Japan

In response to Janie’s question, except for calligraphy, the students use mechanical pencils to write with for the most part.  I took a picture of the contents of someone’s pencil case. As you can see, they use pretty much the same things our students use.  However, our students like to use the erasers on the [...]

The principal (kojo-sensei) of Hiroshima Municipal Yasunishi Elementary School reminds me so much of my own principal, Mrs. Stokes.  Kojo-sensei greeted every child as they entered the school grounds.  She knows them by name.  She made her rounds through the school visiting classrooms and looking at student work.  No one was anxious or nervous at [...]

I love autumn.  Am so glad I was able to come during this season.  The leaves are beginning to change and soon it will be gorgeous.  I hope my host family takes me somewhere outside which is photogenic.  Am looking forward to that visit but don’t want to wish my time away.  It is flying [...]

There are two skills teachers in Japan must have, in addition to being able to teach just about any subject.  They need to play the piano and swim.  Each school has a pool and it is the teacher’s responsibility to teach the kids to swim.  They also teach them music.  We participated in music class [...]

It costs $9 to wash a shirt through the hotel.  I shudder to think what it would cost to do all my laundry.  So, it’s handwash time.   I brought my handwash soap with me that I bought in Europe.  Needed to do laundry there and the town we stayed in had four washing machines.  We [...]

The Japanese are masters of recycling.  Oh, do we need to learn from their example.  The milk cartons are washed out and flattened to go to the recycler.  They separate everthing into burnable, metal, and plastic.  The Europeans do this too.  Our society is soooo wasteful.  We just throw everything in the trash and burn [...]

I love school lunches.  These are prepared either downtown or in the school kitchen if they have one.  A cart is sent to each room with the bowls, trays, chopsticks, and food.  The kids serve lunch.  They take turns being responsible for this.  I had fish, rice, soup, and a tangerine one day.  All very [...]

I was so impressed with how the schools are cleaned.  It’s true, not an urban legend, that the kids clean up.  There were kids on their hands and knees washing the floor, sweeping, cleaning up the bathroom, etc.  They do not have custodians as far as I can see.   Parents volunteer quarterly to come and [...]

I am so impressed with the teaching of leadership in the Japanese schools.  Students take the responsibility for leading their classes at the beginning and end of each class.  This begins in elementary school.  The lead student for the day brings the class to order, they stand, and bow to the sensei (teacher).  The leader [...]

We got to do a little teaching today and enjoy some fabulous music.  The middle school’s 8th grade was practicing for their parent open house scheduled for this weekend and we were their authentic dress rehearsal audience.  Each home room sang a song and it might even be a competition.  One class wrote their own [...]