Visit to Nakajo Elementary School in Tainai City

I know I have gushed and gushed about all my experiences so far in Japan but I don't know how anything can top the day we had today at Nakajo Elementary School. We had to get up very early and leave by 7 am so that we could watch the students arrive to school. They were so excited to see us. The school is very old and has about 650 students 1st through 6th grade. The kids are just as noisy and wiggly as our American students but when they have to work, they work!

The students had an assembly for us in which the principal addressed us and I made a speech on behalf of the JFMF educators. Then the students sang their school song for us. I have a video of it but I don't think I'll post it. It was a long song. We were not allowed to take close up or front facing pictures of the students for privacy reasons. But I took a lot of pictures from the back and sides.

We were allowed to wander freely around the school to observe all the different classes. Each of us were assigned a specific class to have lunch with. The school lunch was fabulous! We had rice, miso soup, salmon, a delicious Japanese salad, and milk. It is all cooked at the school and served to each student in their classroom. The students do all the clean up after lunch and have specific cleaning duties of the whole school each day, too. After lunch, my entourage (about 8 little 1st grade girls hanging on me!) took me to the gym to play a game they call "Kabuki". It was one of the roughest tugging games I have ever experienced! Kids got kicked, hit, pulled, etc. but nobody complained or had to go to the nurse. Imagine!

At the end of the day, my assigned class teacher had me sign off on all of the students daily journals. These children were adorable and joyful.

I've just been given the word we have ten more minutes on the computers so I will upload my pictures and get on with it. I hope to post again in Tokyo.

Sayonara!

10/24/2007 : view on map : permalink : add a comment