My class
went to Sunrise Elementary school last Friday. We talked with 4th
graders there, and I looked around the inside of the school building. Compared
with Japanese local elementary schools, I found two very obvious differences;
decorations of classrooms and students’ lunch.
First, the
most obvious difference I observed is the decorations in the whole building. In
Sunrise elementary school, I could see many paintings and ornaments, and all
rooms were colorful. In contrast, Japanese elementary schools have simple and the
minimal numbers of decorations. Japanese children would prefer American schools
if they saw the decorations, but I do not think that elementary school need to
be decorated that much. School with cute decorations sound very fun, but when I
remember my elementary school life, having a simple classrooms never made my
school life boring. I think that children have potential to find or make fun
things by themselves even if they have only simple rooms. However, I noticed a
good point of fully decorated classrooms, too. It is that children can
naturally learn how to concentrate on studying in the rooms that are not very
relaxing. I think that it is a little bit difficult for Japanese children
because they have gotten used to studying in simple rooms, but it would be
important to have concentration in every situation for their futures.
Next,
students’ lunch was also very different than the lunches in Japan. While
Japanese elementary school provides healthy and balanced meals which are
considered by nutritionists, what students in Sunrise elementary school were
eating was unbalanced. Students had snacks and few vegetables. It was
surprising that both the provided school lunch and the lunch that students
brought from their home looked very unhealthy. I asked students whether they
had class for dietary education before, and they told me they have never had
it. Students in Japan start to learn about good nutrition from 1st grade and
they know what kind of meals they should eat. I think it is important and
necessary to provide dietary education for children and to have both school and
parents provide healthier food, because altering dietary habits would be very
difficult when they become adults.
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