American High School Things That SHOCK Japanese Students

America VS Japan
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[@pierresan8489]

How I envy you japanese people. In my college times I cannot live a high school romance with a big breast teacher and fight with outside students from another school in colleges tournaments.

[@sorathetroll]

You win the weeb of the week

[@salovik2449]

You forgot about the RASENGAN together with other magic in this fights, moving in time, fighting with giant robots and destroying the school... And going there tomorrow.

[@iwantdoppiodakimakuraplsd1811]

legendary.........

[@inkchariot6147]

Weeb of the week 🎉 🥇

[@JohnnyL69]

bro watched way too many school anime💀

[@Arcterion]

I still find it utterly bizarre that Japanese schools can dictate what students can and cannot do outside of school time.

[@lalilulelo]

Because school reputation is important in Japan. If a student did something crazy outside school, the school will be affected.

[@Jestrath]

Kinda feels like a violation of rights ngl

[@iponce2]

​@lalilulelo but this is true in America as well. I haven't been in high-school in almost ten years now, but I definitely remember freshman orientation including a lot of chat about "representing the school." Administration told us to behave even when we aren't on school grounds because it makes the school and everyone in it look bad too. That sentiment is expressed pretty differently, it seems.

[@ArchusKanzaki]

My high school once told me “if you want to go to shopping center around school hour (regardless if we are home early or other things), don’t wear your uniform. Because other people will report it to my school for potential deliquency”. There is also name tag on the uniform too so yeah….. I think the fact that high school still have uniform is surprising enough for Americans though

[@Specter_1125]

@@iponce2while they may suggest that you do that, they can’t legally do anything if you go against it. Key word here is legally.

[@jamesblount1043]

In America, being ignored by everybody is literally the opposite of bullying and is considered highly preferable honestly.

[@lucasn0tch]

Yeah... I had to live my high school life without any real friends, as I had to change schools twice in my four years of high school. Especially during my senior year of high school, I decided to instead focus on my hobbies after I complete all my school classwork. This meant that I had shorter days at school, but I still managed to graduate in June 2019.

[@otbaht]

i would go out of my way to be alone to avoid being bullied and if i was being left alone to me it meant there was no bullying.

[@ZudeXbox360]

Being alone is it's own kind of Hell if you don't know who to have as friends. But yeah, generally, it's better to mostly be left alone to your own devices, and I prefer being alone over being a full-on Chatty Cathy. Some interaction is good, but sometimes, you just wanna decompress.

[@SRN42069]

I disagree

[@jjones3705]

You'd be surprised. The level of ignoring in Japan is so bad that some students at my school don't come to school, while other go to a different room and watch classes from zoom.

[@Ajz092]

Imagine living in a country where everyone is so nice, that their definition of bullying is just ignoring you.

[@angi216]

Japanese culture values the collective / group identity over the individual identity, and I feel like shunning the odd one out is reflective of this. It's not necessarily that they are "nice"-- they are simply just more polite, and hold the status quo in high regard

[@FirelillyHeals]

@@angi216 Nice and Polite are kind of interchangeable to Americans. A girl can be polite to a man and they think they're being nice and cares about them... not the case. If people don't stay short, direct, half way rude, some people take it as an invitation to cross boundaries. Really it's a boundary issue in America. If we are ignored, no one is crossing our boundaries. I can see how being ignored in japan is very damaging. Some people would just prefer to be punched than ignored.

[@jimflagg4009]

@@angi216 Sounds like the definition of "Face". We have no such thing in the US. You want something done here it is up to you to figure out how to do it. You can ask for help sure, but you ask friends or complete strangers for help with no expectation that they are doing you a favor that requires something in return.

[@jimflagg4009]

This is also why we don't do formalities because a relation is not a transaction it is just being friends. That said there are expectations and if you don't meet them then you will "let someone down" or disappoint them and they might not go to you first the next time they need help but it is based only on performance not graces and flattery.

[@FirelillyHeals]

@@jimflagg4009 That's true. There is an expectation involved with a lot of people. But some very nice people expect nothing, depends on where you live mostly I think. That's probably where we see the most kindness, is just not expecting anything in return for being nice and helping. Having a "Face" in America is mostly linked to fake kindness. They're not being nice, or polite for no reason, they want something. Where as I think in Japan, being kind and polite are just common things, I think you would see less fake kindness like you do here. As I have seen on some channels, Japanese can be very polite, and also not very nice or like you. But still, the politeness and kindness is there, they just don't like you lol

[@nullenvoid855]

In my school system we preferred to call them "custodians", not janitors. Honestly, looking back at some of the things kids got up to, I respect the hell out of our hardworking custodians.

