Serving, Elementary School Style

I have no doubt that as Xavier continues attending Japanese elementary school we will come across many things that are different from what we are used to in the North American school system.  One of those differences occurred during the second week of classes.

I volunteered to help oversee the kids in Xavier's class as they learned  how to be lunch otouban, or lunch leaders.  This is not the line leaders most people think of when they think of first grade in North America.  The children are served lunch in their rooms, and it is the job of the otouban to serve the food to the rest of the class.  When I arrived, each of the otouban put on their white jackets, cap, and face mask.  Meanwhile, a long, low table was brought to the front of the room.  On it were set plates, bowls, and large containers of the lunch food.  The day I went it was rice, simmered vegetables and chicken, and mabodofu (spicy tofu and vegetable stew).  There also was some grapefruit for desert and a crate full of milk cartons.

Each of the otouban stationed themselves behind the table with the helping parents behind them to help where needed.  As the rest of the kids lined up with trays, the otouban would take a plate or a bowl, dish up a serving of food and then place it on the tray.  The last otouban was tasked with passing out milk.  The kids did a very good job of estimating what a good sized serving was, although at the end they almost ran out of rice and vegetables (this would not have been good since the teacher was the last to be served).

One thing I had worried about was that there would not be enough food for the otouban, but what I hadn't realized was that one student from the group where the otouban sat went up a second time to get the food for the otouban.  All in all, the kids did a great job of serving up the food for their classmates.

Serving lunch for your classmates is a daily job for the kids in Japanese school.  The students take turns being the otouban for one week (and at the end of the week they bring the hat and jacket home to be washed and brought in the next week for some other child).  I think it probably couldn't hurt for kids in North American schools to learn how to serve lunch to their classmates like this too. For Americans it seems unusual, but here in Japan it is a normal part of school life.

Nyugaku - Starting School

     This week, Xavier began Japanese elementary school. I think Christy and I were more nervous about him doing this than he was. Several months ago he wavered somewhat about whether he wanted to go to Japanese school or Christian Academy in Japan where his brothers go, but for the last month or two he has been quite excited about going to the local Japanese school. We decided to send him to Japanese school because CAJ is about a 1 hour commute each way, which would make for a very long day. The local elementary school is very close to our apartment. A typical day for the brothers at CAJ involves leaving home at 7:15 am and getting back around 4:45 pm. A typical day at Japanese elementary school has him leaving home around 8:15 am and returning around 2:45. Much easier on him.
      As the day approached, he watched his pile of equipment for school grow. His randoseru - the hard leather backpack all students use through elementary school; his pencil case full of writing equipment; his sportswear; his bosaizukin - the silver, padded head covering that hangs from the back of every student's desk in case of an earthquake, and so much more.
      April 8 was the entrance ceremony. This is a big event for families in Japan, so Christy, Xavier and I all dressed up neatly and headed over to the school. The first blessing for us came as we walked into the school. We were handed a sheet with the list of children in his class and were surprised to see that there was another child who was not Japanese. We soon met his parents. His father is an American from California and his mother is Japanese. The boy, J, speaks both English and Japanese, and Xavier and J hit it off almost immediately. Meeting J's parents was a blessing for us as well because one of our greatest worries is the amount of paperwork and announcements that will be coming from the school. Usually we need to bring our papers to one of the preschools to have them translate them. Now we have someone who is in Xavier's class who is willing to tell us of any important announcements that come from the school.
      The kids were all taken to their room to meet their teacher and prepare for the ceremony and we made our way into the auditorium for the ceremony. Soon the classes entered to auditorium each boy hand in hand with a girl. They entered with great pomp and ceremony. Once they were all settled into their seats the speeches began. Not just one speech, but many speeches by various important people from the school and from the district. Interspersed were various introductions of teachers and other dignitaries as well. Near the end the second grade students came in to greet the new students and perform some songs they had learned in music class last year. The whole ceremony was a few minutes shy of an hour long.

 
     Once the ceremony was over, it naturally was time for pictures. Each class came and were arranged with their parents for the obligatory group picture. Xavier ended up sitting front and center, right next to the principal. After the first picture was taken, we were somewhat alarmed to see one of the teachers on the side lines run up to Xavier and repeatedly say in English "Open your eyes! Open your eyes!" Xavier never did give us a satisfactory answers as to why he had his eyes closed during the photo session.
      Next it was time to return to Xavier's classroom. Each of the students were already sitting in their desks. The teacher called out attendance. Then she proceeded to explain some of the procedures for the class. She also had a large stack of papers for the parents to deal with at home. Each student also had a box full of supplies and a stack of books as well. At the end of the class, which lasted about 30 minutes, we piled all of the supplies into the large bag we had brought with us and hauled it home. Every item, right down to each individual pencil and eraser needed to be labeled with the student's name, grade and class. It took a while to finish, but we did manage to get everything labeled.
      The next day, Xavier didn't want me to come with him to the school He wanted to walk there by himself. I walked with him as far as the sidewalk to the school, but that was as far as he would let me take him. From there on he was on his own. He walked by himself all the way to school on his own (all 200 yards). And each day, after school, a teacher from the school walks groups of kids from the same apartment complex back to their homes.
      It has been a couple of days now that Xavier has been going to school. At the moment he is only going for a couple of hours at a time, but slowly they are making the days longer and longer. By the Beginning of the third week he will be up to the full length day from 8:30 to 2:30. But for now the short days are giving him a chance to get into the swing of things at a Japanese school while still giving him ample time to play with his friends from our apartment complex that he is making while he is at school.
      We plan on having Xavier go here for at least first grade before switching to CAJ, but already he is asking if he can go to the the school for second and third grade as well.