Friday, April 24, 2009

what hours of the day and months of the year do kids in japan go to school

what hours of the day and months of the year do kids in japan go to school?
I was just in Okinawa, Japan at the beginning of Oct. I was shopping on one of their main drags and I was seeing tons of kids dressed in school uniforms shopping along there as well. I saw them at noon and I saw them at 2 pm even. Do they have extra long lunch breaks and have open campuses or something? What hours and months do they have school? Yes, I can imagine the swine flu thing being the case (their airport security check for flu was much more stringent than I'm used to). But they were all dressed in school uniforms, different ones at that. Do they have kids go to school and then send them home the very same day (probably I guess) if one has swine flu? If they were sent home the day after for a couple of days then I wouldn't imagine they would be wearing uniforms.
Teaching - 1 Answers
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1 :
Sometimes, Japanese schools have cancelled classes for flu seasons if more than 5 students are sick in class. If you were seeing JHS students, this was probably the case. High schools are mostly closed campus, but again, if they have a flu with more than 5 kids out of a class, that group of students might not be attending school for a couple of days. Japan has a year round schedule. They go to school usually from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm ES and JHS for classes plus JHS has clubs from 3:30 to 6:00 pm. They go to school from Monday to Friday in public schools. They go to school about 3 Saturdays out of the year, but then they get the next MOnday off to make up for it. They have a winter break from Dec 23 to Jan 9 and a Spring break from March 23 to March 30. Their summer holiday is from about July 20th through the month of August, about 6 weeks, but JHS kids still go to club during this time. Japanese kids do not study as hard at school as American students, but they also go to juku to get into high school, so they study harder on their own. Shane

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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Do you have a short trip in American school

Do you have a short trip in American school?
Students in most of elementary, junior high and high school in Japan go traveling which takes 2~7days of a trimester. The destination is usually far away from their school. Some schools plan to visit overseas. Do you have such short-trip-custom in American school? Yes the trip in Japan is also called as an educational trip. :) Although the intention of many students seems to be just to have fun. xD Thanks for posting from Lebanon. :D
Friends - 3 Answers
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1 :
Usually not for elementary but it depends on the school. I know a high school here in Arizona that took their seniors to Spain but my high school didn't have a class trip. I think it varies by state/school but some schools do take their students on trips.
2 :
That's not common here in the USA. Especially with younger kids. Some high schools offer optional trips to other countries, but they are though Educational Tours and cost over $1,000 (USD).
3 :

umm here in lebanon we don't

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Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Are there any Boarding Schools in Japan for a 15 year old Boy

Are there any Boarding Schools in Japan for a 15 year old Boy?

Other - Education - 1 Answers
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1 :
You did not say where in Japan, nor did you say you wanted an 'English' speaking boarding school. I did a www.dogpile.com search and found several hits. Visit some of them at: http://www.dogpile.com/info.dogpl/search/web/japan%252Bboarding%252Bschool/1/-/1/-/-/-/1/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/417/top/-/-/-/1

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Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Would it be smart for an American high school student to go to college in Japan

Would it be smart for an American high school student to go to college in Japan?
I really want to move and live there but a don't know the languages. but i head that if some one is around the languages that they would on average learn in two- three weeks
Higher Education (University +) - 1 Answers
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1 :
No, I studied abroad in Japan a few years back and learning Japanese is very difficult. I took some pre-courses before I went, but those didn't help me at all. I suggest that you should take some language courses before going over there to study. And also Japan's university system is not all that strong. The cost would probably be astronomical. The United States has plenty of great colleges you should attend!

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Is English an obligatory course in schools in Japan

Is English an obligatory course in schools in Japan?

Japan - 4 Answers
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1 :
Yes, we are required to learn English for 6 years between age 12-18. And they say it's going to be lowered to 10-18 in the near future.
2 :
yes. when i went to japan in 2005 I visited a school and many of the student knew japan becuase it is a required course
3 :
English language study is mandatory in Japan. Very basic English instruction is provided to Japanese children in elementary school. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070303b1.html More serious instruction begins in Jr. high school and continues to high school. An important segment of acceptance into major Japanese universities involves English language test scores.
4 :

yes. In fact most Japanese students have a better grasp of grammar, syntax and sentence structure than your average American High Schooler.