[@Samwyze]

Custodian, or janitor if you wanna be a dick about it.

[@Iwanttoblowmybrainsoutrn]

​@@Samwyzewhy does it matter

[@Samwyze]

@@Iwanttoblowmybrainsoutrn respect, but mainly it's a Half-Baked quote

[@Iwanttoblowmybrainsoutrn]

@@Samwyze oh. I just say janitor cuz I don't really care

[@LG123ABC]

"Sanitation Engineer"

[@braydencraven3857]

The weirdest thing to me as an American about Japanese schools is that they control what you do OUTSIDE of school as well (working, driving, yorimichi). American schools only have authority over the student while they are at school, and have basically no say what happens after school hours are over.

[@lainiwakura1776]

Some try to act like they have authority once you get home though. The school is technically responsible for you until you do get inside your house.

[@berniemargolis4288]

There have been court cases where American students sued their school districts for punishments handed out in response to Facebook posts or for not adhering to school dress codes. It's not so cut and dried here, either.

[@braydencraven3857]

@lainiwakura1776 That's not true. The school is responsible for students while they are on school grounds during school hours. If you get in your car after school and drive to go get some food, they can't do anything about that, nor are they liable if something happens to you. In Japan, many schools don't allow students to stop somewhere on the way home from school, and children are penalized if they do.

[@braydencraven3857]

@berniemargolis4288 Wouldn't the fact that people have filed lawsuits against schools that have done that say something about the general attitude towards and legality of schools controlling student behavior outside of school?

[@soupsundying8362]

@@berniemargolis4288 you do realize that what you’re saying is that in America a school infringing on a student’s autonomy outside school is likely to end in a lawsuit. So how are you making the argument that it happens in America aswell as Japan?

[@ceresbane]

I mean a point of envy towards Japan is infrastructure. Most kids don't need a car because transportation in public is safe and punctual and efficient. That would be unthinkable in the US. You kinda NEED a car to get anywhere due to the vast distances between key locations and public transport is barely functional.

[@jasonfurumetarualkemisto5917]

Theres also the fact that the US has as much land as actual continents. As such, conversation of space is a skill the government never learned.

[@Scarshadow666]

Yeah, sadly true! The car-dependent infrastructure in the US is also one of the contributing things that keeps kids/teens and people with disabilities who can't drive a car isolated. All because a lot of car companies from the '30s/'40s had sway over how the infrastructure was built/bullied a lot of cable car companies. :(

[@canisblack]

@@Scarshadow666 That's way too reductionist. I live in a small town where we're pretty spread out - I think the largest building is like five stories tall and it's kind of a fire hazard because our fire department is (last I heard) only really rated for three or four story rescues. Having something like a cable car wouldn't work because we don't have the sort of population density needed to support something like that. Hell we don't have enough population density to support a one-car taxi service.

[@buttarain27]

@@Scarshadow666Hmm? There are literally hundreds of programs and services for the disabled AND elderly to get to where they need to go; especially to doctor’s appointments and grocery shopping. Actually, in Japan they don’t have a lot of welfare programs for elderly and the disabled, they largely have to depend on family members or relatives. As far as teens and kids are concerned, that is literally up to their guardians in regards to getting from place to place. In pretty much every metropolitan city there is an abundance of transportation options, let’s not forget companies such as Uber and Lyft. Kids everywhere would have a hard time traversing Willy-nilly anywhere because they are kids!

[@BababooeyGooey]

Not Just Bikes intensifies.

[@biggierocc1935]

Introverts: "Oh boy, how I want to be bullied in a Japanese school"

[@driftingdruid]

introverted teenage weeb dreams i definitely had

[@flamereaper9613]

Honestly what shocked me the most was the summer jobs part. School’s should have no say what you’re doing on your personal time especially during summer vacation. Unless it involves something illegal or your skipping class. Also the whole going home to eat thing. Only happens with kids who live very close by, or when we we’re very young. Even in America you can’t just leave school at least to my knowledge anyway.

[@NoPrefect]

Until the mid 1990s or so in my Central California community it was pretty much expected that you have a part time job during the school year and at least one full time during the Summer, but if you worked during the year you had to get permission if you were under 18.

