Friday, November 24

Morning: Breakfast at hotel

7:40am: Meet at lobby

7:50am: Depart hotel

8:20am: Visit Fukuoka Prefectural Toyotsu Senior High School

This would be our final school visit of the program. When we arrived at the high school, we learned that it was the final day of classes before major semester exams begin on Monday. All of the classes were in review mode and none of the special class like art or music were meeting. There was also no formal welcome ceremony as we had experienced previously. We were stationed for the day in a new building that isn't even open to students yet. The natural wood floors and paneling, great sunlight and overall design was great.

This school was unique for a number of reasons. It actually houses a junior high school (grades 6-9) and high school (10-12) on the same campus. We would only be visiting the high school classes though.

8:30am: Observation of classes

I began in a tenth grade math class where students participated minimally during a lecture in advanced algebra. I noticed that boys and girls in this school wore almost identical uniforms with girls wearing a skirt rather than pants. From the back of the room, it was difficult to identify gender. The concept of uniforms interests me. While detractors of the idea say it takes away from personal identity and expression, proponents argue it decreases the visual separation of classes and reduces the possibility of ridicule due to clothing style or labels identification. I'm still developing my position on this issue.

Note: Even at the high school level, students remain in one classroom except for their specials. Teachers do the moving. There are some exceptions to this when a science class needs a lab or something but is the general rule.

In a twelfth grade political economy class, I observed the teacher instructing students about CO2 emissions. From the chart on the board, it was obvious that he was showing emissions from the European Union, United States and Japan. Next to the EU and Japan, he wrote OK and next to the US he wrote NO. Then he put one of my colleagues on the spot and asked her how she felt about this problem. She handled it well and stated she thought the United States was contributing to the problem. This seemed to pacify the teacher and life went on.

Note: When the bell rings, it signals teachers to wrap up their lessons. It does not mean students are dismissed.

In a twelfth grade English reading class, students participated in listening excercises to a recording and the teacher. Reading the questions, it was clear that students were expected to comprehend pretty advanced details from the story and the multiple choice questions had distractors tough enough that I had to think pretty hard about a couple of them. Students self graded their practice tests with red pen throughout the lesson. At the teacher's request, I introduced myself to the class in English. I noticed that all instructions were in Japanese. As seniors, I was surprised to find that the class was not being conducted fully in English. This teacher used a good method of calling on students. He'd pick a card from a stack and call out a student number. The student then stood and read or answered depending on the activity. It was quick and efficient and kept everyone on his/her toes. I also like the standing up to speak. It helps with voice projection, public speaking experience and also gets the student moving to benefit kinesthetic learners to some degree. The final reading passage in class today was about the differences in child rearing practices in Japan and North America. This is another example of cross-content information being used in English class.

12:00pm: Lunch at cafeteria at campus

Lunch was wonderful. To avoid the crunch of students, we ate ahead of time. There were about six meal choices for us (and the students) to choose from. I had hamburger with vegetables, rice, miso soup, etc. It was delicious. After lunch I bought a frozen jello for 50 yen (50 cents) that was great too.

Then students started coming in for their lunches. Most of us stayed to talk with them. Rachel (see previous posts) and I had a wonderful conversation with a small group of tenth grade boys. One in particular had great English skills and we used a phrase book to fill in the blanks as needed. There was a cute cultural barrier when we tried to ask the boys why they didn't sit with girls in the cafeteria. Somehow the meaning got misconstrued and one boy thought Rachel was flirting with him. He started say hot, hot, hot and waving his arms. It was funny (although I fear it's not coming across that way here).

1:20pm: Observation of classes

I returned to a twelfth grade political economy class after lunch. This time I stayed for the entire lesson on CO2 emissions. As it developed, I figured the teacher would call on me at some point due to the fact he did it in the morning and this time I was the only US teacher in the room. While he conducted the lesson, I looked up some key words and phrases: kankyo (environment), kogai (pollution), shizenhogo (conservation), honto ni sumimasen (I'm very sorry) and watashi wa hazukashi des (I'm embarrased). The teacher worked hard to speak to me in English and with the help of his students, he got his points across to me throughout the period. Eventually he told me that greenhouse gases and global warming are serious issues in Japan and wanted to know if they were in the United States. I told him they were to me, but perhaps not to President Bush. He seemed to appreciate that. Then I told him I was embarrased in Japanese. I probably pronounced it poorly, but Japanese people tend to appreciate any attempts.