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Monday, March 16, 2009

Any good high school study abroad programs in S.Korea/Japan

Any good high school study abroad programs in S.Korea/Japan?
I'm planning to study abroad in my sophomore or junior year in high school. But the thing is that I haven't found the right program that has at least a good record of no sexual assault or any complaints whatsoever. Any good ones out there? I'm only a freshman btw. I'm looking at one right now called AYUSA but had some complaints so I don't know right now. Pls & thank you for some help!!!
Studying Abroad - 1 Answers
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1 :
I am a 5-time host mom and volunteer with Youth For Understanding (YFU). YFU, AFS, and Rotary are frequently called "the big 3" when it comes to exchanges - long histories and good reputations. Please forgive my bias towards YFU - it's the one with which I have direct experience. I am gaining indirect experience by corresponding with former students. When I have asked exchange students why they chose YFU, I get the following answers: (1) YFU gave them more bang for their buck and/or (2) someone they knew and trusted recommended YFU. 95% of the fees collected by YFU go for direct program costs (airline tickets, support in hosting country, etc.). YFU has been around for 59 years and has learned how to make exchanges successful. Which ever program you choose, make sure they are listed with the Council for Standards on International Educational Travel (csiet.org). They routinely audit programs for quality. One note about complaints against an exchange organization: As with most things in life, you have to evaluate complaints versus number of people who have been involved and try to determine the motives of those complaining. For example, YFU has had around 240,000 students go on exchange. If you try hard enough, you might be able to come up with a few that did not have a good experience. I personally know of one student who complained because she wasn't allowed to communicate with friends family "back home" every day, even though she had been told that she shouldn't have more than one email or phone call per week. You have to balance that with the experiences of dozens of former exchange students who have such great experiences that they go on to be volunteers or staff members for the exchange organization. A note about timing: I can't speak for any other programs, but the programs that go through YFU have an application deadline of April 1 if you want to go this coming school year. Additionally, the application deadlines for all scholarships have passed. If I may, I would like to cast a vote for going with Youth For Understanding (YFU). I've put several links below, including a link that you can use to contact former YFU American Overseas students. YFU does have programs to South Korea and Japan. Good luck to you no matter what you choose!

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Sunday, March 8, 2009

How will people in Japan judge me since I'm a foreigner

How will people in Japan judge me since I'm a foreigner?
Will they judge be just because of how I look? I'm an American with blonde hair My friends that have visited Japan on a school trip said that they were stared at a lot, so I want some tips that might help me not stand out
Japan - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
They all see you as sexy beast
2 :
You can't avoid being stared at as long as you are in Japan. But don't be afraid. You don't have to be someone else. Stay as you are now. I don't know what you mean by judge. But you don't have to worry about it unless you come to Japan to work.
3 :
they will not judge you by the way you look but they will judge you by the way you act and the way you dress.
4 :
You'll be a gaijin....
5 :
Okay first of all, no matter where you go -- whether it's down the road to the grocery store or half-way around the world to a different country -- people judge you based on your appearance. It's just a fact of life. Japan is really no different, but it seems like stories of how foreigners get treated in Japan are passed around and blown all out of proportion. You're going to stand out no matter what you do, and frankly if you try to blend in you're probably just going to look silly and make yourself stand out even more. My advice to you: don't be rude or obnoxious, learn some basic Japanese before you go (stuff like please and thank you), bring a phrase book with you, see if you can find bilingual maps of where you're going and bring those too (very helpful if you have to stop and ask for directions), bathe and clean your clothes regularly, and other than that just stop worrying about it. Smile and be reasonably cheerful when you talk to people, and show some genuine interest in the culture, it gets you pretty far with people. But at the same time remember that Japan isn't a theme park and the vast majority of people there aren't there to care for or entertain you, they're just trying to enjoy their own vacations or go about their everyday lives. Don't be shocked when strangers on the streets or subways don't talk to you -- they're not being rude, it's just how things are done (and really, how often do total strangers in other cities stop and strike up random conversations on the streets?). People might be curious but that's okay. You're curious too, or you wouldn't even be in Japan. All of this is pretty common sense, but people really seem to freeze up and not even think about it when it comes to traveling in Japan. Remember that no matter what you look like, you have a LOT of control over how people treat you because you have control over how you treat everyone around you. Good behavior will generally get you treated well. Being an obnoxious nuisance will annoy people and you'll be back here a week after your trip asking why the Japanese are so rude (they're not). Remember that there are jerks everywhere and you might run into them, but for most people the above rule of reciprocal good behavior and nice treatment applies.
6 :

If you go outside of the big cities like Tokyo and Osaka, you are guaranteed get stared at, but don't get paranoid about it, no-one in japan is out to get you and it's not because they dislike you, a blond haired american is just not something they see that often. Most people won't negatively judge you because you are a foreigner, really the only people who still resent tourists, etc, are a few old people and they cant really do much, so don't change yourself, go as you are and as long as you are cheerful and polite everyone will be nice back.

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