Hello again everybody! I know it's been a hot minute since I've updated this blog (and by a hot minute I mean two months...) and for that, I apologize! It has been very busy on this end but I'm back today with an interesting topic! American vs. Japanese schools! Please note that I can only really speak on Junior high schools, as I only work in a single junior high. However, all Japanese schools, especially junior and high schools, tend to be quite similiar.
The School Year and Grade Levels
In America, the school year typically starts in August and ends in May or June.
In Japan, the school year starts in April and ends in March. They have about a month off for summer vacation in August, about two weeks off in the winter (end of December to early January), and another week or so between each school year in the spring. However, students still usually have to come to school for club activities and they often have a lot of homework over their breaks.
As for grade levels, junior high schools in America are usually grades 6 to 8. In Japan, junior high schools are grades 7 to 9. They are called first, second, and third years though.
Getting to School
In America, most students take school buses or are driven to school by their parents.
In Japan, students regularly walk or bike to school, even when in elementary school. There are very few (if any) "school" buses depending on location (there are no real school buses, they would mostly be regular city buses that come close to the school), and their parents do not drive them, even in winter.
There are some exceptions. For example, one of my second years hurt her foot and had to use crutches so her parents drove her to school (but only for about a week). Students that live far away may also be able to take a bus closer to their schools.
School Uniforms
Most schools in America, aside from religious or private schools, do not have or require uniforms. Any dress code they do have may seem strict to the students but it is actually pretty relaxed compared to Japan.
Once students move to junior high school in Japan, they are required to wear uniforms. There are summer and winter uniforms as well as a track suit (or informal) version. At my school, the students informal and summer uniform are the same thing but that isn't always the case.
In the winter at my school, my students arrive in their formal, warmer winter uniform but change to their informal track uniforms for classes such as gym or art to keep them clean.
Uniforms often have some sort of color coding to distinguish grade level too. My first year's name tags, as well as the name embroidered on their informal uniforms, are red. My second years are green and my third years are blue. Below is a picture of my school's informal uniforms. These are NOT current students (as we are not allowed to post images of our students). The formal uniforms are not my school, as my boys wear western jackets and ties and my girls have light blue bows instead of red. But this will give you an idea of what Japanese school uniforms look like.
There is no makeup, nail polish, jewelry, or dyed hair allowed and if girls have long hair, they have to wear it up. Because of this, you will see a lot of girls that just keep their hair cut short.
Shoes
In America, staff and students do not change their shoes when they enter school.
In Japan, there are designated areas for staff and students to enter where they remove their outdoor shoes, step up into the school, and put on their indoor shoes before placing their outdoor shoes into their assigned cubby or locker. This keeps the school cleaner. Here is a picture of the bottom of my indoor shoes. I've been wearing them almost every day for almost five months now and they're still pretty clean!
The students (at least at my school/in my city) get their indoor shoes from the school so they all have the same pair. They are color coded for each grade. First years are red, second years are green, and third years are blue just like their name tags mentioned above. You can see the style of shoe in the classroom image above.
Classrooms and Teacher Rotations
In America, teachers have their own rooms and students move for each class.
In Japan, it is the opposite. Students are assigned a homeroom and they will stay in their homeroom all day while the teachers come to them each period. This means students keep their stuff in their classrooms and don't need lockers. Students do still move for classes such as P.E., home economics, music, science, and art though. Because of this, all teachers have desks in what is called the 職員室 (Shokuinshitsu, or staff room).
In regards to teachers, in America, they can stay with and retire from one school if they want to.
In Japan, teachers are forced to rotate schools every so many years. I have two teachers at my school that have been here for almost 10 years and they are unicorns! Usually, teachers are moved anywhere between every 1 and 4 years depending on their certification.
Air Conditioning and Heat
American schools have both centrail air conditioning and heating. This means the temperature is controlled and the entire school stays warm or cool depending on the season. Buildings in America are also insultaed to help with this.
In Japan, buildings are NOT insulated. There is also no central AC or heat. This means that in the summer, all the school windows are open. No rooms (at least at my school) have AC except for the nurse's room. In the winter, the classrooms are heated by standard kerosene heaters (just like houses and apartments). However, the hallways are not and easily dip to single digit Celsius so we do our best to stay out of them.