[@notarealusername859]

It's been a while since I was in high school, but we had open campus and everyone would drive to the fast food places nearby or would walk to the neighborhood close by if you or your friends lived there

[@Idontwantone950]

No it doesn’t just happen with kids who live close by, it’s called an open lunch. My school you can go where you please during your allotted lunch time. Heck, you can leave between classes or if you have an open class hour leave and come back. And I don’t know what you mean about leaving school when you’re “very young” but that is not a thing. Kids have to be signed out of elementary school by an adult on their list of people who’re allowed to pick them up and it has to be for a good reason, they can’t just leave school.

[@Verceal]

It depends on the school I think. The one I went to you could leave campus. But only if you were in 11th or 12th grade. I was kind of a slacker in my 12th grade. If it wasn't for my afternoon art class I could have wandered town for about 1/2 the school day 'cause aside from that one class mine were all in the morning. I had no drivers liscence & lived about 8 miles from the high school I went to.

[@katiec.877]

It has become pretty standard to allow at least upperclassmen to leave campus for lunch or open periods. Two of the three high schools I’ve worked at allow all students to leave, and where I teach now only requires freshmen to stay on campus.

[@happycook6737]

Open lunch has mostly disappeared because students were having driving accidents by hurrying on/off high school campuses. There was also a problem with students not returning to school after lunch time was over.

[@ivyl3146]

Depends. School lunches are shit so they actually still allow it depending on your school.

[@Dragon359]

It's not surprising that open lunches have been cut back, but I'm sure some schools still allow it. Mine did when I was in high school, but not sure if its still the case.

[@joeythreeclubs]

Only seniors are allowed to leave campus at my school, but lots of juniors do it anyways

[@jonmarler]

Open Campus lunch was cancelled at my school due to too many students coming back to class drunk and/or high.

[@hitman-mq1wk]

In my school they let you order delivery food

[@jonathannerz1696]

There are actually THREE school sponsored dances: Homecoming in the fall, Winter Formal, and Prom in the Spring.

[@izzy5518]

We don’t get a formal :(

[@KP-us9iy]

We had Sadie Hopkins too

[@clobzz]

being ignored by everyone is an absolute blessing, i cant believe that’s considered bullying in japan

[@heatherlowe7330]

Preach 😂 As an introvert I was SO happy if I could just read my book in peace. The worst thing is when someone asks what you're reading and wants to have conversation. Meanwhile you're thinking yeah, I have talked to this person like x amount of times the entire time we have been in school from pre k to now... WTF do they want??? 😅

[@Sakibou]

I'd say it's considered bullying everywhere. I was an introvert in high school, but I wasn't in elementary school. I believe being ostracized back then played a large role in how I ended up.

[@drakke125Channel]

Being ignored by everyone means your way of happiness and connections with people has been severed or damaged. While not having to deal with humans can be a good thing, no communication is far more damaging than none unless you have great mental willpower and resilience and if you are very good at moving up on your own in society without much help from others in the work field. Pleasing your parents in Asian culture is 'everything' but in Japan, perhaps its diluted to become "please the society" rather than just parents.

[@Robunite]

My first job at 15 was actually working as a janitor for my school for the summer. Kinda wonder what that statement would do to a Japanese person lol

[@piggy743]

"You guys are getting paid?"

[@scorchercast8366]

I had a job in my high-school helping the the IT department during my off periods The periods were 40ish minutes but I got paid the full hour which was nice. Funny enough I had to do it somewhat secretly because the district suspended that practice but the IT department was short on man power so they just kept on and hoped no one from higher up would find out. They never did.

[@RitosM]

I wish more school outside of Japan adopted the having to clean up the classroom thing. My school introduced it and had it once a week.Teaches children to clean up after themselves and appreciate clean spaces and not dirty them unnecessarily.

[@rgbok5453]

Immigrating to US and attending American High School made me realize that the majority of students act like delinquents compared to a good portion of other countries students.

[@sed8181]

@@rgbok5453 It's sad how many kids that grew up in boojie areas, act like little gangsters from tha hood.

[@graciegj63]

Life skills classes implement this for some of the students.

[@solitarelee6200]

@@sed8181 Ohhhhh my god yes, I taught at a public school in a kind of ritzy area, and the kids couldn't decided whether they wanted to act rich (bro you're in american public school. they pay me $12/hr. i know ur family is not rich, you'd be in the private schools with budgets.) or act gangster (you live in a suburb, carl).

