Aye, Caesar, but not gone...!
Appropriate (maybe), considering today was the day the second round of entrance exam results were released. And while many found it a day to celebrate, some were probably wishing their best friend would stab them. In Japan, attending high school is not legally mandatory as in the U.S. Despite this, somewhere around 94% of students continue their education into high school. Competition is fierce and Gakuho is considered one of the more academically rigorous junior highs/high schools in the area. Some students don't even live in the area and have to commute 1-2 hours each way just to get to and from school.
To continue on to high school students must take exams to determine if they can enter a particular school. Gakuho is striving to be a prestigious school in terms of both academics, sports and other extra-curriculars. Schools marketing themselves is much more important that it is in the U.S. because they rely on their reputation to attract students. My school seems to attract enough students, because there are far more applicants than we can actually accept.
Knowing this, one would think that graduating junior high students would apply to multiple high schools and simply go to the best one they get into. Much how many of us approach college/university applications. In a discussion with one of my JTEs, however, she told me that most students only apply to ONE school. If they get in, w00t, if they don't ... well, they don't go to high school this year. The idea that a student roughly the equivalent of a 7th grader would simply stop going to school is bizarre to me! Many of these students who don't get into high school attend juku, or cram school, in the hopes of "cramming" until they can take the entrance exam again the next year. These would be the students wishing for a stabbing ...
But anyway, watching the students who were accepted was a treat. Many of them were crying. Many of their parents were crying! I'd be crying too, since I know just how much homework they'll be getting this year. After checking for their secret exam number on the large board that was revealed at 12:00pm EXACTLY in Gakuho's front parking lot, the jubilant students were cheered and congratulated by the current members of school clubs and sports. Not only were they congratulated, they were also pressured into signing up to participate in said clubs and sports. After their triumphant walk up Gakuho's giant staircase while the school song was being sung by the chorus club, they were fitted for their new school uniforms and their parents had to fork over roughly $200 to order them.
The new term will begin the first week of April and I'm excited to see all the new faces. Especially this one kid, whose face I didn't really notice, but who's hair was epically 80s and amazing.