Starting Class and Formalities
Classes in America just start when the bell rings, the teacher usually going right into the session. In the hallways, students also don't have to greet every teacher they see.
In Japan the students stand up, greet the teacher(s), bow, and sit down. Classes end the same way.
Students are also expected to greet teachers in the hallway with "ohayou gozaimasu" (good morning) or "konnichiwa" (hello/good afternoon). Even if this means saying it 7 times in a row to each teacher. They must also knock and say "shitsurei shimasu" (excuse me) when entering the staff room and "shitsurei shimashita" (excuse me past tense) when exiting.
Tests
In America, teachers in each class can give tests whenever they feel like it. They schedule their own tests and students have to take them, even if this means having a different class test every day.
In Japan, there are specified test days where students have tests in all main subjects. The entire week leading up to this test usually consists of the students just studying during each period for that class's test.
Failing
In America, if you don't do well enough in school (fail tests, don't turn in homework, etc.) you get held back and you have to pass your classes to move forward.
In Japan, students cannot fail a grade. A student can fail every test, not turn in homework, and skip classes and still move on to the next grade. So if a student isn't doing well, they just get further and further behind and it's really hard to catch up. This is one of the only downsides I've seen to the Japanese school system.
Lunch
In America, students eat in a cafeteria and not all classes/students eat at the same time. Students can bring lunches or eat the school lunch. The school usually has a few options and students don't have to eat anything they don't like.
Japanese lunch is made away from the school and delivered to the schools. All classes eat at the same time and students eat in their homerooms. When the bell rings for lunch, a few students from each class carry the food, milk, and plates/utensils to their classrooms. Then students serve each other and, once everyone has been served, they all say "itadakimasu" before eating. It's a lot better quality and a lot healthier than lunch in the U.S.
Cleaning
American schools have janitors that clean the schools, usually after school hours.
In Japan, students are responsible for the cleaning. Every day, we have about 15-20 minutes where staff and students clean. Students from each class are split into small groups and then assigned a part of the school. Fo rexmple, I clean with 5 third year students every day and we are responsible for the entire corridor in front of the principal's office and the staff room. Some students clean hallways, stairwell, bathrooms, or classrooms. Each student is assigned a duty, such as sweeping, mopping, cleaning windows/windowsills, vacuuming rugs, cleaning the chalkboard, etc. Maintinence people come to take care of bigger or major issues though. Students also tend to be less apt to litter or make a mess if they know they have to clean it up!
Club Activities
American schools tend to offer a few clubs/sports activities but they are completely optional.
In Japan, students are required, or at least very strongly encouraged, to join a club. They can choose their clubs at the beginning of their 1st year and they will participate in that club until about halfway through their 3rd year. At that time, they have to leave the club to focus on studying for high school entrance exams. Students and their supervising staff practice after school almost every day and often on Saturdays and during breaks (summer, winter, etc.) as well.
Not every school offers every type of club but my school is lucky enough to offer a wide variety!
We have: baseball, boys and girls basketball, bandminton, soccer, softball, volleyball, tennis, table tennis, swimming, track and field, art, taiko, band, and culture club.
School Events
American schools hold the occasional dance, pep rally, or sports event.
In Japan, they do not have dances but they have other large events such as chuutaiden (sports day), bunkasai (school culture festivals), and chorus competitions.
I've done a post about my city's chuutaiden so I will link that here (
https://courtneyinhirosaki.blogspot.com/2019/09/sports-days.html).
For sports days on school grounds, classes compete with each other in various athletic events. The students practice for weeks and it really gets their competitive spirits to come out. At my school, my kids jumped rope as classes (as in 27 to 38 kids at once with one long rope), ran a baton relay that had every student (yes, all 430) run with the baton, did exercises, and we had caterers bring in food and make yakisoba for us. It was a blast! My school combined our sports day and bunkasai so after the relay, we were all able to go inside for songs, tea ceremonies, and other cultural events.
In a chorus competition, each homeroom class perform songs (usually the same song first to make judging easier and a song of their choosing for the second) and classes are ranked in each grade level. I heard my students practicing for this more almost two months before it happened. The students themselves play the piano and conduct, no teachers involved!
