Makiharihongo Junior High School

WOW! What an incredible school. I have so much to say about this experience and so little energy (due to a very long day and a trip to the spa) so I will keep this short for now.

We began the day with a very long (over an hour) bus ride to Makiharihongo Jr. High. I was very nervous because I had to give a speech to the entire student body. Shortly after entering the building and getting the day's itinerary, we were escorted into the school's gymnasium where we were greeted with singing by the entire student body. It was heavenly. (Can I say that word?) All of the students wore matching uniforms and were standing at attention while a student director lead the chorus of over 500 students. I have video, but cannot publish it on my site. I will share it with everyone though privately.

I gave my speech, everyone said it was great -- even though I think I butchered the principal's name. Then there was more singing. What amazed us was that everyone sang. There were no bozos goofing around in the back or refusing to sing. And if their grade wasn't singing a particular song, the other students sat quietly and respectfully. And this is not a music magnet type school. Just an average (or above average) junior high school of grades seven through nine. Japanese students are required to attend elementary school (grades 1-6) and junior high school (7-9) and then take a test that decides what high school you attend. Kind of similar to our college entrance exams. Nearly 100% of the students at this school attend an additional "cram school" or "crammie" to prepare for the high school extrance exam. High school is also three years long (but optional) and if students want to attend college, they once again need to take very stressful exams. Admissions decisions are based almost entirely on these exams.

We took a tour where we saw tons of student work displayed in the halls or on tables throughout the campus. We visited an industrial arts class where the students were making shelves, the choir, a math classroom, the kendo class, a science class where the students were using bunson burners, (no one was goofing around or setting arm hair on fire) and again and again we were shocked to see the students working very independent of the teacher.

When we split up into individual classrooms, my third year students (ninth graders) organized an introduction, question and answer session, a game, and a welcome song. The teacher was there but the students ran the class. NBD you say? There class sizes are about 40 kids and they were directing me (who speaks almost no Japanese) with just a little bit of English. And the singing. I don't have video of the song my 3B class sang to me, but I have to admit I teared up. Imagine having 40 students singing their heart out as a gift for you and only you. I have never seen anything like it.

As a class we ate school lunch together that the students served and cleaned up. They had "clean up time," where they clean the school -- washing walls, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping hallways -- everyday and then a final goodbye. We then toured the school while the students participated in afterschool activities (like calligraphy, kendo, baseball) before a question and answer session with the teachers.

The weird thing is these Hakiharihongo students are just like ours. They told secrets, giggled, acted tough, were shy -- but the expectations and responsibilities were different. During lunch and clean-up time, the teachers were gone. My guess is Japan doesn't have tort liability in the schools like US schools do, but that doesn't mean we can't try something similiar. I am going to "think on it" and would like to make some changes. What do you think?