Today we went and visited pre-K/kindergarten, elementary, and middle school/high school. Overall the schools were very similar to our schools in the states. The Pre-k and kindergarten were different by the fact that they were so open. The kids got to chose wether they wanted to play inside or outside. Outside they had a massive garden that the kids planted and took care of the plants. They had many animals that the children were responsible for feeding and cleaning up after. I saw the children take care of some turtles. They were very glad to help take care of the turtles and show off the eggs the turtles had laid — elementary schools were different by how the teachers were tasked with activities like gym, music, and art. In the State, we have a separate art teacher, gym teacher, and music teacher. I did not like the fact that the teachers had to teach all these subjects. If I were in their shoes, it would be very difficult to teach music and gym. I loved the fact that the elementary school was so proud of their mini pony. This would be so great to bring to schools in America. In middle and high school is was very similar. It was very odd to see English being taught as a second language. It was also interesting to see the language translations that the kids had.
It was very cool to see all the different level schools in Japan. I was surprised to see how much space all the schools had despite being in a very populated area. I am very excited to see how the elementary school in the county compares to urban schools.
Kyōiku: View through U.S. Teachers Eyes 