Forum - View topicJapanese outdoor classes
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LydiaDianne
 Posts: 5634 Location: Southern California |
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As I said in a previous post, I've been rewatching Cardcaptor Sakura and I have a few questions about outdoor classes.
Forgive me if the questions seem stupid, I'm just interested about Japanese schools vs. American ones. 1) What is the purpose of outdoor classes. Are they to teach Biology, Geography and the like? Are they to help identify kids who may go onto college and study those things? 2) Do the outdoor classes continue through junior high and high school? The other anime I've watched (Sailor Moon, Full Metal Panic & Marmalade Boy) make no mention of outdoor classes. 3) Sakura's class pulled in a net full of fish. What was the pupose of that? Other than how to fish and cook said fish and make dinner. 4) What is the point of the tests of courage? Other than adults scaring the hell out of little kids. 5) Do the Japanese have a "No Child Left Behind" Program? (Please! No president bashing. Please stay on topic. Thanks!) Or are they sensible and realize that some kids do not want or are not able to attend college. Do they try to steer these kids into vocational training? I.E.: Learn to be a fisherman, farmer, plumber, etc. 6) I know that in Princess Nine, Ryo originally said that she wasn't going to go to high school because her mother needed help. Does the Japanese school system help with students like that? Like I said, I hope that these are not stupid questions. I'm just really curious about the Japanese school culture. Thanks, everyone! |
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Fui
 Posts: 339 |
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Hmm I don't know too much about outdoor classes in particular but I can provide a little insight about the educational system in Japan.
Japanese education is kind of whack since they place an extremely large emphasis on elementary/high school and not nearly enough on college. Basically, you study like hell until you get into college (it's not uncommon to hear about suicides due to entrance exams), and then when you're already declared to become something then you can just kind of "get by" and graduate with a degree in something. That being said, lots and lots of money is poured into elementary (you would not imagine the elementary school I "attended" to for a day in Japan when I was 10. The swimming pool they had was like olympic-size and they have this awesome walk-through shower when you get out. Plus they have all these swimming toys and stuff. Oh yeah I got chased by the entire class down the hall because they wanted my signature >_>) and high school. They frequently have class activities, whether it be outside (like the Undoukai, which is like a sports fest with lots of group activities...I attended some of these at my Japanese language school) or inside (like the culture fests you see with themed classrooms like in AzuDai). They also have annual school trips (an extremely popular one in the past was for the classes to go to Australia...don't ask me why it was Australia though) where the entire class goes somewhere really far and different...not like the lame "fields trips" you have here  .
Anyway, they place a lot more emphasis on hands-on outdoor group activities, which probably explains the existence of the outdoor classes you mentioned. Most Japanese people probably agree that high school is lots of fun, and that's possibly why lots of animes are based around high school and the bittersweet memories and activities revolving around it. I wish I could have experienced it myself...I only got a very small taste of it. Regarding the "no child left behind" thing (which is pretty pathetic but we won't go into politics), the teachers are much more involved overall with their students than the ones you find here. Teachers actually pay a visit to the student's homes to have dinner of just to chat (you may have seen this in GTO...well at least in the real-life version of it) to make sure everything is okay and to get to know them and their families. Plus since the teachers are involved with their students in group activities/trips, it's natural that they would become closer to them. You probably see this theme commonly in anime, too. I don't quite get what you mean by "tests of courage" but Japanese people absolutely love ghost/horror stories and "obake-yashikis" (ghost houses). They love talking about curses and ghosts of their high schools and abandoned hospitals and such. You see this a lot in anime too. |
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LydiaDianne
Posts: 5634 Location: Southern California |
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In the episode, one teacher gives a candle to the kids who are in groups of 2 or 3, they are to walk through this dark cave, across a bridge, leave the candle and a shrine and come back. During which time, Mr. Terada (covered by a sheet) jumps out at Sakura & Tomoyo. But if, like you say, the Japanese like being scared. Maybe that's the reason for the test of courage. I don't know. When I was 10, I made if about 20 feet inside a haunted house that was set up for Halloween before my Dad had to take me out. I still don't like being scared to this day. Thanks for your post, Fui! I hope that others will still also answer with their insights and information. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6900 Location: Kazune City |
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This is all based on anime evidence, not real experience... 2) If you watch Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu, there's an episode where they have an outdoor art class, so I'm going to say, yes they continue, though maybe not at all schools. 4) 肝試す [kimodameshi], or "tests of nerves"--yeah, these come up a lot. I'm not sure what the real purpose is, maybe to teach kids not to be afraid of random noises/events. However, I'm tempted to say that they're designed to build romantic relationships (based on girls saying, "kyaaah! I'm scared!" *glomps male partner*) 
5-6) AFAIK, high school isn't mandatory, so kids (such as Tohru in Fruits Basket) do have the option of working or whatever else. I don't know about the "help" part of it. |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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I was rather intrigued by the list of questions related to outdoor classes, since to me it seemed that it was something as natural and common here in the United States as it apparently is in Japan. Maybe times have changed since I was in elementary school but some of my fondest memories of my childhood school days involved the many classes that were taken not just outside but off of school grounds, aside from the frequent field trips. Of course I grew up in California, which is a progressive, more open minded state (and has better weather) so there was more emphasis placed on things learned not just inside the classroom using traditional teaching methods. And I think the same is true of Japan too.
