2015, Kaunas city Aušros Vadapolaitės IIb Kaunas Maironis University Gymnasium

 Japanese state education system is a national pride in this country, with a traditional approach that has helped Japanese pupils easily outperform their counterparts all around the world.

School in Japan

 Japanese school system consists of:  6 years of elementary school,  3 years of junior high school,  3 years of senior high school and  4 years of University.

The Japanese school year starts in April and consists of three terms, separated by short holidays in spring and winter, and a one month long summer break. During the break many students are working toward better positioning by taking special classes. Vacations are really short and if you take a sport you will have to go to practice every day even in the summer.

High schools in Japan are speciality schools, for example, academics, vocational, etc. Students must apply and interview for placements in the school. Much like college in the US. Students sometimes go to schools that are 2 hours away from home by train or in some cases longer. They usually stay in dormitories or a relative in that city if they are far from home.

School starts at 8:00 or 8:30 until 15, but they have clubs and sports after that. once you choose a sport, you can't change it and you have to stick to that sport the whole year and for the whole time you are in middle or high school.

There is about 45 minutes for lunch. In high schools in Japan students are responsible for there lunch. Either bringing a `bento` from home or going to a convenience store or restaurant.

Some schools have strict rules about no hair touching the stripes on the flap (your hair has to be short or tied up) but most schools are easy about that! no make up or jewelry is allowed, although many pupils break that rule. skirts are supposed to touch the floor when you kneel, but of course, no one follows that rule!

Did you know that, according to the newest study, children from Japan lead the world in numeracy and literacy skills? So, what makes the approach of Japanese school system so unique and different from the rest of the world, and more importantly, what can we learn from it?

This is because teaching in this country is about the quality of lessons, not quantity.

Here’s an example of a regular math class in Japan The class starts with the customary aisatsu (greetings) to the teacher and is followed by his question if students know how to solve a problem he had previously put up on the board. That day his class is supposed to learn how to solve equations with multiple fractions and he instructs his fifth-graders how to approach these math problems.

The first student to finish shots a hand up. The teacher walks over, glances at the problem and circles it to signal it was correct. The student then gets up and away from his seat. Another hand shots up. But, this time the first student takes the role of the teacher, or the corrector.

Language Children all around the world usually learn between letters (not taking into account certain Asian languages which have a rather pictographic approach). Do you know how many characters Japanese children need to know in order to read and write? More than 26, that’s for sure.

Japanese children will have already known 1,006 kanji characters at the age of 15, when they end their compulsory education, they will know additional 1,130.

In addition to kanji, Japanese have two sets of phonetic scripts, hiragana and katakana. Each set has 46 characters which behave as syllables (usually including a consonant and a vowel, like “ka”). Combined with specific dots used for marking changes of the original sounds, these characters are enough to express all the sounds of modern Japanese.

Students also learn traditional Japanese arts like shodo (calligraphy) and haiku. Shodo involves dipping a brush in ink and using it to write kanji (characters that are used in several East Asian countries and have their own meanings) and kana (phonetic characters derived from kanji) in an artistic style.

Here are some interesting facts about Japanese schools:

Nearly all junior high schools require their students to wear a school uniform (seifuku). In public elementary and junior high schools school lunch is eaten in the classroom. That way, pupils and teachers get to forge better relationships while eating together. Students do not ship classes in Japan, nor do they arrive late for school

Students in Japan actually feel happy in school (85 percent of them). Around 91 percent of Japanese students reported that they never, or only in some classes, ignored what the teacher lectured.

In some schools students who have been caught cheating have had their heads shaved and have been expelled from school. Nearly every elementary school in Japan has an outdoor swimming pool.

 And even thought most people say that Japanese students have it bad and school is torture there.  “Believe me, Japanese kids enjoy their school life and their clubs. And they have more than enough time for a social life”  American schools give too much holiday time. Every year kids would get excited at the start of summer holiday…but it would be so long they would finally get bored and into trouble!

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