[@exirynweyran9375]

I think a majority of schools in asia do that, ive heard its frequently used in the PH

[@andrewg9433]

As an American, I've never heard of number 3 happening. At my school, students had to eat in the cafeteria where you either eat the lunch you brought, buy food from the cafeteria, or get provided food if you're a low-income family that qualifies for free lunch(like I was), and could not go off campus for lunch. Guess my school wasn't so cool lol

[@twilight_potato]

I think it really depends on the school/area. My school allows you to go off-campus and buy lunch and bring it back to school to finish in your next period (if the teacher allows it). Seniors are also allowed to leave if they don't have a class for a certain period.

[@Pinxy_P]

I'm a current high school student, and up until this year, we were allowed to go off-campus for lunch. The only reason we aren't able to anymore is due to how rampant school shootings have been. Even then, the staff doesn't care too much.

[@YFNEccentric]

When I was going to HS, open-campus lunches were only allowed for juniors and seniors. 'Course, it's been sixteen years since I graduated (HOLY /SCHNIKES/, THAT'S STILL A MIND-BLOW--), and since the 'Rona, I wouldn't be surprised if that changed...

[@JoshBlasy]

Definitely regional. I ate off campus occasionally but it was technically against the rules and somewhat risky to do

[@Faunadoodlez]

Same

[@jep9092]

I think he's really forgetting to mention that the Japanese school system is extremely different from the American version. In America we only have 1 8 hour public school day whereas in Japan they might have 4 to 6 hours worth of public school and then immediately after they go to something called Cram school. Which is like a secondary school/academy that your parents have to pay for and that you have to earn your way in with good grades and they are very strict because they want their school to have the best marks and that means no distractions

[@je4a301]

I think Japanese have more lessons. Also here in Germany I've got up until 9th lesson 3 times a week and until 11th lesson once a week lol

[@notarealusername859]

isn't summer break in Japan like 4 weeks, instead of 12 weeks like the US?

[@user-xh5vz4ty8g]

School in Japan usually ends at 3 p.m. People who go to cram schools are those who are taking university entrance exams, but since it's only for one year after the final year, and the rate of admission to university is about 46%, most Japanese people don't go to cram schools.

[@ieaterasers5986]

​​@@notarealusername859 Their breaks throughout the rest of the year are generally longer.?

[@harfgarflarf]

Cram school is not a part of the school system, as they are run by private companies and have no relation to the school. Our school actually warned parents away from attending certain "juku" because they were infamous for being abusive towards their students. Also you don't "earn" your way in, again, they are businesses, they just want your money, so if your parents are willing to pay then you get in.

[@alpha3305]

The concept of US proms is similar to Japanese school festivals. To promote a social environment among the student body. A dance at school is 2-3 hrs while a school festival could be most of the day. Both have their pros and cons.

[@spazmaticaa7989]

Winter carnivals too. Not sure if that's a northern US tradition, but winter carnival was one of our biggest events, with all the classes competing against each other in various ways.

[@maneatingcheeze]

@@spazmaticaa7989 That's a local tradition. In the Midwest we don't do that. We did have the homecoming parade, football game, and the next day a dance. We had Prom, but also Winter Formal, which is like homecoming for basketball minus the parade.

[@PoorlyDrawnSmileyFace]

Proms also come from a time when schools taught formal manners and dances, and the prom was basically your final in those teachings.

[@TheXev]

My parents used to have a "school festival" that eventually transformed into the town's local Fair. Interesting bit of history from where I'm from (in the US).

[@G0dspeed101]

Yeah and your cities could have festivals too, but you’d only know if someone would tell you. It wouldn’t be an announcement or something too well known. I lived in a city with about 55,000 people (my school had 3500 kids) and I never knew about a town event.

[@captainobvious9188]

I graduated in 1998. You summed up my experience. By high school most people have their own friend group, but still have interactions with other people at school in relation to school. If you are being bullied it isn’t being ostracized, it’s being harassed and physically assaulted.

[@fluidthought42]

I would say that having your friend group around is a good deterrent from that kind of harassment.

[@blossxma]

Ostracization is also a form of bullying though. It's especially common for girl bullies to use this tactic.

[@princessmarlena1359]

“I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight, and that ‘The Sisters’ let him be. I wish I could tell you that…”

[@kellymurphy1098]

@@fluidthought42 Quite hard to do if your parents moved around a lot though... I went to 9 different k-12 schools, not counting the year I was homeschooled.

