Education Nation - Tuesday, January 17th

Seibo School, Kyoto

Yesterday was a special day for the Harpeth Hall Japan group because we got to visit the Seibo all girls school in Kyoto. Students are the future of Japan, so education is an integral part of their culture. The first schools were founded in the late seventh century, under the jurisdiction of the emperor. These schools were similar to the education system in China, and students learned Chinese culture and Confucian doctrines. In 1868, however, the Meiji came to power and everything changed. The Meiji started a new nationwide school network that shifted the schools from Chinese to western based education. The system was at first based on the French educational complex, but transferred to an American based system after World War II. The Japanese took parts of our American school system and added in what they like to call "a Japanese heart" to make it their uniquely their own.

Today, Japanese students, like American students, have twelve years of school and then four years of university. The first nine years (six in elementary and three in junior high) are spent close to home in zoned schools. At the end of junior high, though, students take an entrance examination to determine their high school. High school placement is based on this test only, so it is incredibly important. After three years of high school, students again have to take a major entrance examination to get into university. This test, a harder version of the SAT or ACT, is the only thing determining whether or not they go to college (no application looking for "balance"), so students get their second of senior year off just to study. If a student passes the exam, it means automatic admittance, but if they fail, it means taking a sort of gap year to study to take the exam again. Some students are forced to spend four years studying for and taking this examination before finally passing it. Because of the cut throat atmosphere surrounding the examinations, the curriculum in Japan is incredibly strict so that all students are supposedly learning the same information at the same time. Additionally, students have very little free time because the pressure is on to study, study, study.  

Seibo School students learning geography

For a student in Japan, the day starts around 7 am (or 6 if they have a long bus ride to school). Like in the United States, school lasts from 8 to around 3, with classes such as Science, Math, Japanese, English, and History. In the Seibo school, we met with girls that were in a special international program that allowed them to take extra English classes. (their English was very good!) Unlike in the US however, Japanese students stay in the same classroom all day. The teachers rotate rooms and come to the students instead. Even lunch is brought from home and eaten in the classroom. Class structure in Japan is much more lecture based than in the US, with teachers talking and students listening. Very rarely will you find a class discussion in a Japanese classroom. For a student, the daily classes consist of quizzes and tests, memorization, note taking, and recitation. After all of this, most students have sports or other extracurricular activities to attend until around 5 or 6 in the afternoon. Then, when most American students would be coming home for dinner, 75% of Japanese students attend more classes called jukus, or “cram schools” to study even more. These courses are either for looming entrance exams or just to keep up with regular school. All Japanese students are considered equal, so all levels take the same classes with the same difficulty. It is up to the students not to fall behind. At the end of this exhausting process, it is not uncommon for a student in Japan to get home to start on their four hours of homework at 10 pm, then start all over again the next day. 

Seibo girl's school uniforms

Somehow, with all this work and pressure, Japanese students do not complain. One of the reasons is the extra teaching done in Japanese schools. In addition to the regular subjects, Japanese teachers have the responsibility to teach their students how to be true Japanese citizens. Teachers, rather than parents, are charged with the job of raising the next generation of proper Japanese. This gives teachers an honored and respected place in Japanese culture, but it also means lots of hard work. From the beginning, the teachers preach gaman, or perseverance, telling their students to endure their difficulties rather than complain. The schools also have strict rules that teach the students respect. Every student wears a uniform, and bowing occurs at least 10 times in a school day. Students walk in straight lines, treat their elders with respect, and do everything that is expected of them because if they don’t, they know punishment awaits them. Even after school hours students are not safe from a teacher's watchful eye. My buddy at Seibo school even mentioned getting in trouble because a teacher caught her texting on the subway on the way to school when she wasn't supposed to. This constant watchfulness and heavy workload keeps Japanese students in line and out of trouble. 

Young Japanese students working together to clean their classroom
http://www.npr.org/

Along with the formalities, another large part of Japanese culture taught in school is community. Each homeroom class is called a kumi, and this group truly becomes a team by the end of the year. They have to work together and share the responsibilities, including cleaning the classroom each day after class, passing out lunch, and leading other students in daily routines. Students learn to be humble and work for the betterment of the school rather than the individual. In later life, this translates to putting Japan in front of the individual and if needed sacrificing for the good of the nation. It could look as though students are babied because they are considered children until they graduate college and get their first job, but in reality, this constant sense of reliance forms the strong community that is quintessential to Japanese life. The polite citizens everywhere you go, the constant bowing, the fact that each individual sacrifices themselves for others – All of this begins in the school system. Although Japanese schools may seem strict and overbearing from an American perspective, it’s hard to argue with the facts: the students in Japan grow into wonderful Japanese men and women full of healthy habits and nationalistic pride.

Dressing up in yukatas!

I think I speak for everyone when I say we had a great time at the Seibo school. We started our day meeting buddies also in grades 11 and 12. We got to talk with them for awhile and learned about surprising differences right off the bat. I know everyone was glad to find out that American schools do not have classes on Saturday like in Japan, and we were flabbergasted that their uniforms and rules were even stricter than ours. At the Seibo school there is no jewelry or makeup allowed, and phones are taken up at the beginning of everyday. After meeting the enthusiastic and friendly students, we got to take a tour of the school. We quickly forgot about the fact that the hallways weren't heated as we encountered students that were so excited to see. The middle schoolers would wave and squeal kawaii, or cute as we walked past. We also visited the school's archives and found that Seibo school has ceremonies similar to Harpeth Hall's George Washington celebration as well as many other traditions. After a cafeteria lunch, we reached what I think is safe to say was one of our favorite parts. The Seibo school offered us the special treat to get dressed up in yukatas with obi sashes. Our buddies met up with us again and helped us to get all dressed up, then we learned the proper kimono etiquette as well as taking lots of cute pictures! After all of this, it was finally time to say goodbye to our new found friends. Per Japanese tradition, we exchanged gifts with our buddies and exchanged emails over Japanese tea and cookies. Saying good bye to the Seibo school was a sad affair, but I know the memories and friends we made there will last for a long time to come. During our time at the Seibo school, we learned a lot about the culture of Japanese schools and enjoyed making new friends and fun memories. 

We had a great time at Seibo school!

- Grace Ann Robertson, Class of 2017

Works Cited

        Feiler, Bruce S. Learning to Bow: an American Teacher in a Japanese School. New York, Ticknor & Fields, 1991.