BLOG POST 5
We had a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel and started for Nara. On the way I was observing the roads which were very clean and cars which were quite unobtrusive and not flashy and people passing by, there was no honking of cars whatsoever and I could see a steady flow of buses providing public transport at regular intervals
We arrived at the Todaiji temple considered as the most influential Buddhist temple in Japan, especially after surviving multiple earthquakes, fires, and political chaos.
We could see a lot of school buses letting out lot of cheerful school children,as we had gone to Japan in July which was a vacation time for schools, everywhere went we could see many school children on their picnics
The basic school system in Japan is composed of elementary school ( six years), middle school (three years), high school (three years), and university (four years). Education is compulsory only for the nine years of elementary and middle school, however 98.8% of students go on to high school.
I discovered that education system in Japan was rather unique, apart from mandatory education, the children were also getting trained in ethics, culture and hygiene and I felt this definitely leads to good upbringing
Our interactions with many children of various ages during our trip to Japan showed very well mannered children displaying respect to the elders and an open positive reaction to the other races, they enjoyed interacting with us and asked us few questions too about India and its schools .I observed that the girls and boys were mixing in a friendly manner without any gender bias
The Japanese schools give each student individual numbers which consists of 4 figures. The first two figures are the number of a class and the last two are the personal numbers which are assigned to each student. These numbers are used for library cards, bicycle stickers or for class work or tests
A student in spite of not doing well in exams is not failed and is promoted to next class, results of tests matter only the student has to enter high school or university ,I as a medical teacher felt that this would encourage the slow learners or less intelligent students also to continue their studies and not drop out of school or go into depression and commit suicides
Each school has its own uniform , both summer and winter versions. Children can wear only white, black or dark blue socks. If a student wears any other color, these socks are promptly seized.
School bags are given to students along with the uniform
boys are restricted from growing long hair and girls do not have painted nails, colored and curly hair, jewelry and make up. As a result of this uniformity I found that the kids in uniforms were very much alike with no obvious class differences
In Japan, all students have to leave their shoes outside the classroom in their lockers provided and have to wear the same indoor shoes or slippers called “uwabaki inside the classroom,to maintain the cleanliness in the class rooms
Each school has a nutritionist who monitors diet charts of students and creates a menu for every meal. As a rule, there is no cafeteria inside a school and students have to eat what is served , lunch boxes from home are allowed in special occasions. It is interesting to note that teachers eat together with pupils in the classrooms itself, this will surely develop more understanding between teachers and students.
Academic year in Japan starts in April, the next vacation begins at the end of July to August as these months are very stuffy due to high humidity. There is a short vacation from last week of December to first week of January
Japanese schools do not use any cleaning services or janitors. The students clean their classroom themselves, as well as the toilets. The work is shared by staff and even the vice principal and principal of the school.
Japan has most of its schools teaching in Japanese language and International schools are very few unfortunately
Special private schools which offer advanced and supplementary lessons for students who want to achieve high grades and pass entrance examinations exist and these are known as cram schools and are very much in demand.
As we were waiting for our guide to get us the entrance tickets ,I was keenly observing the school children ,they were all looking very excited and were busy buying snacks and drinks from the vending machines .
Japan has around 5.5 million vending machines with one on almost every street corner. There are vending machines that sell beer, water, hot and cold canned coffee, cigarettes, wine, comic books, hot dogs, light bulbs, bags of rice, toilet paper, umbrellas, fish bait, fresh eggs
Snacks, flowers, porn magazines , condoms and even women’s underwear.
I felt that vending machines make a good and convenient way for the companies to sell beverages and make money without paying staff
We could find these vending machines every place we visited and we tried to buy some cold coffee and hot tea at same time and could successfully got them both one hot and steaming and the other chilled
We had a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel and started for Nara. On the way I was observing the roads which were very clean and cars which were quite unobtrusive and not flashy and people passing by, there was no honking of cars whatsoever and I could see a steady flow of buses providing public transport at regular intervals
We arrived at the Todaiji temple considered as the most influential Buddhist temple in Japan, especially after surviving multiple earthquakes, fires, and political chaos.
The basic school system in Japan is composed of elementary school ( six years), middle school (three years), high school (three years), and university (four years). Education is compulsory only for the nine years of elementary and middle school, however 98.8% of students go on to high school.
The Japanese schools give each student individual numbers which consists of 4 figures. The first two figures are the number of a class and the last two are the personal numbers which are assigned to each student. These numbers are used for library cards, bicycle stickers or for class work or tests
A student in spite of not doing well in exams is not failed and is promoted to next class, results of tests matter only the student has to enter high school or university ,I as a medical teacher felt that this would encourage the slow learners or less intelligent students also to continue their studies and not drop out of school or go into depression and commit suicides
Each school has its own uniform , both summer and winter versions. Children can wear only white, black or dark blue socks. If a student wears any other color, these socks are promptly seized.
School bags are given to students along with the uniform
In Japan, all students have to leave their shoes outside the classroom in their lockers provided and have to wear the same indoor shoes or slippers called “uwabaki inside the classroom,to maintain the cleanliness in the class rooms
Japanese schools do not use any cleaning services or janitors. The students clean their classroom themselves, as well as the toilets. The work is shared by staff and even the vice principal and principal of the school.
Special private schools which offer advanced and supplementary lessons for students who want to achieve high grades and pass entrance examinations exist and these are known as cram schools and are very much in demand.
As we were waiting for our guide to get us the entrance tickets ,I was keenly observing the school children ,they were all looking very excited and were busy buying snacks and drinks from the vending machines .
We could find these vending machines every place we visited and we tried to buy some cold coffee and hot tea at same time and could successfully got them both one hot and steaming and the other chilled
Very well written.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much 😊
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