Japanese high schools are a model of hard work and model behavior. The Japanese high school kids are under tremendous pressure. The test to graduate and get into college are so important the student spend their entire high school career preparing for them. The avergae Japanese student spends more than 200 days a year in school. (The US standard is 180 days). In class the students are so disciplined teachers can leave the room and the student work diligently. As we got the tour from an English teacher we came upon a room with no teacher and the words "Silent Study" on the board. We asked where the teacher was and he told us it was his class. The students were there for over and hour, on their own and they were working on actual homework. They were so disciplined that even when they noticed us they quickly looked away and went back to work. Not as outgoing and and gregarious as the elementary students. They had a job to do and they certainly were intent on doing it. High school is not required but something like 98 percent of all students enroll. The issue of pride is so strong in this country it would shame a family to have a student who did anything else. I've decided a happy medium between the US schools and the Japanese schools would do wonders for both.
Two things I really did like about the Japanese highs schools is the huge focus on the arts and the strong emphasis on the maintenance of tradition. The Japanese emphasize the role of art in all students. So starting from the elementary school students take classes in kanji (caligraphy) it is a technical art, but so asthetic it is an impressive skill. Art and artist take on a role often filled by athletes in the US. Good artists' work is displayed all over the school. I enjoyed visiting the art classes and the art teacher was very impressed with my "feeling". Not exactly sure what she meant, but I think it was a compliment.
The students had their kanji displayed all over and each had a little discription of what it said. Apparently the focus was for things you want or things you hope for. I particularly liked this one because it was beautiful and the translation was "allow me to stay in bed a little longer."
The other amazing thing I observed was instead of a huge athletic program, the afterschool activities were all traditional Japanese activities. Even baseball, which the country is insane about, is steeped in traditions. I did not attend a game, but those who did talk about the energy they felt in the crowds of 60,000 and 70,000.Each campus had a Juko range for traditional archery. They also had Kendo dojos and Judo. Beyond the school day this was the one area the students really put their energies. I think it was the only thing they had in their schedule that was not homework or school.
