Motivation
When I was reading about the G.S.E. program I got very enthousiastic right away. Not really expecting anything I wrote a letter to Mrs. Gijssen. Japan is a country that I only just learned little about in high-school and most of what we learned was related to the second world war and was not very positive. Going to Japan would be a great chance to create my own realistic thoughts about this; until now; to me unknown country.
As a teacher I was also interested in finding out more about the education system. I wanted to know whether Japanese schools were having similar ideas about all kind of changes that are going on at Dutch primary schools. I was also wondering if they were having similar problems. I wanted to talk to children, teachers and school principals to find out about this.
Back in Holland I was sure the children I teach and I, would profit from this experience. As a teacher you deal with children and their parents every day. Part of my job is to pass on knowledge, but it is even more important to make them think about the world and people around them. I believe that if the story of life of teachers and others is diverse it can be a great advantage to help to learn them understand, accept and respect other cultures, and to form their own opinion. This can be done best after having heard and considered many different sides of the story.
Japanese culture in daily life.
Having been in Japan for a few weeks I could write about many things concerning this subject. The Japanese culture is so different from ours and a lot of things are hard to get a grip on. Many traditions go back a long time and even though they may have Westernized a little you can still almost feel the mystery and atmosphere from back then. I do understand that all of this must sound a bit vague to those who have never been there. But those of us who have been will agree that it is hard to get a grip on for example human relations. There are many unwritten rules within the man-wife relations but also within employer and employee relation.
I do wonder if this feeling of mystery will chance in the coming years. What you see now is that high-tech development goes hand in hand with old traditions. Women and men wearing their beautiful kimono's in the fast moving bullet train, the shinkansen. A girl following tea-ceremony lessons and flowers arrangements who dances the night away in one of the trendy disco's in the city.
The Japanese culture also has quite some habits that probably know their origin far back but that can be described, and so I will describe a few:
Bathing culture
Even though some Japanese houses are small, you will always find a bathroom with a nice deep bath. Before you can get into the bath you have to wash yourself from head to tow. This is done while one is sitting on a little stool. The water can be used by the whole family and is sometimes used for more than one day because there often is a heating system that warms up the water. We were lucky enough to visit a real Japanese onsen, a special public bath with water from a hot spring. Besides being able to totally relax in a Japanese bath it has always had an important social role as well.
Sakura
We were lucky enough to be in Japan during the Sakura; the cherry blossom season. Trees were flowering everywhere which was a very pretty sight. For the Japanese the start of the cherry blossom also means the start of the rice season. Rice used to be the most import export product and therefore the Sakura is still regarded as an important happening. In the news you could even be updated by how many percent the flowers had opened.
I think that this deep rooted culture woven through every day life is one of the beauty's of Japan and it is definitely something to cherish. It would be a shame if all of this becomes a symbol. Something that attracts tourists. Something like our windmills, wooden shoes and traditional customs. Tourist come to Holland to take a look at things that are; to us, not much more than a symbol.
Vocational days
On my vocational days I mainly visited primary schools, regular schools as well as schools for mentally handicapped children. I also visited day-care center for handicapped people and a kindergarden. The vocational days were always very well arranged and the interpreter made it possible to get to know a lot about the school system, the class-management, the salary, the problems and the joys and so on.
On my first vocational day I visited a school for abused children. It's awful to think of the idea that all the children there are either mentally, physically or sexually abused. Abuse is a growing problem in Japan but because of the economic recession the government doesn't put a lot of money into the social work. It was still holiday season but I could walk through the hall and see the classrooms. And I was shocked by the state of the school. School furniture was really old, paint was coming off the walls and there was hardly any material for the children to play with. They showed me a little place where the children could play, nothing more than a stone garden with a gate around it. The school was in the same building as the place where the children were living. Small rooms with 4 bunkbeds.The children were all around me, some of them may have never seen a European person. They kept touching my hair and looking at the color of my eyes.
I talked to teachers and the psychologist and it was interesting to hear their ideas and treating methods. One of the social workers there; was part of the Japanese team. Even though the situation of all the children is really bad, there are not enough social workers, the pay is low; I did not hear one complaint and they all still were showing so much love for the children. Something we can learn from.
