Class Breaks in Tokyo More Suited for Children

Erin Irving
2/3/09

As the bell rang ending my first forty-five minute English lesson I expected the Japanese teacher to switch to the next lesson as would typically happen in an American elementary school. Instead, the third graders I was teaching immediately packed their notebooks into their desks, stood up, slid their chairs under their desks and scrambled down the stairs to the outdoor field as fast as they could. The teacher stayed in his desk and continued grading papers. I was confused. Could it be time for recess at 9:30 am?

I followed the children outside to find that most of the 800 students in the school in urban Tokyo were running around completely rampant, jumping rope, playing soccer, climbing on the jungle gym and walking on stilts. Six teachers stood at designated places around the playground watching the children for injuries, but otherwise hundreds of kids ran around freely.

Fifteen minutes into playtime, another bell rang. The kids hung the jump ropes and the stilts, threw the balls back into bins and ran back to class. My second period was starting in a new class of fifth graders. They shuffled back into the room, saw that English was the next subject on the day's agenda written on the board, quickly seated themselves and focused on the lesson.

Again, after I finished my forty-five minute lesson a bell rang and the kids ran back downstairs this time for a twenty-five minute break. Since this was an older group of students, some stayed in the classroom to play board games with friends or read books instead of playing outside. the rest