[@Imagino1234]

Canadian here, but norms are similar. For 8, students can have part-time jobs while attending school so long as working hours fit with the student's school hours (usually a few days after school or on weekends). In some school districts (and even some provinces), having work or volunteer experience is even *mandatory* for graduation, with the idea being that having such experience will help students with their careers after graduating high school. As for leaving school grounds for lunch, that generally happens if you live close to school. As long as you get to class before the bell rings, schools don't really care where you go for lunch.

[@notarealusername859]

our school even had work release, where seniors could leave school early to go to work and get an elective credit for it

[@Nerdynessocity]

I had to do 100 hours community service to graduate high school in Ontario, Canada! But the requirements were pretty loose. I volunteered at my elementary school library after high school, lol

[@michellebeaulieu8118]

I’m an English teacher for HS in Japan. The biggest difference is definitely how serious things are here, the students study extensively and even come in during school breaks. However there were a few things I didn’t even think about! It’s true, nobody drives to school. There’s only parking for teachers and staff. I totally forgot that was normal in America. I will say tho Japanese high schools have a culture festival and one of the events is the “stage show” which is essentially a talent show. Students group up and play music in bands or do choreographed dances.

[@CatGold5047]

1. Prom isn't the only dance in highschool, it's just the biggest one. There is also homecoming, winter formal, spring fling, and maybe even court warming and back to school dances. It depends on the school and the students.

[@Idontwantone950]

I only remember my school having the two major ones, homecoming and prom. Though I feel like my middle school dances were more fun.

[@ginnyjollykidd]

Let's not forget the homecoming dance. In middle school I went to a school sock hop where one of my teachers played trumpet with his band for us. Awesome!

[@theneedler5625]

Mine had winter formal, prom, and homecoming

[@RA-hi5ln]

Not only do highschool students work during the summer, a lot of them work during the school year as well. It always amazes me when I hear how much school rules affect Japanese student's lives outside of school.

[@javipok]

This fr. Had friends working at fast food places after school, and I had practicum as a class which is literally just a job. Super common that it’s weird to think it’s mostly prohibited in Japan

[@RicardoCon94]

There's some ridiculous rules like for some Japanese schools they do not allow you to carry around water bottles to and from school (even during the summer). In the same school you're not allowed to use the bus or ride a bike.

[@xMdb]

In Australia, I’m in my last year of school, year 12, and I have had a part time job for 4 years as well as worked at the school for 2 years as a trainee.

[@Kira-tu3xp]

Yeah fr, like what do you do if your family doesn’t make enough money, starve? 💀

[@funnyusername8635]

I used to manage a retail store that had several high school students as employees. Only time in my life I've had to talk to a truancy officer! Turns out one of my coworkers was skipping classes to come to work and they wanted to make sure we weren't making her do that. You absolutely cannot skip class for work.

[@roonboo96]

A couple of things about Western school experience in Canada/US (mostly a Canadian experience, seeing that I’m Canadian): everything is way further away than I think many people realize. It is for this reason that some students will drive to school. If you live in a rural area, but go to school in a more urban area, it can take a long time on the school bus to get to school, so you drive instead. At the same time, some suburban areas don’t have neighbourhood schools and you may opt to drive instead of taking public transportation, which, if you live in Ottawa, Canada like I do, is just really bad. So, distance and lack of reliable public transportation is why many kids drive to school. On the topic of jobs, many students work year-round at part-time jobs in order to afford post-secondary school. I started babysitting as a job when I was 12 and have worked ever since. Japanese people, don’t get me wrong: school is important in Canada, too, but we also value the extra experience and responsibilities of working hard outside of school and learning to balance many responsibilities at once. We don’t do “cram schools” or anything like that: kids go to school from 9-3:30 and then either do part time jobs, join extra-curriculars at school like sports teams etc or just go home/to a friend’s house. We are worlds apart! Oh, and if you suggested to kids to clean up after themselves at school, you’d have a riot on your hands…

[@chipputer]

The distance between things in North America is really the main thing people always forget about when they talk about some of the weirder bits of our culture, particularly with owning a vehicle and public transportation issues.

[@Froggycolouring]

My friend said in America bullying is when kids shoot each other with weapons That is very scary…

[@PhthaloGreenskin]

No that's usually the result of bullying. Now if you live in a black neighborhood....... different story.

