June 28, 2001

Several of you have asked general questions relating to Japan, Sapporo, the school, the students, etc., so I thought I’d send this today then more about my `adventures` later in the week.

Sapporo itself is very clean, but there aren’t as many English markings on street signs, etc., so one could get lost very easily (I’ve been very lucky in that my hosts have picked me up and brought me home everyday so far). There are not as many tall buildings, but lots of structures. It resembles a Swiss ski area in that buildings are two stories, flat topped, and small in stature. It has lots of mountains/large hills, is very steep with lots of trees. There is great pride in gardening, and the streets have petunias and other plants planted in and around trees along the sidewalk - provided by and maintained by the people in the neighborhoods. Transportation is either by car, bus, subway, streetcar (in small areas of town) or bicycle. All in all, it is a very scenic area. The Sea of Japan is @ 60 minutes to the west, and mountains are to the north and south.

Miyanomori Junior High School is a three-story building - one of the newest in Sapporo. It is surrounded by tennis courts and a baseball field that doubles as a soccer field. It contains a gym/stage area (used by the neighborhood at night and on weekends), has a small garden in the back (grow eggplant, corn, tomatoes, veggies, and some flowers) and is mainly undecorated with ivory walls (Japanese like a very clean look). The classrooms do not have much decorations either, contain about 30 desks (30 students in each class) set in pairs, and contain no air conditioning (today was the hottest day so far...probably mid-80`s. There is a sewing/cooking room, shop room, computer room, library, counselor room (he’s only there a couple of hours a week so not used as ours is), music room, and science rooms.

The teacher’s have desks in one big room. They begin each morning with a meeting where announcements are shared about the day’s activities & any special needs. Headmaster and/or Principal makes announcements regarding city or BOE. Teachers then join as grade levels to discuss concerns about students, etc. They pay particular attention to student’s behavior and they have no LD classes.

At 9:00 am, classes begin and run for 50 minutes, with 10 minutes between. The day ends about 2:50, when they then have about 10 minutes of homeroom and 20 minutes of cleaning – the students are totally responsible for cleaning the entire building, including bathrooms. Homeroom is not dismissed until the teacher approves the cleaned areas. `Clubs` or sports teams them begin practice, which can last up to 6:30 pm.

The staff has been very cordial and work together well. They have lockers for their shoes (as do the kids) when they arrive and enter the building, lockers for personal effects up near the lounge, then the desk area. As anywhere, there are very serious ones and some very funny ones...you can usually tell which teaches what grade! The staff return to their desk between classes to check for messages, return phone calls, etc. and stay there if they do not teach the next hour (One day they may teach 4 hours straight, the next day they may only teach 2). There is a `cook` who has coffee/tea ready upon arrival and keeps it replenished until noon...then she washes dishes and leaves. They dress in suits with ties, khaki’s with polo’s, dresses/skirts or slacks - not as formal as I was led to believe. Yoshi thinks it may be because Sapporo is a very laid back community.

There is also an attendance/bookkeeper in a room by the front door. The students check in with him each day if they are late arriving. There is a teacher who teaches health education and serves as the school nurse as well.

The Curriculum:
Math, in 7th grade, appears to be pretty advanced compared to us. They have been in school since April with about 3 weeks off already, yet they are doing algebra consistently and correctly. In the other grades, they appear to be in geometry and a little calculus.

English in 7th grade is just their first experience with a foreign language. They begin by learning to introduce themselves, tell their hobby, what they like to do the best, and where they are from. Then, they begin to learn basic words. 8th grade concentrates on syllables, pronunciation, definition, word origin, and tenses. This particular teacher asks me questions everyday...and I really have to think about how to explain the answers because most of it is something we take for granted every day. 9th grade is learning how to speak and write in proper English - Yoshi makes them verbalize it all the time.

Their Japanese class is a combination of Comm Skills and a little current events. They read a story then do projects involving writing to explain characters, setting, etc. to review their knowledge. They also learn calligraphy in the traditional Japanese writing styles (there are 2). Also, remember they read from right to left!

