the entire land area for some purpose, so no ornamental grass! Almost all schools have at least one cherry tree, which usually blooms around the change of the school year and appears in graduation photos. Because the blossoms are so beautiful, but fall quickly, they evoke bittersweet memories of moving on to the next step and leaving friends behind.
3 :
The Japanese school year is from April to March with three main breaks during the school year. Summer Vacation is approx 5-6 weeks long in late July and August. Winter Vacation is 2 weeks long in late December and early January and Spring Vacation is 1 week long in late March. Classes are usually either 45 minutes long or 50 minutes long depending on which schedule the school uses for the day. There are usually 5-6 classes a day at school. Classes typically start after morning homeroom at around 8:30 am and the last class is usually around 3:30 or 4 pm. A lot of kids have club activities and these will take place before school early in the morning from 6:30 am - 7:30 am and after school from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm. There used to be school on Saturdays when I first started teaching 10 years ago but this stopped several years ago. The students are sometimes required to attend school on a Saturday for an Open Day, Lesson Observation Day or Sports Day, but this is rare and only about 3 times a year. Most students at my school either walk to school or ride their bicycle. The interesting things about middle school in Japan for me is they have a prepared school lunch and they eat lunch in their home room with the home room teacher. They are not allowed to bring food to school like students in Australia. They also have 20 minutes of Cleaning time a day where all the students and teachers clean the whole school.
4 :
LIke how long per year are classes? > 7-8 hours in a normal school day. can extend up to 9-10 hours during busy days. How many breaks are there and is it true there is school on saturdays? > we have a 1 hour lunch break. yes, in our school we have a 3 hour class during saturdays. and a sport training during the afternoons if you have one. And do most students walk to school, take the bus, or driven? > I ride a train from the house, then walk from the station. Others: >I studied in a public middle school and private high school. >I guess we had a more "strict" training and education from other high schools. Our school is living to it's reputation of all students making it to big universities such as Keio and Todai. >In our school, boys and girls are separated. >Extra curricular is a must only in middle school and not in high school. >Foods served by the school often DOES NOT taste good. >Vending machines are always a substitute to the school food. Or your packed lunch if you have one. >We are not allowed to go to movie houses, play billiards, go to bar while wearing our uniform. >middle school is MORE FUN than high school LoL (^o^;)
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