One of the first things Hikari recalls about her life as a student is participating in the volleyball club in middle school, starting in grade 7. She would have practice every day throughout the year, including weekends. Joining a club is optional, but as Hikari grew up in a rural city, she says that joining a club is a good idea because it gives you something to do. She also wanted to join the Student Council in grade 8. She recalls that she didn't have a lot of free time, not only because of school, which went from 8:30 to 5:30, and club activities, which went until 7:00, but she would have cram school after that three times a week, where she studied English and Math. Many Japanese students go to cram schools to focus on their studying. Hikari recalls cram school being much more difficult in high school than in middle school, because high school is much harder.
There were seven classes in each grade in high school, and all students were required to take them. However, in grade 12, she could choose to focus on either the humanities or the sciences. The classroom is very fast-paced, and they would cover ten pages of problems per day in the textbook. The teacher will often ask questions and expect an answer, and many students review the lesson in cram school before the class. There is also lots of homework. Junior high was not quite as fast-paced as high school.
Hikari remembers how in middle school, the students are responsible for keeping the school clean, particularly the stairs and bathrooms, and every day a different group would clean. Lunches would be 40 minutes each day, and in junior high, they had a lunch program, whereas in high school the students were required to either bring or buy their own lunch. Because her house was so close to her junior high school, Hikari would walk to school, but many students rode their bicycles. All Japanese public school students (and many private school students) are required to wear uniforms, which differ for each school. In Hikari's school, girls wore a "sailor uniform," with only minor differences between junior high and high school uniforms. There were around 300 students at her junior high, and about 600 in her high school.
When asked about what she talked about with her friends, Hikari said that she would take about boyfriends, other friends, which teachers they liked and didn't like, T.V. programs, mostly comedy and drama, music, actors and actresses, and movies. Since Hikari lived in a rural area, she would always rent DVDs because there was no theater nearby.
When asked what she did to relax on weekends, Hikari said she would often read manga or hang out with friends. With her friends, they would sometimes go to a photo sticker booth or a game center. In junior high, she would have volleyball matches on weekends. Other weekends she would study or go shopping with her family.
Some positive things Hikari identifies in her school life include that she had the same homeroom teacher for three years in a row in middle school. This teacher also inspired her to follow the career she is following. In junior high school, there was very little academic competition, and she enjoyed participating in the volleyball club. She also had a senior trip in her final year of junior high, and went to Hiroshima. High school also had some positive moments, including that she would get home earlier in high school, and teachers were very helpful, offering tutoring before class and giving information on universities. Overall, however, Hikari preferred junior high over high school.
Hikari also recalls the school festivals in high school. There would be three days straight of festivals, a singing competition on one day, cultural festival the next, and sports festival on the third day. Hikari's class won the singing competition all three years in a row. The cultural festival was a very lively time, and Hikari recalls her class setting up a haunted house. The sports festival was also very memorable, and the top grade in junior high and high school would be responsible for planning team spirit, costumes, signboards, etc.
Hikari also gave some negative aspects to Japanese school life. For one, respect for elders is very prominent in Japan, and everyone has to be polite and greet teachers and older students. This was especially tough in grade 7, since they are at the very bottom of the hierarchy. On the flip side, grade 9 students, who are at the top, often feel as though they don't have to respect anyone, so some of them break school rules by wearing uniforms improperly, or not listening to teachers, etc. Also, high school was very busy and Hikari had little time for anything but studying. In addition, though most Japanese high schools have a senior trip in grade 12, Hikari's high school did not have one.
Hikari remembers an incident in junior high school where she and some friends were going home and were very hungry. There was a convenience store between the school and her home, but their teachers discouraged them from stopping anywhere on the way home, including convenience stores. They stopped at the convenience store anyway to buy some meat buns, but as they bought them, she saw one of her teachers, who was very angry and asked "What are you doing?" They explained they were very hungry. The next day her homeroom teacher told her class not to go to convenience stores after school. Hikari explains that some teachers are fine with it, including her homeroom teacher, but some aren't. She also remembers three instances when her cell phone rang in class, and the teacher confiscated it for a week. Also, students will often pass notes in class, hiding them under their textbook, and while some teachers will take the notes, others don't care.
Hikari also talks about a fad where boys would put love notes into girls' shoes saying "I like you, I want to date you" or similar. Especially during Christmas and Valentine's day, students will try and get a boyfriend or girlfriend. Hikari went out with two boys during junior high. On Valentine's Day in Japan, girls will give chocolate to their friends and their favorite guy, and the boys return the favor the next month on White Day. At such a young age, many couples are shy about dating, so they will often go in groups. Going to the beach was a very common date in Hikari's school. In high school, because of all the studying, there is not a lot of time to go on dates, so the most common date would be for the guy to walk the girl home. Hikari also adds that in high school, many girls got into makeup, some more than others.
Not every Japanese student goes to high school. There are many who go to vocational schools, or who start working. In addition, universities are very difficult to get into, but university itself is much less difficult than in high school.
Hikari also talked about the English program in Japanese schools, saying that they did not focus on getting students to learn to speak English. There was far more reading, and teachers did not correct pronunciation. The class mainly consisted of reading and listening to English books, and during class they would write sentences. In junior high, there was a teacher's assistant who was a native speaker who would pronounce certain words, but it was difficult to communicate with them. In high school, the English classes focused strictly on writing and grammar. Few students learn how to pronounce English properly. Teachers are not concerned about it, and are more concerned with material that will be on the university entrance exams.
Hikari identifies one of the main differences between Japanese and Canadian schools to be that there are no options in Japanese schools, such as drama, home economics, etc. All students are required to take the same courses. Students are not offered different levels of courses depending on their ability; all students are required to learn what everyone else learns. In addition, she notes that public schools in Canada do not have uniforms, and there are no cram schools in Canada like there are in Japan. There are also not many faith-based schools such as Catholic schools in Japan. Also, in Canada, clubs such as sports teams do not run all year, only for one season, so it is possible to join several. Finally, the school hours are shorter in Canada, only going until 3:30.
