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Education

Teacher in Japan shares mind-blowing differences between her school and schools in the U.S.

Is there any reason American schools couldn't implement some of these things?

teacher in japan sharing things about her school

Japanese and American schools differ in a few significant ways

When you live in the same country your whole life, it's easy to think of things as "normal" simply because it's the way they're always done. One of the best ways to divest yourself of that notion is to go live in another country for a while, because very quickly, you start to see things you thought of as a given—or never thought about at all because it never dawned on you that they could be different—are actually cultural norms that don't exist everywhere.

An American teacher who lives in Japan offers a perfect example of how the norms of different countries can contrast sharply.

On her TikTok channel, @hito.bito, the teacher shared a video called "Things about my Japanese school that could send Americans into a coma," and the differences she described are mind-blowing.

She begins with, "We all have to change from outdoor to indoor shoes as soon as we enter the school. And no, I’ve never seen any love notes or confessions in the shoe cubbies.” She shows herself changing into comfy slippers after entering the school. Definitely a good way to keep the floors cleaner.

Not that cleanliness is an issue for schools in Japan, since the students—not janitors, the students—clean the whole school daily.

"You don’t know clean until you’ve been to a Japanese school because these kids clean the school from top to bottom every single day,” she shared.

People familiar with the Montessori approach to education are familiar with the idea, but it's not at all the standard practice of most public schools in the U.S. Perhaps it should be?

Another difference she pointed out was the lunch kids are served—or rather that they serve themselves. Usually, it's some kind of rice, vegetables and protein, and it all looks delicious.

Of course, not every difference is a positive.

"Now, what sends me into an absolute spiral almost daily is that they leave the windows open and there’s no heating or cooling in the hall so I have to walk around in a coat," she shared, showing herself wearing a parka indoors. This practice probably has more to do with Covid and air circulation than a cultural norm (I lived in Japan 20 years ago and don't recall this being a regular practice), but even taking proactive steps to keep the air clean is a far cry from schools here, even in the Covid era.

She also shared some hair, makeup and piercing rules that are far stricter than most schools in the U.S. (She stated in a later video that the reason for the low ponytail rule is that kids are required by law to wear helmets when biking and most Japanese kids bike to school, so the hairstyle rule allows for safe helmet use.)

Watch:

People in the comments loved certain parts of Japanese school protocol, but others not so much. The consensus is that the cleaning habits are awesome—pretty much everyone felt that American kids should be cleaning their schools as well. The shoe change was a popular idea, too. Several Canadian commenters said they do that up north as well.

The hair, make-up and piercings, however, people were not so fond of. Americans do treasure our individuality and freedom to express ourselves. That's a norm that's pretty unshakable here.

We all have things that we can learn from one another, and when we share our customs and norms, sometimes we can find ways to improve or enrich our own culture. Now it's just a matter of figuring out how to make the kids-cleaning-the-school thing happen in the US…

Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

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The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

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