Today we visited Shimada Commercial High School. Here you see a school t-shirt with their school logo - we each got one, which was so very kind! Once again, we had our introductions and an overview of the H.S. This H.S. is incredibly competitive to get into, as they have won numerous awards for academics and athletics. Their volleyball coach was just named #1 coach in volleyball for the entire country of Japan! Since this is a commercial high school, the "elective" courses (which make up 33% of the students day) focus on business and computers - 100% of students who graduate from here who do not go onto college get employed by companies immediately - so there is much focus on school work such as math, computer applications and accounting. You can find more about this school on a powerpoint made by the principal on the google groups files page.
In the Japanese history class, they were studying the 226 uprising in the 1930s and the "invasion" of Manchuria. Again, the sensei drew a great map on the board of Asia. Students: can you tell what countries are where? Japan is not on this map.
What struck me was how quiet the students were compared to the elementary and Jr. High schools, and their class sizes that ranged from 33 - 40 students! Note taking is done with attention to precision, and multiple colors are used when the teacher uses different chalk colors. Also, a few students seemed to be very good at twirling their pencils, almost an art form - quite mesmerizing! We traveled between classes, seeing a variety of teaching styles. The most fun part of the day is that I played volleyball in gym, in my skirt and socks - evidently they were impressed :) here are photos...what a back set!
Another nice thing was how every student would bow their head and say hello to you in the hallway, with a smile - very respectful! After the classes, we observed the club activities - which we would call sports teams. There was volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, running, badminton, tennis, archery, judo, kend, accounting, music and computer programming. The students choose what sport to be in during the first year of H.S. and they stay in that sport or activity, year round, for all three years of H.S. (H.S. here is grades 10-12). We saw the accounting club, which is working hard to be #1. They have competitions such as how fast they can calculate the "books" - these kids were incredibly fast on the calculator! They "practice" from 4-9:30 every day and 9-7 p.m. on Saturdays - WOW! This school has won many awards for accounting and sports. I have posted photos to see and will upload video of the various practices after school. What was interesting is that the band kids stood outside in the halls that were covered between the buildings to practice!
This day went very fast, as there was so much to see. In all the schools we had to take off our street shoes and wear slippers - I wore my Crocs as slippers which was very comfy. I had to laugh as the Social Studies teacher was the only adult at the school who also happened to wear Crocs - must be a social studies thing?
I am off for my over night stay with a host family. It just so happens I will be staying with the vice principal of the high school we visited today, in a town about 30 miles away. I have no idea what they have planned for me, but I told them I am open to pretty much anything! I probably won't have internet access again until Monday. On Sunday we are going to a Ryokan - a Japanese style hotel which is like a spa. Take care, time is just flying by! There are some video links below.
KW
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