Now that we're starting year two in Japan, I want to reflect a little on what it's like having a kid in the Japanese school system.
As you might know, Japan places incredible stress on community. I find that schools here generally act like a family or parent would - they focus on teaching children how to become a successful piece in society after graduation. That means kids learn things beyond academics - things like cleaning, serving others, obeying and respecting elders, morals, and other uncountable social norms. These are important things for children to learn if they want to fit in - a key point in Japanese culture. And on top of that, once kids reach junior high school (or possibly earlier), they spend the majority of their time at school, so its not surprising that they learn a lot of their life skills there.
Daily Life
Schools have a lot of influence on the lives of children. I can't say about high school, but all the way through junior high school at least, the students have daily journals that they write in. In preschool the teachers write in the journal and every night I read and stamp it. We also use it to communicate. Like, if Yana was feeling sick and had a fever, I'll write that down so her teacher knows. Inside the journal there is also a chart, and every morning I must fill in what time Yana went to bed, what time she woke up, if she's feeling healthy, if she pooped, if she ate breakfast, and if she washed her face and teeth. A few months after starting school, we were given a talking to by Yana's teacher. Apparently she had been going to bed too early (around 8pm) and waking up too late (around 6:30 or 7am). I was told that she has to go to bed around 9pm and be up before 6:30am. This makes her more "genki" (energetic) for school and also helps her sleep during naptime. Poor Yana has never been a napper, but I guess the teachers need their downtime, so even the 4 and 5 year olds nap (not sure about the 5/6 class).
We also have parent-teacher meetings several times a year in order to discuss any issues and periodically we have to fill in questionnaires about Yana's daily life (does she eat meals, how long does she watch tv, etc.). They do this in elementary and junior high school too, and I saw at the elementary school that they actually collect the data, make a booklet out of it (ranked charts and everything), and all the teachers meet to discuss the results. Unlike North America, the students put their names on the questionnaires, so the teachers were talking about how "John" plays way too many video games and how did he even do that, or that "Mary" gets up very early.
Parent Duties
As is usual in Japan, schools don't have janitors and might not even have groundskeepers either. So every year in the spring all the parents have to go to school on a Saturday and help clean the grounds. Some of this was legit cleaning, like cutting tree branches and cleaning the outdoor pools, but my group's job was to rip up grass. Why? I have no idea, but I'd guess it had something to do with looking busy. Anyway, there's now no grass around the swing set and a nice place for kids to get into a big, muddy mess.
In a country where many mothers don't work, parents are expected to participate in school life. There are parent-child field trips, parent-teacher meetings, Saturday class activities, school meetings and events, and the PTA. It's also just a lot of work making sure Yana has everything she needs ready (see school baggage).
Food
As Japan does, the school also likes to stick by the rules. Every child eats the same lunch from the on-site kitchen. Every month the school sends home a meal plan. I'm always impressed - I think about how kids in North America would feel about eating miso soup, fried sardines, or seaweed salad for lunch. Like most school lunches here, they typically consist of rice (sometimes bread or noodles), soup, a vegetable dish, and a protein dish. They also give a piece of fruit at every meal (not so at elementary and junior high!). In the afternoon, the kids have a snack, which is often a sweet with a milk box (I'm a little less impressed by this). There is a huge emphasis on calcium here, so the daily milk box is a part of school meals up through junior high school.
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| School supplies: change of clothes, notebook, towel, hand towel, shoes, gym clothes, library bag, cooking clothes, swim bag |
School Baggage
It never ceases to astound me how much stuff Japanese kids carry around with them. For Yana, every Monday she brings to school: her backpack itself, water bottle, bagged cup and toothbrush, bagged pajamas, bagged gym shorts, change of clothes, pillowcase, library bag and book, hand towel, and parent-teacher notebook. In the summer she also has to bring her hat, swim bag (suit, cap, towel, and tshirt for wearing outside), and a towel as a naptime blanket. She keeps multiple changes of clothes at school as well as a pair of indoor shoes (which they don't wear during the summer). During the week she leaves most of these things at school, but every Friday she brings them home to be washed (including the shoes!). If there's some kind of special activity, she'll have to bring extra stuff, like her apron, mask, and bandanna for cooking.
Health
In Japan, schools also take part in the medical health of their students. Every month the preschoolers have their height and weight checked. Twice a year their chest circumference is also checked. This is marked on a card, signed by a parent, and returned to the school. There are also special checks throughout the year. In May they check for pinworms and dental health, have a urine test in June, check for pinworms again in July, have a medical check in September, a stool parasite egg test in October, another urine test in November, and a final medical check in March. Additionally, there is development screening for the kids at certain ages - we just did one for five year olds. Questions included if she can understand the rules of rock, paper, scissors (SO Japanese) and if she could go play at a friend's house on her own. This kind of thing continues throughout a child's school years - and possibly longer - even I am required to get an annual comprehensive health check, along with all the other school staff (although I don't have to put a sticker on my butt to check for pinworms!).
Photos
This is just a small thing, but something I really appreciated and felt was so thoughtful! Throughout the year, the teachers take loads of photos of the kids. Every few months they send the photos home in a little envelope and we pay for them (a very small amount). I really loved getting to see what Yana was up to at school and being able to have these memories. We have photos of field trips, hikes, tea ceremonies, swimming days, cooking, birthdays, etc. By contrast, in North America you don't really get photos from your child's time at school.
