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| credit: www.japantimes.co.jp |
A Filipina recently asked me if she should enroll her daughter in a Japanese public school or in a private school. Since she knows I'm a teacher, she asked me what would her daughter gain in a Japanese school.
I told her that her daughter will have language and cultural exposure. I can't think of anything else during that time.
But if I'll be asked again what can you gain from studying in a Japanese school, I'd share the following...
1. You'll have an early training for hard work and time management.
Even if I have part time jobs after working at the school, my tight schedule is nothing compared to the students here. If you're in junior high school, you'll go to school at around 6 or 7 to practice sports. Then you'll have school from 8 to 3. Sports club again until 6 or 8 pm. Then you'll go to cram school or juku. Before you sleep, you have to do homework. You also to give up your weekends for more sports practice. This kind of schedule will get tighter when you go to high school. By the time you enter the Japanese workforce, you'll be more than prepared to work as hard as the others who can survive with barely 4 hours of sleep.
2. You'll pass elementary, junior high school and (maybe) high school with little academic effort.
If you dislike academic stuff and feels lazy doing schoolwork, the Japanese school is for you. I've had some students who barely pass their subjects but they were able to graduate from junior high school. Some students have slept through their way to high school. They just literally sleep in class. I've met two students who just showed up during school lunches but they got their diploma in junior high school. How they did this, I don't know.
Here's the catch though, you may pass junior high school but high school and university are a different matter. It's all about the grades and lots of hours in a cram school. So if you want to go to a reputable high school and university, just like in any other country, get your act together.
3. You'll be physically healthy.
Aside from doing sports almost every single day, you'll either walk to school or cycle to school. You cannot go to school riding a car unless there's a special reason. You're not allowed to take the bus either. Even if it rains or snows, you must walk or cycle to school.
Then, you have to finish the school lunch and drink the milk that goes with it. On my first months on eating the school lunch, I gained 2 kilos. It's unbelievable cause I struggled with gaining weight since high school. The physical activity and the food make Japanese students generally well-built and healthy.
4. You can withstand heat and ice.
In Hamamatsu and in some areas in Japan, schools don't have air conditioners. Students have to survive the summer heat with 2 fans in the classroom. Then, they also have to survive the freezing Japanese winter with only a humidifier. I stay in the staff room during extreme heat and cold. It has an air conditioner. I wasn't trained to withstand heat and ice.
If all these things appeal to you or if you don't have a better alternative, by all means go and study in a Japanese school. It would be fine.
