Japan

Imagine starting school at 7:45 a.m. and leaving at 3:50 p.m.—it’s a little late, but it’s doable. Now, imagine starting at the same time and ending at 5:50p.m. Although it may seem implausible to some and would stir up tons of protests among the student body here, this is completely normal for students in Fukuoka, Japan who attend Chikushi Senior High School. The time the students are released from school is dependent on which year or grade they’re in.
On a typical day, students at Chikushi begin by replacing their outdoor shoes with indoor slippers from the organized cubbies at the student entrance. Then, they attend a class called “Team Teaching” where the students are encouraged to learn and perfect their English skills. For lunch, students commonly have rice with a meat dish, such as grilled fish or deep-fried chicken. At the end of each day at 3:25, students clean the entire school for 15 minutes, which is called souji time. Such tasks include cleaning the toilets and weeding. Twice each term, students clean the school very thoroughly, which can include waxing floors. This is not to cut costs, rather it is to enforce morals and personal responsibility in Buddhist traditions.
Additionally, several different traditional Japanese ceremonies take place at the school. Similar to the U.S., sports are also very popular, as 60 percent of the student body is involved in at least one athletic activity. The most popular, yet challenging is rugby. Students train two to three hours a day for the sport.
While it seems like two completely different worlds, Alhambra High has much in common with Chikushi Senior High, such as the initiative students show to learn or the intense interest students have for their sports’ teams. Whether on the west or east shoreline of the Pacific, students are still learning and becoming educated citizens, regardless of the educational system.
By Features Editor Karolina Zydziak