[@nekrataali]

@@PhthaloGreenskin Not really. The Columbine shooters were known bullies. They frequently harassed black and Jewish students (they were neo-Nazis). School shooters exist because they have a worldview dehumanizing others mixed in with some nihilism.

[@deeps6979]

1. ...holy crap. I never noticed the lack of prom in Japanese media before. It's always Culture Festivals (with obligatory maid cafes) or heartful conversations on unalive-proof rooves. 3. I got bussed across town in high school. No way in hell was I going home for lunch. XD They didn't particularly care where I was, though, so I just waited outside my next class instead of going to the cafeteria. 6. ...Wait, Sora can jam!? If he wants to keep his Cringe title, he'll have to play, like, Nickelback or something.

[@Itsukazutrap]

Not just Japanese. In my country there is no prom either. Like... maybe some classes at the end of the year where the teachers bring snacks (when I was in high school, one of our teachers brought cider and some cake), but no prom. In college, some have some kind of party at the start of the school year to meet others and socialise. Often ends with some people getting over-drunk, too high, and sometimes a broken leg here and there lmao. But no prom, nothing of the sort. We... kind of find it weird, or at least useless and it makes us uneasy to think we have to invite someone (because you have to ask that person out in a way)... It's really just an American thing (maybe in Canada too. I'm not even sure they do it in the UK)

[@CallMeShuri]

Sora can jam. He is now officially Based™.

[@Tubular_dude_20y_ago]

Why did you count 1, 3, 6?

[@davidpaiva1104]

to be honest proms seems to be a USA thing, here in Brazil we don't have proms too.

[@elderjose9662]

Prom is one of the more stupidy ideas I ever heard about

[@LuckyOtter_WorldBuilding]

the fact it's considered the least bit normal, for the school to interact with let alone directly regulate life outside of school, is insane and dystopian to us, on the rare occasion a school tries something like that it's atleast a statewide scandal, also i believe it's not common for schools to have a parking lot JUST for students, instead the norm is for students and teachers to use the same lot

[@Mika-ph6ku]

I went to two different High schools and the first one had dedicated student parking lots while the second didn't. In the first school you also had to pay $20 at the beginning of the school year to use the student lot and you would get a specific lot assigned to you (they were all numbered). The second school was just every man for himself and there were way more cars than there were lots for students and teachers to park in so there were always cars just lined up everywhere on the turf grass. That school recently started expanding their parking lot though on top of adding a whole new wing to the building. The town was just experiencing a huge population influx so a similar theme was seen everywhere you'd go.

[@anarchyandempires5452]

And most schools you have to pay a parking ticket. In my high school it was $50 a semester, The college was more like $100.

[@ADaniBear]

It was at my school… we had so many students we had to pull and see which lot we could park at tho

[@mizushimo]

My high school had a dedicated parking lot for students, the teachers had several other parking areas to themselves. Getting a permit was hard, though, you had to have a certain gpa and sign up way in advance. I always parked at the mall across the street.

[@Angels.Port.]

my high school has a parking lot for every year p much teachers/sophomores on the side, juniors by the pool, seniors in the front lot but a parking permit is $75

[@chriscannon9689]

2:29 The more rural schools like the one I went to had a day where all the farm kids drove their tractors to school!

[@BladedAngel]

2:00 WELCOME TO THE LAND OF THE FREEEEEEEE Bro that one kid who did Lunch Runs to McDonald's would come back a LEGEND. Infinite negotiating power with Chicken Nuggets and Fries.

[@SomaelTentacleHair]

That sounds so weird, but the explanation that bullying can also take the form of just being ignored by everyone just validated much of my school experience

[@Mika-ph6ku]

Yeah I agree. Violent bullying seems like it largely died out in the 90s from my perspective. It still obviously happened plenty of times in schools all around the country since that decade, but it really never seemed to be common. From what I've seen, bullying in the USA most commonly takes the form of isolation and mistreatment with a touch of shit talking/spreading harmful rumors behind the victims back.

[@Orion_44]

@@Mika-ph6ku lmao maybe in the good schools. My high school has a fight twice a day, with jumps happening a couple times a week. Glad I finally dropped out to get my GED

[@jaye4157]

Can someone explain the only America has physically violent bullying from anime I watch it seems like at some point what could be considered sexual assault seems to be how bullying is displayed by Japanese media. I say this as often times the bullied kid gets his clothes basically torn off him to humiliate him.

