Oct 15, 2005 21:57
There are definitely some problems with the Japanese school system: For example, the fact that learning English is mandatory for all kids grades 7th - 12th, simply because it’s on college entrance exams. The fact that kids can pass these exams without being able to speak a word of English is also irritating. The way teachers tolerate students sleeping in class, and the way these same kids can also get away with severely disrupting class when they’re not asleep is cause for concern as well. However, there are also some really wonderful things about the Japanese school system, one of which is the intense feeling of camaraderie it fosters.
Today was the second day of Tatsuno Junior High’s school festival. I missed the first day because of a JET conference in Matsumoto, and I was looking forward to finding out what this whole “bunkasai” was all about. Another thing about the Japanese school system is that students seem to be given a lot more responsibility; they are responsible for cleaning at the end of the day, they are in charge of serving their fellow students’ lunch, and they seemed to have been very active in running the festival. The opening and closing ceremonies were conducted almost entirely by the kids themselves, with students acting as emcees throughout. The performances were fun to watch, and included: an all-girl hip-hop dance number that was really impressive, a breaking routine by three boys, a traditional Japanese fisherman’s dance performed by (my favorite) third year class, performances by the brass band, a student’s own rock band (which was awesome!) called “Trash” (how hardcore is that?!?), several recorder groups, and a performance by the koto club (traditional Japanese harp. This was one of those performances where I was thinking to myself, I can’t tell if they’re any good or not, because it’s such a weird sounding instrument.) After all the songs, dances, pieces, and plays had been performed, the day was over except for the closing ceremonies.
I’m going to go back for a second, to an entry I posted ages ago, where I asked if anyone knew the meaning of the enigmatic phrase “Ganbatte, Prune King!” I know I never explained it, but now its time has come. I was sitting in lunch all those weeks ago with my favorite third-year class. These are all really friendly, talkative kids, and one student in particular had approached me a few times already to try and talk in English. His name is Yuki, and at the risk of sounding too mushy, I’m going to say he’s an absolute sweetheart. This might sound a bit odd, but there’s a certain type of Japanese face that other Japanese say looks like a monkey’s. I’ve got a monkey boy in one of my first year classes, and Yuki is a bit of a monkey boy too. It’s not a bad thing; it doesn’t mean ugly or anything like that, it’s more like a--mischievous countenance.
At any rate, I was eating lunch at Yuki’s table group, and prunes happened to be part of the school lunch that day. I always thought that prunes were dried plums, but these things they were calling prunes were oblong, smallish fresh fruits, with dark skin and putrid green flesh. One by one, the other students at my group started asking Yuki if he wanted their prunes, and he accepted them all. Now, taking into account all the nasty shit these kids WILL eat, and also the undeniable fact that I am a -ahem- picky eater, I figured I’d save time and not waste food by just giving my prune to Yuki. At this point, the kids from the table behind him were piling their prunes on his already full plate, but Yuki never said no. Finally, he had a plate piled high with the strange fruits, and I decided I’d try and joke with him a little in Japanese about it. I pointed at him, and then at his plate, and said “Yuki-san wa, prune no osama desu ne.” Which means, “Yuki is the prune king, eh?” The girl sitting next to him tittered, and Yuki hadn’t quite heard me so he asked her what I’d said. [She says you’re the prune king,] she giggled. He looked at me and gave me this big cheesy grin, and his friend sitting behind him laughed. He leaned forward and said to Yuki “Ganbatte, Prune King,” which cracked me up because he’d said “Prune King” in English. And I felt so good and happy that they’d understood my joke and thought it was funny, and that is how this became my favorite class, and Yuki, my favorite student.
Which brings me back to today’s closing ceremonies; Yuki had been very active in the school festival and was often on stage throughout the day. This made plenty of sense to me since he’s a third year and a really genki one at that. Yuki was giving one of the last speeches of the day, and all of a sudden he just started…crying. The poor kid got choked up and had tears running down his face and everything. I suppose the stress of the two days and the fact that he would soon be leaving this place where he’d spent three years of his life just got to him. And this is the wonderful part; instead of being silent and making this moment completely embarrassing, or jeering and being the little jerks I KNOW they can be, his classmates starting shouting out “ganbarre, ganbarre!” “You can do it, you can do it!” Eventually he made it through the rest of his speech, now punctuated with "ganbarre"s whenever he tripped up, and one of his friends who was on stage with him actually gave him a big hug, in full view of the audience. When I think of middle school, and the way the kids at my school behaved towards one another, what happened today seems all the more amazing. Middle school is full of sniping, conniving pre-teen brats, right? Like I said, Japan’s schools have some problems, but there are some surprisingly wonderful things, as well. Peace ya'll, have a nice weekend.