As for the response about less importance in secondary education in Japan (ie both College and Highschool being optional), I think there is a reason for that: there is great pressure put on young people to be successful in life. I think even at a very young age children become highly aware of this through influences from their families and teachers. Imagine how much of an effect that would have on you as a child. Its pretty much ingrained into you that you MUST go to high school, you MUST get a degree you MUST have a future and raise a happy family. Not because it's required, but because its expected. |
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mitora
 Posts: 162 |
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Well its ingrained for a very good reason. Getting out of middle school you still dont have the required knowledge to get a well paying job, you also miss out on a big part of your youth. Now in Japan I believe you enter highschool in 10th grade(please to correct me if I'm wrong). So you are a bit better prepared, but not as much as you should be. These days, its even a bit harder to get a job with just a highschool diploma. Now sure, we could stop at the age of 15, drop out and get a job. But what parent would want that for there child unless it was absolutely necessary? I think its very good this is expected of children, I have a couple friends who dropped out of highschool, and though they are still bit to young right now to understand, I'm certain they will regret it one day. |
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Spotlesseden
Posts: 3514 Location: earth |
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hmm when i was in high school we had many outdoor classes. like art, biology and physics.
not just japan, many Asia education systems are like that such as Hong Kong and China. A gal from HK told me that you need to take entrance exams for high school. and again more exams for college. it doesn't matter how good you do in school. if you failed those exams, you are fucked. it makes sense since some school can cheat and give all their student "A"s. But college for them is like cakewalk. I heard it's impossible to not to graduate once you get in. |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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One other thing to consider, and I am fairly certain this is true because I was reading some detailed info about Rumiko Takahashi's early career, is that it is very difficult to enter the workforce in Japan if you don't graduate from college by a certain age. Companies that hire individuals with the intention that they are going to pursue that career as a longtime goal will not hire people who are over typical graduation age. In America it is very different, it is not uncommon to see college students in their late 20's, 30's or even 40's. In that respect, in Japan it's possible that someone who has not entered college has an advantage over someone who is graduting simply because they are younger and may have had many other relevant experience. So therefore I can see why just entering college is so competitive in Japan. If you want to seriously commit yourself to it, you really have fewer options once you've made it through.
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Nani?
 Posts: 632 |
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First, Japanese education is a model for education in other Asian countrys, particularly S. Korea.
A Jr High Graduate in Japan has about the same status as a "high school drop out" in the U.S. without as many options to improve themselves. Outdoor Classes in Japan and the U.S. are more common in rural areas then in the cities (the US part is based on personal experince), witness shows like Figure 17 (set in Hokkaido) where classes are often outside, but not GTO do not have outdoor classes. It has nothing to do with identifing students of "talent" because the expectation is that you should be good at everything. To get into a good high school, you have to be decent accross the board. Having classes outside, I suspect, is based on having whether it has a nice forest with elk eating grass each morning (my Jr high) or a Taco Bell and a used car lot (my high School) next door. Note on field trips: the "Cave" in Cardcaptor Sakura was a Shinto Shrine. Such trips are more common, as even though on paper there is a seperation between Temple/Shrine and state, it is much less rigourously enforced. As far as teacher student relations, the teacher has much more cohersive power in many ways. They are able to give a written recomendation to the schools a student applies to which carries a lot of weight. Thus, openly rebellious attitudes are much less common unless the student gives up completely and becomes a delinquent. All the Best, Nani? |
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LydiaDianne
Posts: 5634 Location: Southern California |
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Thanks everyone for the information. I learned alot and it was really appreciated!
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