It also broke the ice a bit more. He asked if the change in government a few weeks ago (do you think anyone in the US knows about the elections in Japan though?) would turn US policy around on environmental issues. I said I hoped so, but he countered (rightly) that businesses are too powerful in the US on these issues. Then this Japanese teacher went on to diagram the separation of powers in the US government system on the board. He explained the difference between Democrats and Republicans, Congress and the president. Then he asked me to speak about American democracy for a minute. So I stood with no preparation and basically summarized what I think he had been talking about. I guess I did okay on the spot.

He allowed his star English student to ask me a few questions. The student asked me my position on Iraq and North Korea. These are sensitive issues that I had to handle politically. I told him I didn't like Iraq and he said he didn't either. And I said that North Korea was a dangerous situation (I didn't take any stance).

Then the teacher asked where I was from and told his students it was near New York. So he drew Manhattan on the board and then highlighted key landmarks (very accurately) like Central and Battery parks, the Statue of Liberty, World Trade Center, and Broadway. He was right on. It was a great experience and I'm glad I returned to see them same class that second time.

3:25pm: Discussion with teachers

This discussion actually took place after the tour. Like has happened previously, answers to questions from the Japanese teachers turned into generalizing about the US based on one state. I did learn that state testing varies significantly from state to state. While NJ high school students take standardized tests in only math and language arts (with science in testing mode), students in North Carolina take standardized tests for all state required courses and students in Illinois must take the SAT to graduate (their score matters not).

The topic of part-time jobs for students came up at lunch and again after school. Students never take part-time jobs. Their job is to study and that is a full time job. This is a far different picture than that in America.

The school day at this high school is 9 hours and 35 minutes (including 10 minute passing time between classes) and teachers put in 12-15 hour days and teach 18-22 classes a week. At Ridge High School, the school day is 6 hours and 50 minutes and teachers put in 8-9 hour days and teach 25 classes a week.

4:10pm: Observation of school facilities

Toyotsu High School is the oldest in Fukuoka prefecture at 250 years old (older than the US). The school library houses "500 pieces of historical material, such as various kinds of records and old documents, old maps, pictures and diagrams..." At one point the school was used by a samurai clan as a training center. The "black gate," the traditional entrance to the grounds, is opened only three times a year. It was opened for us today.

We entered the "shieikan," the traditional assembly hall that is today used as a meeting place and auditorium. Around the area are two huge stone pillars with inscriptions made by the first and second principals of the school. There are also monuments for famous alumni authors and other notable individuals. While the main school structure is only 35 years old, it is being torn down and rebuilt in two years. This is paid for entirely by the prefectural government and this is how school construction works throughout the country. Schools last for 30-40 years and are replaced and upgraded.

5:00pm: Leave high school

Before we left the school, each of us was allowed to take a couple small paintings on cardboard done by an art teacher. They are amazing. This gift-giving is taking place everywhere we go in Yukuhashi. We received a few gifts yesterday as well.

5:30pm: Arrive Miyako Hotel - meet your host family

I met my host father yesterday, but we spent some more time talking tonight as we waited for the formal ceremonies to begin.

6:00pm-8:00pm: Welcome reception at Miyako Hotel

There were long, tedious speeches made by half a dozen officials of the city and school system to celebrate our participation in the program in this city. Even my host father commented that it was long and hard to stay interested. Then each of us introduces ourselves in Japanese to the assembled crowd. We each received hand crafted brushes for calligraphy and a piece of artwork here as well.

Dinner was a great spread of traditional foods including sushi, sashimi, fruit, vegetables, cooked seafood, noodles, etc. I spent the evening talking with and learning about my host.

He is in his first year at his current school as principal and served as principal elsewhere first. Prior to administration he taught for 20+ years first as an elementary teacher and then as a junior high English teacher. In Japan, administrators earn those positions by moving up the ranks from teacher. There is no additional licensing or education required. He also moved to the United Arab Emirates with his family for three years and taught in a Japanese school catering to Japanese families working for the oil companies there. What an experience that must have been. I look forward to talking with him and the rest of the family about that experience when I meet them tomorrow.

8:20pm: Return to hotel