Social Studies classes are much the same as hours. In 7th grade, the emphasis is on Japanese history and geography. In the upper grades, they switch to world history and geography and relate it to Japanese history. Today, as I observed, the discussion was on Hiroshima and the atomic bomb. (Remember, Japan became a pacifist country after WW2). The kids and instructor wanted to know what we taught our students regarding this issue - my reply was `that in war you sometimes have to do things that you may not want to, but feel that you must - you felt you had to bomb Pearl Harbor to gain a foothold in the Pacific...we felt we had to use the bomb to end the war. I think we now hope that we have learned from those experiences and will never have to use such a device ever again, nor have one used on us. A student in the class interpreted for me (his father is from Pakistan and he speaks English very well), and I was surprised to have applause given by the teacher and other students at the end of my statement. They then asked how much we taught about the bombing, and I told them that we mainly said it was used to end the war, but most of what we taught regarded Hitler and the German influences of WW2, not the Japanese. It was an interesting class to attend, to say the least!

Music is given to all grades with emphasis on music appreciation and required playing of a recorder. They were playing `Greensleeves` when I walked in and were surprised to learn that it was one of our Christmas songs. They didn’t make me sing it though! Band and Orchestra is an after school `club`.

Science has a lot of `hands-on` stuff as well. There is lecture for half the class, then a lab. It seems pretty well supplied.

There is also art, home ec, health education, shop, and computer classes. Haven’t seen much of these other than peeking in... hope to see more later on.

The students:
The `student of the day` is responsible for getting the classroom organized before the teacher enters. The students are to be seated when the teacher arrives, the SOD then has class rise, bow, and leads in the greeting. The teacher passes out worksheets (if needed)...if a student is absent, it is placed in their desk for them to complete when they return.

Students wear uniforms of blue slacks and skirts with white shirts and sailor-type blouses, and blue socks. They have matching shoes to change into for `inside` shoes. The boys have fairly long hair compared to our kids, and the girl’s hair is not much over shoulder length, if that long. They seem a little less mature than ours, but that could be because of being embarrassed while I’m here. In general, they are very friendly, seem to want to please, and very respectful. They do not appear to argue, even with each other. I have yet to see a teacher have to discipline a student.

Supplies:
I am somewhat surprised by the lack of supplies and equipment. Most teachers bring their own personal laptop computer – the school has some but not very up to date. There are copy machines and printers but they appear to be fairly old. They still use chalkboards and most of the lighting is natural.

Email is not checked very often - perhaps explaining the delay in getting ours returned. Email is at home, not at school. There is a computer lab with @ 30 computers...updated ones in an a/c room. They use stamps for teacher attendance (each one has a unique stamp) and approval on forms...rarely is a signature used.

Education:
School year begins in April and ends the next March. 0-6 year olds get basic care and are taught basic courtesy, nap & teatime, outdoor play, rhythmic dance & play. Parents usually pick them up. 3-6 years go at least 4 hours a day, have monthly birthday parties, coloring and origami, and singing. Parents pick up or they ride a bus. 6-12 yr old (1-6 grade) must go to school. Clothes are uniforms and color and design reflects the grade level (from now on). Students usually walk to school each day, are in self-contained classes of 40 students/teacher. They are taught Japanese, math, science, social studies, music, arts & crafts, PE, Ethics & Home Ec (5th and 6th grade). 50% of 5th and 6th graders go to private tutors after school every day to prepare for the tests which help place them in the upper level schools (schools are ranked according to the level of difficulty of the curriculum). 80% of the kids participate in music or sports activities.

JH - 7th-9th (13-15 yrs) is also a must attend, with most going to public but some to private. Teachers specialize in their own area and English is introduced. Students put great effort into preparing for 5 tests given each year to qualify for HS placement, as well as outside activities. They also learn social interaction skills by taking part in special events like cultural (show their fine arts skills) and sports festivals (competition against other schools) and school trips lasting from 1 to 3 days, depending on grade.

High School - there are full-time, part-time, and correspondence high schools. The courses include modern Japanese, Japanese classics, Chinese classics, math, English, history, geography, politics, economics, chemistry, physics, biology, physical geography, PE/Health, technical arts, home economics, and fine arts (art, music, calligraphy). Students choose curriculum based on the college requirements of the place they wish to attend.

41% of high school students go on to university. Entrance exams are very competitive & difficult to pass. If a student fails, they must attend a review school for a year before trying again. The National University costs @ 740,000 yen/yr. with private universities for medicine and dentistry costing 4.8 million/year and for liberal arts 1.1 million yen/yr. Private school students often have to make contributions to endowments, as well. Graduating from the university is not as difficult as getting in, so most students spend their time enjoying the college life rather than studying.