My Middle Schools

Hello again!

Now let's talk about my middle schools. I have 2 of them: Higashi 東 and Toyama 戸山. Higashi middle school is my "base school", so it's where I go if I'm done with my elementary schools and the workday is still not yet over. Out of all the schools I visit, I go to Higashi the most often and for the longest amount of time. It's not a particularly large school, but they are constructing a new larger building to comply with new earthquake code in the midst of the Great Eastern Japanese Earthquake. Toyama middle school is in the southern part of Aomori and feels larger than Higashi middle school, just because there are a lot of extra rooms they don't use.

Middle schools here in Japan feel very different from middle schools in America. First of all, the teacher/student operations are opposite of those in the US. Here, the teachers all rotate among the classrooms while the students stay together in the same classroom with the same classmates. When the kids get older, the classes still stay together (usually along with the same homeroom teacher) for their entire stay at the school, so the students and homeroom teacher are all very familiar with each other by the time they're finished. 

Also, the middle schools have 3 grades instead of 2, and the high schools also have 3 years instead of 4. However, remember that education is only mandatory until the end of middle school, so high school is entirely optional (although the vast majority of student do continue to high school). The 3 year middle school system feels very strange compared to the US. Before, middle school was the awkward transitional period between being a child and being an adolescent. In Japan, since the age gap is larger, there is a huge spectrum of behaviors all contained within a single school.

On the one hand, the 7th graders all feel like children. They are physically tiny, sometimes loud and rowdy, and are very likely to participate in more physical-type activities. They are also more prone to react openly and truthfully, which can sometimes be rude. Many of them are still unafraid to stare at something strange and unfamiliar, which in this case is me.

On the other hand, the 9th graders feel like young adults already. They are able to read the atmosphere of the situation and hide their curiosity as best they can. I still get stared at quite a bit (which I confirm with my excellent peripheral vision), but they turn away and pretend like they weren't looking when I make eye contact. They are mostly shy when they are alone, but gather great courage in large numbers. They can get easily embarrassed or excited when put on the spot.

That being said, I have to admit that I like the 3rd graders the most. They first graders don't know much English and can be rowdy and rude at times. They're the most energetic, so they're the hardest to keep up with on a slow day. The 3rd graders have the best English ability and are the most willing to interact with me outside of the classroom as well. They want to get along, and the smaller age gap lets them treat me like more of a peer instead of an authority figure. Most of the guys are pretty tall and better behaved at this point, and the girls are more mature and open to interaction.

And did I mention the third year girls are cute? If I didn't, damn they are cute! Especially the sports girls! I went to the gym one day during lunch break at Toyoma Middle School, and a few of the girls were playing volleyball. While they were knocking it around, it rolled over to me, so I picked it up and knocked it back. They took this as a cue to start playing volleyball with me. Some of the other girls who were walking around the hallways saw, and they came running over to join in. Pretty soon, we had a good 8 person circle knocking around a volleyball. The one girl in the volleyball club (named Reina) taught me how to hit a volleyball correctly, and then refused to pass the ball to anyone but me. We all had fun, and they were particularly impressed with my ability to stop a stray ball with my legs (Thank you Hapkido! Head kicks forever!).

At the end, they all crowded around me and bombarded me with rapid fire self-introductions. I staggered backwards overwhelmed, and the girls giggled happily at each other. One of them asked me, "Are you happy?" I couldn't contain myself and said, "Yes, I am happy. Very happy." Then she said, "Then give us candy!" All the girls chimed in, "Yeah! Give us candy! Candy!" and giggled away once more.

Oh, I love my life...