We visited the schools...

This is the one of the original buildings that was built 80 years ago. It is the only original building that remains. The school just celebrated its 100 year anniversary. Also - their sister school is the BARSTOW SCHOOL in Kansas City, Missouri. In case you do not know - BARSTOW is my maiden name!!!! Coincidence?????

Today we visited the local high school in Kurashiki. It was very enlightening. I cannot post the pictures of the kids. They asked us specifically not to post them on the web. However, I have tons of pictures to share one on one. I am still taking in everything that I learned today and I am trying to process it to figure out how I really feel about it. This is a different world! Education in Japan is looked at as more of a "place in society" kind of thing. There is definitely a hierarchy of things. They do not have special ed, or gifted and talented. They have one school where all of the children learn the same way. There is a teacher in front of a silent classroom. The teacher is lecturing. There is little to no interaction. This is what was so odd to me. I walked through this highschool all day and it was VERY quiet. Again, I am not sure how I really feel about it. It goes against my teaching style, but then again I think that this is their culture and their way of doing things. I wonder how they would react to my teaching style? I will really have to sit down and tell you the story of my day - it is hard to put it in writing. I do not want to loose the meaning through typed interpretation. That is another thing that we are dealing with. We do have somewhat of a language deficit - and I wonder how much of what is being said is being lost in translation. Would I want to teach in Japan? No - but then again, I am looking at it through the eyes of a teacher from the United States. What if I had been born and raised in Japan - would my dreams of being a teacher still exist?

Another thing we did tonight was Kareoke. It was quite an experience. They have kareoke booths in Japan. You pay by the hour and your group goes in to a small room and sings your lungs out! We had a wonderful time. We ended the night by singing New York, New York. I have never experienced anything quite like today........