Things That Don’t Make Sense at Japanese Schools

I know the title reads... somewhat negatively, in a bashing sort of way, but let me explain. I really don't mean it in a bad way to put Japanese people down. There are things that schools here in Japan do, that are just... very different. And when brought up to Japanese people, it makes them sort of question why it's being done as well.

A lot of it is very highly ingrained in people, as it is just the way it is for them. Since lots of Japanese people are not used to questioning authority, a lot of the time they don't think it's so strange until someone else questions it.

But one or two of these things on this list is just... very wrong, though. And I don't have reasons why people allow this, but perhaps you can draw your own conclusions about it. I would love to hear your opinions on some of these in comments if you have any.

Anyway, onwards to the list!

Sports Day... Before The Actual Sports Day

This is literally the biggest mystery to me and while culturally I understand why it happens... still... WHY???

Let me explain.

Every year, schools would hold Sport Days for students to get active, do physical activities and really to promote togetherness and teamwork. Even though Sports Day has some sports events, a lot of it is just for fun - like tug-o-war, or throwing as many balls into a net - things like that.

And like clockwork, every year, one day (or two days) before Sports Day there is ALWAYS a “Rehearsal Sport Days”. You know, like if you had a stage performance, you’d run and practice the entire performance with costume testing and sound test. Yes, they run pretty much the entire Sport Days (not every event, but they might as well) in the name of familiarizing the students with their seating, where to bring their chairs, how they should march out to the field, where to stand when doing the warm up exercises, how & where to run in to the field if it’s your event, etc etc.

Almost the entire thing. Except it’s not the real thing.

So you’re sometimes watching the whole “practice” relay race happen, where there’s a winner… but it doesn’t count, because it’s just “practice”. I don’t get it. Honestly.

Lack of, or no AC Units (except library & staff room)

I feel like more public schools are slowly installing AC units in all their classrooms, but up until 5 years ago, I was still teaching at schools where they only had one portable kerosene heater per classroom. These aren’t big or anything. So essentially if you put these heaters in one corner of the room, it would only heat like… 5 or 6 students (out of 30-40 students) in that corner while the rest freeze their asses off.

Keep in mind that students can’t just layer up with jackets. They can only wear their uniforms in classes. I know many students who put layers underneath with UNIQLO heattech underwear (that might explain why it exists in the first place?), but I have worked at schools where there may even be rules on your undershirts. Girls might be forbidden to wear their gym shorts underneath their skirts (often done for convenience and for warmth), or need to wear a specific kind of sock.

Blankets are usually allowed to cover their legs for warmth in the winter time, but there are some teachers who really follow that to a T. I’ve seen students get yelled at for wrapping their blankets around their heads, or their bodies… yeah.

I asked why this is taken so seriously before, and a teacher told me that it’s possibly there to teach students to endure, and possibly build up their immune system? Hmmm..

I don’t know. What do you guys think of this one?

Desk and Chairs

I think this is pretty typical of Asian schools, not only Japanese, but as someone who did most of their schooling in Canada, I forgot how all the desks and chairs need to be in rows facing the backboard. Every classroom has this layout. It’s totally not up to the discretion of the teachers, like it is in Canada.

Of course, you can order students to make groups and move their desks. But they’re expected to move right back into rows immediately after.

There was one school in a city I taught at that was trying to experiment with more “Western” approaches and had all the classrooms do the horseshoe style… quite frankly, if a Japanese person were to draw conclusions of this experiment, it would have been a huge failure. I feel like they picked a really terrible school to experiment on, sadly…

(Some) Rules for Students

I'm sure you heard of this one: students cannot dye their hair. Though it's a bit of a doosy as the rules are made with Japanese students with black hair in mind, which really means "students needs to keep their hair black or as close to black as possible". (Article: Black hair, white underwear: A battle resumes over Japan’s school rules) Which really... doesn't make sense. Especially now when more and more of the student population is mixed race. There was a particular news story in Japan several years back when a non-Asian student in Japan was told that she had to dye her hair black, even though her natural hair colour was not black.

There are other nonsensical rules, though some can differ in severity.

Skirt length in female uniforms seem to be a commonly practiced rules. Some schools that are lower in academic abilities may not enforce these rules at all, while more traditional schools may enforce it more strictly. Some schools may even allot days where teachers stand in front of the school entrance as students are arriving in the morning just to check skirt length and other rules in the dress code. This can include things like: length of sock, colour of sock, type of shoes worn, whether your blouse is tucked in neatly or not, whether you wore the correct "shirt" under your blazer, etc etc. The list goes on.

Students are also not allowed to leave the school property during lunch time: This surprised me a bit coming from Canada as it was commonplace for students who lived close to the school to be able to return home for lunch, and promptly return when lunch break ended. This is absolutely not possible for students here. Whether or not your school provides school lunch, you are expected to stay at school to eat.

Students are not allowed to drink beverages during class: I'm not sure if this is really a rule, or more of an unspoken rule, but schools seem to really enforce this one quite strictly overall. There are some teachers who allow students to drink if they ask, but most students seem to know and accept that it's not something you do.

There also a rule where students cannot bring snacks to school to eat. Which... I guess makes sense? In a way... but at a high school level, it's sort of a bit too much. I wouldn't necessarily call it strange or doesn't make sense. I don't know...

There are a few other rules but if I say it, I'm afraid I might reveal too much about where I work because I feel like those rules are very strictly happening at the school I work at only... I may reveal them once I stop working there later though. Anyway, I mostly only wanted to talk about the hair colour rule in this part. So that's ok.

If you teach in Japan, what are some rules you've come across at your schools that don't seem to make much common sense??

Teaching Credentials for Pedophiles

I was clued in on this during one of my twitter threads today, and I think this absolutely fits the topic for today. Someone mentioned that teachers convicted of child sexual abuse only get their teaching license revoked for THREE YEARS before they can essentially go back and have a chance to return to their job once again. What??

I looked into it some more, and found this newspaper article on Asahi Shimbun:

Petition calls for ban on pedophile teachers getting licensed again

It seems like there is a huge issue with after school programs here in Japan as well. As this article outlines, there's almost no way for employers to check & verify whether or not someone had disciplinary issues in the first place.

There is a more recent Japan Times article I came across that says they are trying to make it harder for "teachers" with revoked licenses to get licensed again, but I don't have high hopes for this... usually this means that the rule exists, but not followed through in practice.

This seriously makes no sense to me, and sends a message that this country really doesn't care all that much to do anything about sexual abuse or child protection.

That's all I can think of so far... what do you guys think? Do you have an "why the fuck is this happening" moments at your school you teach at? Did anything shock you? Let me know in the comments! :)