[@nottellinyou3942]

@@jaye4157idk but if u did that in an american school, you would probably get in WAY more trouble than if you just beat someone up.

[@jaye4157]

@@nottellinyou3942 what I was saying is that is what I understand bullying looks like in Japanese media. I know over here in the states something like that's sending you to juvenile detention or jail.

[@catflower_queen7497]

As an American number three was very shocking to me because the most "outside" you could get tobeat lunch was a tiny enclosed courtyard and you only had half an hour to eat as it was. And technically you had even less time than that because during that half hour you also had to spend time waiting in line to get the food to begin with as well as doing any locker stops or bathroom breaks.

[@poyudi]

You had a full 30 minutes to eat lunch? Well. Fuck. My school split the lunch period in half. You had to sit in a study hall for 15 minutes. Then you were allowed to go to the cafeteria and have 15 minutes for lunch. We had a courtyard. But students were not permitted to use it unless they were Seniors.

[@necrocorey6408]

At my highschool you weren't allowed outside of the cafeteria during your lunch period, but our school was overcrowded to the point that if you didn't literally sprint to the cafeteria, you wouldn't have time to get a lunch and sit down to eat. This was fine when we had vending machines, but they took those out when I was a sophomore and for poor kids like me, it typically just meant not eating lunch lol. @@poyudi

[@dittoroxursox1o1]

I was so mad, I got a full hour for lunch but only upperclassmen were allowed to leave campus. Then by the time my little sister was a freshman they opened it up to all highschoolers.

[@benlyon5118]

That's rough. In my public school, we could leave in 9th grade and at private school we couldn't leave campus, but we had diners and food stands where we could pay for food if we didn't want what the dining hall was serving. In both public and private it was normal to see kids getting food delivered too.

[@princeire7486]

Am American, and my grandma went to the same high school as me. It's interesting how things have changed, as she got a longer lunch period than I did and either went home for lunch or went somewhere with her friends, while I was expected to eat in the cafeteria and I'm not even sure if you were allowed to leave during lunch. There definitely wasn't time to do so.

[@Nexxarian]

My high school didn’t have an open campus lunch, but there was an outdoor patio for students to eat at. I also have no doubt some snuck out, but usually you couldn’t get back in without going through the main doors in front of the office. Also, often students would order food from Jimmy John’s or other places and have it delivered to the school where they would pick it up at one of the doors.

[@KLx2789]

😂 This was a legitimately fun video to watch. I would only stipulate that for point #3 about students being able to leave school for lunch break, that isn't always necessarily the case. A lot of high schools allow it, but there are a decent amount, especially when talking about private high schools, that do not. But this was a great watch, and the way you ended it was top tier. You've earned yourself a subscriber, my guy.

[@OneNamelessHero]

Some of the things Japanese school instills are weird, but teaching students to take care of their space is definitely a good thing!

[@kellymurphy1098]

IKR? Not just teaching them to take care of things, but teaching them HOW to clean. A lot of kids make it to adulthood with no idea how to clean their dwelling, nowadays in the US.

[@itsprobablysarcasm5977]

3 depends on where you go. My school would NEVER have allowed us to leave for lunch. Also some people work part time jobs year round when in high school

[@mitchtickets]

I'm old, and yes, we definitely could not leave school.

[@DemiCape]

lol here in sweden you could take the bus home, eat some lunch and chill and then take the bus back to school and get there in time when the class starts.

[@Katie-uwu]

We weren't allowed to leave, but a lot of kids snuck out anyway. I was the friend that would open the door so they could get back in with their pizza or Chick-fil-A

[@DemiCape]

It also mostly depends on the program you choose, where I went you sometimes had to wait 2 hours until next class starts.

[@ShinyPM]

My high school didn't like students leaving campus for lunch but was fine if you ordered delivery. When I went to collage tho, they did events once a week for people who had extra time between classes that usually involved a free lunch.

[@natkatmac]

To combine 3 and 4, my school technically had open lunch, but the school was also located way off the road. So the only people who could take advantage of it were seniors who 1. Had a car and 2. Had done so well that they had an extra gap period/free study hall right after lunch, effectively making it an extra long lunch.

[@StrangePony1]

This opens my eyes up a bit from the differences so thank you very much for making this video!

[@alittleofsomething]

I think a mix of two would be great. Like, making students clean up the school but also have prom and talent shows and allow them to work. I also really like the idea of school festivals I've only seen in anime. It's a great way to get the local community involved.

