200 Japanese kids in the range of 11-15 years old were asked when they feel happy at school. The focus of the question asked by Nikkei Shimbun is not on what Japanse kids like to do at school, but goes much deeper with when they truly feel happy. Personally I remember two activities: While being about 11 years old, I loved those Saturday mornings for 30 minutes at school start (switched now in Switzerland to only 5 days per week), when our teacher was reading some Swiss history related children books. Or then later on when I was about 12, I loved the time in summer after all important exams were done, and the late afternoon classes were done outside, just beside a canal. For sure I was curious to hear what nowadays Japanese kids from the age range from 11 to 15 years old truly enjoy:
1. Playing with many friends
2. Meeting very close friends
3. Being able to chat a lot
4. Attending a school club
4. Traveling on a class trip
6. Eating school lunch
7. Having time to relax
8. Attending a small excursion
8. Participating in sports event or school play
10. Attending an interesting class
From the response above, I can only assume that classes must be truly boring, when only 17 kids expressed that they are happy to attend interesting classes (point 10). It seems to me that most enjoyable activities are not related to much learning. Although I am jealous of all the Japanese kids having learned and do remember a high level of Japanese characters, I am saddened to see that only being with friends reflects joyous time, but not necessarily time at school.
Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (シビル伊藤)
