Teaching lessons

Not that long ago, I was privileged to visit primary and secondary schools throughout Japan. Classrooms were quiet teaching and learning environments without any disruption by disaffected students. Questions from pupils were encouraged and pupils were helped. A year 3-4 math class was dealing with subject matter even beyond junior high school level in this country.

At lunchtime and throughout the day, pupils had chores that included

cleaning the classroom, giving out lunches, wiping tables etc. Lunch was usually a healthy rice dish with fish and vegetables. One supervisor told me that pupils at his school were given glasses of milk as well as water because there was so much concern for oral and dental health.

Years ago our New Zealand schools introduced open plan environments with up to 100 fiveyear-olds in together. At the same time I was having a teaching experience at Hazelgreen Elementary School in Oregon. All the classroom walls at this school were being reintroduced and open plan was considered a complete failure.

By the time I got back to New Zealand, open plan had also been abandoned.

Learning environments are crucial and ones that have failed in the past do not always succeed even when given a different name or description. Julienne S. Law, Kerikeri