Junior High School Graduation

        Today was the graduation ceremony for the 3rd year junior high school students. In Japan, the school year begins in April and ends in March. It was a bit sad for me, because these students were 1st year students when I began teaching. And it will be the last graduation ceremony at this school for me since I’ll return to America in about 5 months.
        A Japanese graduation ceremony is much quieter than an American one. Or at least the ones I remember having. As in America, the students’ names are called, speeches are given, and the school and national anthems are sung. And as you may expect of a Japanese event, there is much bowing. Another difference, besides the bowing, is that the students don’t walk up to get their diplomas individually. One student from each class goes up to the stage to receive all of them for his or her class. Later, after the ceremony, the students go back to their classrooms, accompanied by their parents. It is there that they receive their diplomas and such. And the ceremony still lasted nearly 2 hours. There were 5 speeches, I believe, none of which I could understand. My Japanese still has a long way to go. I can understand bits and pieces, however. Besides students, teachers, and parents; many community leaders, the city mayor, neighborhood leaders, and the area’s elementary school principals also attend.
        Students wear their school uniforms, and the teachers wear suits and dresses. The men wear white ties, but I don’t have a white tie, so I wore a green and grey striped one. It’s OK though, because I’m a foreigner here, I’m usually given some leeway. Parents and other participants wear normal suits and dresses. A few ladies wear kimono. And one student’s mother wore bright pink slippers. This is another interesting point about Japanese ceremonies. Slippers. In Japan, primarily in homes, but in schools as well, we take off our shoes before entering. Inside, we wear slippers or other shoes only for inside use. Many wear tennis shoes. So, although men wear suits, they wear them with tennis shoes, sandals, or slippers. To me, it’s a refreshing bit of irreverence.
        Anyway, as I mentioned, the ceremony lasted nearly 2 hours. After everyone was seated, the band played as the 3rd year students filed in. In a very orderly manner, each class walked up, bowed in unison, and sat down. The national anthem was sung, then the names were called and each student stood when called. The packs of diplomas were handed to the class representatives, and then there were a few speeches. After the speeches and the school song, the 3rd year students filed out.
        There were only a few times to clap. When the diplomas were handed over, and when the 3rd year students walked in and walked out. Otherwise, you could hear a camera shutter. The movements are very precise and military-like. And when someone leaves the stage after giving a speech, he or she turns back toward the stage before exiting and bows to the empty stage. Even many of the normally rowdy students were quiet and well behaved. And despite the image many Americans have, there are many students in Japan that aren’t studious. By and large, at my school, they are. But we do have our share of misbehaving students.
        After the ceremony and the classroom time, the students left and everyone took tons of pictures outside the school. And unlike in the US, these students only have about 3 weeks between school years. The other students have less, and the teachers still less. It is a busy time for Japanese schools. I’ll really miss those students.

(Note: In the photo, on the right it says, "Congratulations for graduation", then it says, "Read many books", then it says, "Let's have class together." Or something like that.)