I won't go into detail about all of my vocational days but I will give a general idea about Japanese schools on public and private schools.
General information about Japanese schools
Japan knows a system of public and private schools. In Japan it is really important which school the child attends. Going to a private school will be of positive influence on a child's career. Even kindergarden kids sometimes have to do tests to get into a special elementary school.I have visited different schools and where some of them surprised me because of their new and well equipped facilities others gave me the idea of walking through a prison. Great music-rooms, new computers and sportsfields but also old furniture, paint coming from the wall and so on. Private schools are in general better equipped but they are also dealing with the problem of large amounts of pupils in one class. Japanese classes have an average of 40 pupils. The interesting thing is that handicapped children within the "regular" school were getting private lessons for a few hours a day. Because of this large number it is not possible for the teacher to offer different levels of learning, every child gets the same program. 25 years ago it was like this in Holland too, but now the so called adaptive learning has taken over from the classical learning. Teachers have to offer different programs for different levels, something that is only possible with a smaller amount of pupils.
Because there is so much pressure on the education many children go to the after school school. By the time they get home it's time for dinner, homework and then time to go to bed. It's not surprising that many; even young children are very stressed and don't always lead a happy life. And, with the high unemployment rate, even if a child does really well and gets good marks it's not always sure that he or she can get a job, which is not very motivating.
Teachers were also dealing more and more with difficult behaviour, but again with so many pupils it is very hard to do something about it. Luckily plans are made to create smaller classes. This is definitely necessary to give children the attention they need.
I also visited schools for disabled children, I was happily surprised by how well things seemed to be organized. Good facilities and small numbers of pupils. For younger children there was one teacher for 2 children and the older pupils were also tought in small groups.
It was great to walk around the school and institutions, to feel the atmosphere, to be surrounded by loads of curious Japanese children and to talk to the Japanese teachers. I hope I can return to Japan someday and have another visit.
Host families
I remember going home with my first host family very well. She was a widowed woman who didn't really speak any english, she had asked her niece to help out. Even though we couldn't really have a conversation, I had a good feeling and this only grew stronger while the week went by. I slept in the traditional guest room with tatami-mats and a futon ( Japanese matras) to sleep on. It was great to stay in this room because it was so typically Japanese. During the five weeks I met great people, went karaoke singing, ate lots of fish, got the chance to wear a kimono, do flower-arrangements, watched Japanese dance and so on. Every week was different and where one family organized something different every evening, another wanted to make sure you had enough time to relax.
I will always remember the great hospitality and the warm welcome they have given me and even though it wasn't always possible to have conversations, I still feel we have exchanged our culture and way of life.
Reflection on motivation
I didn't really know what to expect in Japan. Reading and hearing about it gives you a slight idea, but you can only begin to understand this country and its people after having seen the gardens, schools and modern buildings with your own eyes. Having heard the noise of the pachinko (gambling hall), the Japanese language, the silence of the tea ceremony with your own ears. After having tasted the fish, soja green tea, having felt your legs after sitting on them too long during a visit to a temple, the warmth of the Japanese people. And after having smelled the incense at the shrines.
I wanted to experience another culture. The G.S.E commission and rotary clubs have given us a unique chance to experience many different aspects of the Japanese culture. I've enjoyed visiting the beautiful gardens and shrines but also the amusement parks. It was interesting to take a close look at some great architecture but also to walk through small alleys smelling the okinomiyaki.
After having been in Japan for over 5 weeks, Japan is more than a country that was involved in the second world war and has big sumo wrestlers. Japan has gotten a face. A very friendly face with still a veil of mystery around it. A country that is definately worth visiting again.
I've organized a day about Japan; with all kinds of activities. The children were all very enthusiastic; and I am sure they will remember the positive stories and special things about Japan. I hope they keep this in mind especially when they might, in the future, also get less positive information about Japan.
Visiting Japan has been a great experience, or as Henk would say; It has been a highlight. I would like to thank my host families, the rotary club Duiven and ofcourse I would like to thank Henk Veenbergen who has proven to be a great teamleader and member at the same time, and my teammembers, great people!! I have had a great time with all of you!
Martina Molendijk.
