When first landing in Japan, the weeks have allowed to me really enjoy a good handful of experiences in the country. Eating delicious food and partaking in many excursions, there are plenty of aspects in Japan that pique my interest. Being in Sapporo, I was given an opportunity to visit two elementary schools within the region in order to witness and assist the growth of students in their English studies. This included conversing with students using basic English words as well as preparing a slideshow that would showcase different countries around the world. This experience was highly informative to me and made me ponder on how different and similar the school system in Sapporo is compared to Calgary. With this experience so far, there are some key observations I have made:
Key Observations:
- At least in the Elementary division, teachers generally have trust in their students to do specific tasks and be responsible. For example, students are given a role in the classroom that indicates their classroom job (for example: cleaning the whiteboard or take lead of a greeting). In my time within the classroom, students have had no problems with taking on these responsibilities.
- Not only does the school reflect this, but Japanese societies in general uphold an expectation that citizens act responsibly.
- The school buildings are spacious and allow for classroom sizes of 30 or even more. Students may walk around and sit more comfortably in these settings.
- Students are required to take “moral education” classes in the school. These are intended to teach students about responsibilities and behavioral expectations in society. This fact is extremely interesting to me as morality can be subjective in some cultures.
- I have been informed that teacher workload in Japan is known to be quite burdensome. This is similarly said to be true for Alberta teachers as well from my past conversations with them.
Using these observations, it will allow me to reflect on the ways that I may guide my students in the classroom back in Alberta and how I can perhaps utilize this information to improve my own practices. These next few weeks, I am going to look further into what strategies Japanese teachers may use to manage and guide their classroom as well as how student-teacher relationships are maintained. At the same time, I will continue to indulge myself in the fantastic local cuisine!
