We went looking for strange rules at schools
around the world and discovered that at Longhill High School in the UK the rules are nothing
out of the ordinary. Students aren’t allowed to smoke in school,
no running in the halls, etc. But things get stricter when we hear students
can’t wear jewelry, nor can they use their phones unless it’s break, or lunchtime,
and they are in a “Phone Zone.” Westlake high school in New Zealand tells
its students they can’t have visible tattoos and they shouldn’t bring knives or pornographic
material to school. N.K. Public School in Jaipur, India, doesn’t
want its female students to wear fancy ribbons in their hair- and just in case anyone still
owns these things- bringing CDs, VCDs, or DVDs to school is forbidden. But as you probably know, the Japanese often
do things differently. Today we’ll find out how, in this episode
of the Infographics Show: Most Insane Japanese School Rules. Respect
It’s a Japanese custom to show respect, and that certainly counts in the classroom. When students greet a teacher they must bow,
which isn’t really anything unusual if you know Japan. But there are unwritten rules, such as students
can’t sit on tables as that is impolite. One former English teacher wrote in the Irish
Times that you must learn etiquette in Japanese schools, and that includes using a more formal
Japanese when you meet the bigwig, the principal. He said his students were always courteous
and polite and the worst thing he ever had to deal with was students falling asleep. This is a far cry from most schools in the
west. No subs
In the west students often take advantage of their substitute teacher, either by not
studying or just being a pain in the backside for the poor sub. Well, in Japan you will rarely see a substitute
teacher. If a teacher doesn’t turn up students are
expected to sit quietly and study. According to some sources, that’s exactly
what they do. While not an insane school rule, it certainly
seems pretty crazy for most Westerners. Everyone’s a Cleaner
In most schools around the world you might catch a glimpse of the janitors as they arrive
after school, but in Japan the students are expected to get down on their hands and knees
and clean. The Japan Times tells us cleaning or “o-soji”
is something all students must do, though the school still hires professional janitors. The writer says that while the kids do an
ok job, they don’t clean so well that you could eat your lunch off the floor. The writer, a former teacher in a Japanese
school, said student cleaning happened 4 times a week and each session lasted for 20 minutes. Student’s don’t just clean their own class
either, but are expected to clean other areas of the school as well. Shoes Off
A student’s cleaning job might not be that hard, because in Japanese schools you should
take your outdoor shoes off and exchange them for your indoor shoes that you keep in your
locker or on a shelf. It’s the same when you go to the gym, you
must have a separate pair of indoor gym shoes. Hmm, that could get expensive. Get Smart
Ok, so many schools have rules about appearance, but Japan takes it a step further. It may change from school to school, but one
blogger wrote that when she taught in a Japanese school students had to follow very strict
rules regarding how they looked. It goes without saying that uniforms must
be worn, and they must not look ragged- even when you are wearing your uniform outside
of school. If you are a boy, you cannot have long hair,
even in the back- so no mullets! Girls can’t wear scrunchies and hair bands
can never be tied around the wrist. On top of that, no makeup, no hair dye, no
nail polish, no colored contacts, no plucked eyebrows, and definitely no wearing of necklaces,
rings, watches, or earrings. It gets crazier. In 2017 The Japan Times wrote that one 18-year
old girl was suing her school because the school had threatened her with expulsion if
she didn’t dye her naturally brown hair black. The school thought her natural hair was already
dyed. Don’t fall in love
One American blogger who worked as a teacher in a Japanese school said his school banned
“romantic involvements.” The Japan Times writes that this was a rule
for a long time but it didn’t stop Japanese school kids from dating. In fact, surveys show that many students were
at it. Sometimes these relationships weren’t great,
with women’s rights organizations saying a lot of these affairs involved “violence,
coercion and restrictions.” One survey found that “27 percent of the
female students said they suffered psychological violence such as verbal abuse.” Maybe dating should be allowed, but teachers
and parents should talk to kids about how it should be done. No Late Nights
In Japan students have curfews, and that usually means they cannot be outside on the streets
after 10pm. In Tokyo it’s 11 pm, and the police will
pick you up if you violate curfew. According to the Japan Times many of the arrests
(picked up but not charged) were of foreign kids that just couldn’t follow the rules
after coming from countries where staying out late is a given. The paper wrote in 2015, “Last year, in
karaoke parlors alone, Japanese police picked up more than 18,000 minors and brought them
in for guidance against smoking and staying out too late.” If you are young and going to Japan, you might
want to read up on the rules. Be on time
Arriving late to school in Japan, even by a couple of minutes, is a much worse offense
than it is in most western schools. Each school has its own rules, but if a student
comes late a few times that could mean being given a week of very early morning cleaning
duties. Sit straight and eat up
In Japan lunch is usually served in the classrooms. And while Japan is famous for serving excellent
nutritional food (maybe that’s why Japanese people live so long) students are also made
to follow standards of etiquette and are expected to finish their well-balanced meal. That’s not a rule, but wasting food is looked
down on. One website writes this about lunchtime, “All
of the students come prepared for lunch with reusable chopsticks, a cloth placemat and
napkin, a cup, and a toothbrush.” Yep, you have to clean those teeth as well
as clean the room. Overtime
Until 1992 students were going to school six days a week, Monday through Saturday.. The 6-day week was still a thing with some
students after 1992, but it wasn’t by law. Japan Today wrote in 2013, “Nationwide,
1,100 elementary (5.7%) and 590 junior high schools (6.4%) are conducting classes on Saturdays.” However, Japan’s Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, has over the last few years been mulling over
a reintroduction of the 6-day week for everyone. Would that suit you? Get off your phone
Throughout Japan most schools will not allow students to use a phone inside the school. They can have them and use them outside the
school, but certainly not indoors. Some schools have banned even just bringing
phones to school.. One city, Kariya city in Aiichi prefecture,
took that a step further, banning any student under the age of 15 from using a phone after
9pm anywhere in the city. You’d be in a lot of trouble there if caught
out after 10pm taking a selfie of your newly plucked eyebrows. Do you think you could live with these rules? Which would be hardest not to break? Are they a good thing or a bad thing? Tell us what you think in the comments, and
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