I am sure you all have this picture of well behaved, smart students who wouldn't say anything back to the teacher and do all their homework. I hate to say it but, this is NOT true. While I do have much better behaved students then the ones back home they are still kids. I still have to deal with the kids not turning in their homework, not studying for their test, and ditching classes or sleeping though them.
http://www.lifeaftertheboe.com/2006/08/12/bait-and-switch/
So, how do schools in Japan work? From my experience, this is how it works.
Elementary is 6 - 12 years old (1 - 6 grade), Junior High is 12 - 15 years (7-9 grade), and High School is 15 - 18 years (10 - 12 grade). To get into High school the kids have to take an entrance exam which makes their last year of Junior high kind of like our last year in high school. The exam is not easy, and they can only take one for public schools and up to 3 for private schools. If they don't pass their high school test they can opt to take a year off and study or they can go to a private school (if, they get in). It is important to note here that high school is not compulsory and so some kids just find work.
As for the happens at school, I work at a Junior High so...this is what happens at Junior high. School starts at 8:40 am - 3:30pm, (sometimes this changes). The first 10 - 15 minutes is for homeroom/morning reading, and then classes start. The students stay in their classroom and the teachers move around, except for P.E/Art/Science. Classes are about an hour long. Sometimes classes are canceled for teachers meetings, school festival, chorus contests, and ceremonies. The shedule for the kids changes everyday and every week, so teachers and students are always looking at their schedules to find out what class is next.
After school kids have fun by doing clubs. Clubs in Japan are taken VERY seriously. Sports clubs tend to be EVERYDAY for a couple hours and on the weekends for longer. The teachers who are in charge of these clubs don't have any vacation days, instead they are at school all the time, even on the weekends to help with clubs. Poor teachers.
Alright, that is my summary of how school works here. I will go into more detail about some of the things mentioned here on later posts.
