What are some differences with education?

Question:

I really want to know how Japan differs from America. I looked it up on google but i really just want to hear it start from someone that either knows this really well, or who is actually from Japan. Thank you!

Answer:

Well, school lunch in my town almost always has soup. Curry day is an exception, but I think that's about it. The school lunches are served in the classroom, and most schools won't have a school cafeteria (or vending machines or that other stuff, at least in the elementaries).

School is very centrally controlled, and many things are standard across the whole country. Elementary is first through sixth, junior high is seventh through ninth (which they call first, second and third), and high school is tenth through 12th (again, they call it first, second and third grade).

Foreign language is required from seventh grade, and it's usually English. The arts (music and drawing) are quite strong in the schools. There's more of an emphasis on skills rather than creativity in the arts, but creativity is definitely not discouraged. I would say math is more progressive than American math, but that might be a generational difference.

Classes can be much bigger than the US. In elementary schools, it's not totally unusual to see 40 students in one classroom . . . and if kids move in during the semester, they may jump to 41 or 42 students in a class. Students tend to stay in one room, and only move for P.E. or music or special labs. The teachers move.