This was our first school visit day. We visited at Nakashima Elementary School, one of the elementary schools is Hashima. We arrived early enough to watch the students coming to school. They were walking in assigned groups with two sixth graders in charge of them. The sixth graders held large flags and guided them at the crosswalks. When they arrived on school grounds they were apparently being rated by their behavior, the efficiency of the sixth graders and how exuberant their “Ohayo Gozimas” (Good Morning!) sounded. WE were VERY exuberant in greeting them!!!! They all were wearing small yellow caps that were to ensure their visibility to drivers. There are no sidewalks here (except in the big cities) so you have to adjust to walking very close to the traffic AND having the traffic travel on the left side of the road.

The kids went out on the playground for about 10 or 15 minutes before school offically began so we had a great time watching (and joining in) with jumprope, stilts, hula hoops, and other activities. I didn’t see anyone doing double dutch rope, but I managed the single rope (turning AND jumping) okay.

Next the students headed inside and we met with the principal, assistant principal, curriculum director, and the superintendent came to see us again. We heard a little bit about the school and they started to give us a tour. We were so enthralled with the classrooms that we lagged farther and farther behind the official tour and ended up just observing on our own. The kids were very activitely engaged in everything. The music classes were particularly impressive and I have several of their songs captured on tape. It was fun to hear them sing Hot Cross Buns and I joined in on the “pattycake” version with one of the students!!

It was interesting to watch the students practice their math lessons on sheets of paper and then check themselves using an answer sheet out in the hall! The fifth and sixth graders also take a home economic class (there was a room full of sewing machines) and shop (they were using electric band saws which scared the heck out of the American teachers, but the students seemed unfazed.

I also watched an English class where the students played a Bingo game using Halloween words: witch, bat, pumpkin, balck cat, etc. Too bad I didn’t wear my Halloween vest. I was wearing my “Looney Toons” vest instead (my class will know which one I’m talking about).

We got a chance to participate in a special session where the kids were learning about Enku carving. If you read yesterday’s entry you saw that Enku was a famous sculptor in this area. Sorry I can’t tell you when he did his work. Anyway, he has a distinctive rough-cut style and the students were learning it from a older gentleman who was maybe a visiting artist. We got a chance to try our hand at it, too. I’ll be able to show you the “model” piece I was using AND the one I was carving. You’ll easily be able to tell the difference. There were newspaper reporters there, too, so perhaps we’ll read about ourselves in the paper tomorrow!

One of the most interesting sights of the school day is to watch the students cleaning the school following their lunch. They go out in “brigades”, maybe by grade level and each child seems to have a particular job. The sixth graders assist the first graders, but other than that they appear to work independently. Some move desks, others sweep, others wipe the floor, others clean the bathrooms. It’s amazing to watch their efficiency.

After our lunch we went down to the gym and watched the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders sing the school song. Next the 4th graders sang two songs they will be performing in an upcoming competition. Then the 5th and 6th graders danced a traditional dance commemorating traditional fishing methods. They were dressed in colorful blue robes that they had made. What an impressive sight!

The FMF teachers also performed a silly song and dance that our music teacher representative taught us and then we taught the kids. We made fools of ourselves, but the kids loved it!

We had an hour question and answer session with a few of the teachers and the administrators of the school before it was time for us to leave. When we left the school, the kids were lined up on either side of a walkway to give us “high fives” on the way out.

Whew! I feel as tired as I do at the end of the day at Woodbury!!! More tomorrow, I hope. We will visit a junior high school and the following day a high school.

More pictures for October 16
Elementary students cleaning
School lunch
Sewing and woodworking class
Singing and dancing
Elementary classrooms