Kids are Kids

****Notice the kid stretched out over two rolling chairs. I wonder if you could get away with this at HMS???

I'm still going to ask ... did you read my really long blog about Kamakura? It kind of got stuck there and it was a biggee.

Laura, I think you are thinking of a "bento box." That lunch was truly just a "box lunch." Not "boxed"..."box."

Cameron...still looking for the chocolate.

I got my fill of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders today! We went to Higashiatago Junior High. In Japan, grades 1-6 (elementary school) and 7-9 (junior high school) are compulsory. Students may choose to not go to high school. However, 97% of students do go to high school. When we arrived, we had to put on our slippers. We were then escorted into the gym where all of the students were seated on the floor. They applauded like we were celebrities. We sat in the front facing them. One of our teachers, Aaron from Minnesota, addressed them from all of us. I will do the "speaking" in a couple of days to a group of parents (I'm a little nervous). Then, the kids stood and sang a song for us and played the handbells. Their student council president formally greeted us in English.

Off we went to observe classes. It was my MISconception that Japanese students sat quietly in neat rows and did everything the teacher said....NOT! For one thing, the kids were VERY often left unattended. When I arrived in the classroom, they were all milling about talking, being silly, and goofing around. The teacher came in and started to teach them an English lesson. Some kids listened, some didn't. I went to several classrooms where the kids were very attentive or out of control. One particular boy seemed to be in the halls and classrooms ALL OVER THE PLACE. He was in one of the last classes I attended. It was an English 2 class with only five students. We played a game and at the end, they asked me questions. I showed them a picture of my family, home and dog. The five boys all agreed that my Sami was "beautiful." They asked about movies and music. They asked me if I liked fish and mushrooms. I said I didn't and they told me "oooooooooooooo," as lunch was fish and a mushroom broth. I really enjoyed this class.

As you can see by the pictures, they were kids just like any other kids. One thing to notice...because they are in uniforms, the color of the shoe stripe indicated their class (7th, 8th, or 9th).

Lunch was quite an experience. They eat lunch in their classrooms and they first rearrange the room into "hans." These are small groups (chosen by the teachers) that have different responsibilities in the classroom. One han serves the food, they all wait until everyone is served, they eat, and then they clean up. After lunch is over, they rearrange the room again and sweep and mop the floor. Everyone eats the school lunch...and there are no choices. Everyone but the girl sitting next to me gobbled up their lunch. She didn't even pick up her chopsticks. Yea for me...I tried everything.

After lunch, they had another assembly. This one was a cultural assembly with an opera singer. The kids all lined up outside their classrooms with their chairs and walked down the 4 floors to the auditorium. The sit by class - same as they did in the morning. There were several students by me that I would have yanked out of the assembly had I been their teacher!!!!

Several teachers talked with us after the assembly. Their workday is from 8-6:30! I know I work that long, but it is by choice. All teachers eat with their class, sponsor a sport or club, and have no planning time.

After school, most students have other activities like sports or a club. I attended the sign language club. The girls sang a popular SMAP song in sign language. They did a great job.
It was a pretty exhausting day and I'm glad to be back at the hotel. In a few minutes, a big group of us will go out to dinner. Later Gators.