In the states, school typically starts in September and ends in June…but not in Japan! Aligning with spring and its symbolism of regrowth and rebirth, the school year here starts in April and ends in March. Thus, I have found myself in the midst of GRADUATION FRENZY.
I call it a “frenzy” because it seems all the graduation demands make teachers’ hairdos a bit messier, eyelids a shade heavier and voices a notch tighter. But this makes sense considering all that goes into graduation preparation. I’ve sat through multiple graduation ceremony practices (due to schools starting daily rehearsals three weeks in advance) and I am quite impressed at the expectations teachers place on 5-6 year old kiddos. Not only do they have to recite a 5-min class speech and a song, but they have to memorize every place to bow and what kind of bow to perform. There’s the entrance bow: 90’ angle and 3 second hold; the piano bow: seated 30’ angle and in beat with the piano chords; the principal bow: when receiving the certificate, hands must be close to her hands and eyes must look at her eyes mid-bow; and the announced bow: when the vice principal says “rei,” look up front and do a 1 second head bow. Plus, if a child doesn't have their back straight, knees closed, toes pointed, or head forward for the whole ceremony, the principal makes sure they and the rest of the room know. So yes. High expectations to say the least.
And we can’t forget about the decorations! These are all handmade by both teachers and students, so every “free time” the kids have, many are huddled making sakura petal kirigami (origami with cutting), colorful paper chains, and rainbow tissue flowers. It’s loads of fun participating in the bubbly conversations about what color randoseru (traditional elementary school backpack) they all will wear, and what they want to work at as a fresh elementary schooler (best answer goes to “being the best at cleaning”).
Apart from memorizing speeches and lines and songs for the actual ceremony, the kiddos have to memorize farewell messages for the owakarekai, a graduation celebration that is for all the hoikuen kiddos as well. Luckily, this event is far more casual and fun, as it includes exchanging gifts the 4-5 yo and 5-6 yo made for each other and many games that emphasize “savor this last moment you’ll have with the graduating class.” At the owakarekai I attended, they even had the 1-2 yo babies pair with the 5-6 yo for singalong handgames…it was the sweetest thing until a baby’s inevitable crying left their 5-6 yo buddy paralyzed with shock and fear. Speaking of crying, the owakarekai led to a river of wails and tears from the kids. Though it was a very loud 30 minutes, it was one of the most endearing I’ve witnessed yet. One child started realizing what “goodbye” meant which got him to sniffle, but then his buddies noticed and started crying, and when one is in good company, it’s apparently the signal for everyone to cry with full force. Kids would pause briefly and kind of have a “wait why am I drenched in tears?” moment, but would instantly get back into full body heaves because everyone around them was really going at it as well. The funniest thing though, was when the kids came up to me after the ceremony, and with the biggest grins proudly announce, “Kai-sensei, I cried SO MUCH today!” then run off giggling back to the playground.
Ah, the innocence of a child’s emotional rollercoaster. What treasure.
It’s odd only having gotten to teach these kids for 2 months, then see them go–I only just grounded all their names and quirks, yet suddenly they’ll be replaced by a whole new set of kiddos next month! But, I’m counting my blessings since I know how immensely lucky I am to have gotten to work with kids so easy to love.
Omedetou (congrats) and ganbare (good luck) to all my soon-to-be first graders :,)
some of the sakura kirigami we made!
beginning of the graduation decoration...!
the owakarekai where teachers did a "performance" for the kids. We couldn't hear anything over the kids' crying.
