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We were graciously invited to spend the day at Aratama Elementary School, a grade 1-6 school in Matsuyama City. We met the children as they entered the school, exchanged our street shoes for slippers, and headed to the school television station for an exchange of greetings with the principal. After that, we were free to observe classes, take pictures and interact with students. Each of us was assigned to a class for lunch. After lunch we had an informative meeting with representatives of the PTA and later with members of the faculty.


Children are met by teachers. The children wear yellow hats so that they can be easily seen by motorists. The children cross over the busy street by way of a pedestrian bridge.		Students in grades 5 and 6 take responsibility for watering the plants and sweeping up the walkways. The jobs are not assigned. Whoever sees a problem takes care of it.

Everyone who enters the school removes the street shoes and puts on slippers. The children bring their own in-the-building shoes. The green clogs were for the visiting American teachers.		We were introduced to the school over the Aratama Elementary School TV station. Students were running the show. The principal exchanged greetings with a representative from our group.

The library was used for small group instruction, independent student research, and reading. The books were arranged according to the Dewey decimal system.		The library has a computer learning station. There is also a computer lab for student instruction and most students have access to a computer at home.

math class		handwriting class

science class		recess

student social studies presentation		interdisciplinary studies project

lunch served by the students in the classroom

students in charge of clean-up instructions		We were treated like rock stars with fans seeking autographs.

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