[@PC-tan]

From my understanding in the US a form of that does exist and it's usually called Open House. The main difference is that it's focused more on showing people outside of the school what the students have been up to rather than the cafes and haunted houses that you see in anime.

[@alittleofsomething]

@@PC-tan I had no idea. We never had any sorts of open house at our schools here in Latvia.

[@soupsundying8362]

I would much rather have a festival at my school than a prom. I even skipped my prom cuz I had no one to go with… that and also because school wants to charge you money for it. So yeah, a festival sounds much nicer.

[@kaikart123]

sounds like South East Asian school to me

[@MustacheDLuffy]

@@PC-tanopen house is when high schools offer middle schoolers tours of their schools in order to recruit students

[@nanahuatli2144]

I've always been weirded out by highschool students driving and having cars in the US. But later I learned that cities have a hostile planning and bad public transport, so you can't go anywhere without a car.

[@Mika-ph6ku]

We do at least have school busses that will take you to and from school, we aren't obligated to get a license while still in high school. I enjoyed getting a car at 16 and being able to drive myself wherever I wanted though. I don't see why many foreigners regard that as a bad thing. Getting a car is the #1 thing most American teens look forward to in their highschool years. It's like suddenly unlocking a whole new level of personal freedom and anonymity.

[@SomeMamaLuigis]

@@Mika-ph6ku because buying and maintaining a car is expensive and many do not have the option of public transport, especially those who live in the suburbs. A school bus usually works within normal schedules, and if you're lucky there's also a late bus. However, some after school activities end after the late bus departs. Getting a car is not the bad part, the bad part is that you HAVE to get a car. Because the nearest grocery store is like at least a 30 min walk away, or a 5 min drive.

[@Mika-ph6ku]

@@SomeMamaLuigis Maintaining a car isn't expensive... As long as you aren't buying an unreliable luxury vehicle anyway, which would be a dumb thing for a kid to do. My daily is a 2011 Honda accord and nothing has broken on it since I bought it and the regular maintenance is dirt cheap.

[@BigFootTheRealOne]

​@@SomeMamaLuigisAmerica is also a relatively large country. I don't know what country you are in but it's not uncommon for schools to be miles and miles away.

[@nottellinyou3942]

@@Mika-ph6kuThis is legit only because public transportation isnt wide-spread (ie the hostile architecture). Kids wouldnt feel trapped b4 turning 16 bc they'd be able to actually get places wout a 2h long walk

[@androgynouslibra7607]

I remember the day I took a college class, and people talked about how in other countries other than America, bullies aren't as present as to be expected in the USA. Teachers usually couldn't do anything to help other than separate

[@keytoclay]

Great video! I'm learning Japanese and this video helps, especially the text on screen being bold and big, thank you.

[@like90]

Actually bullying also does included being ignored by everyone. Mostly, this is typical bullying tactic that girl bullies use. Speaking from experience as I was bullied in school. I couldn't go home for lunch in high school because i was bused to school and my house was too far away. Also, I didn't get my driver's license until I was in college. My high school offered driving lessons, but i never took them as I didn't have a car.

[@fiaTheFae]

I came here to say this too! The bullying part, specifically

[@flowerunofficial2723]

Unfortunately, I was mentally abused

[@Tan12]

Open campus lunch is definitely not a universal thing in US schools, I never had it. Though you could get away with leaving to eat pretty easily if you had a car since the exits and parking lot were usually unlocked and unmonitored. And we don't just get summer jobs, lots of students work part-time all year, going straight from school to work in the afternoon many days. Many businesses hire part-timers as young as 15.

[@Zectifin]

Yeah I started working at 15 and then senior year took half days and worked during lunch time

[@GIRGHGH]

The school I went to you could only leave with permission, and I doubt they'd let you leave for something like lunch. There were even police at the exit regulating entry and exit.

[@Tan12]

@@GIRGHGH My school didn't "let" you leave either, it's just that security was so minimal it was easy to get away with. Wasn't like that everywhere in my area though, a school 30 minutes from mine had guards and metal detectors at all the main entrances after a knife attack there, lmao.

[@kellymurphy1098]

@@Tan12 Same. My school was technically a closed campus, but southern California doesn't really have a lot of enclosed, indoor schools like they have in the freezing north, so since it's just a big sprawling campus with about 20 entrances and exits, there was no real way to police the kids leaving. And there was a SubWay (sandwich shop) and a donut shop across the street.

[@QuarterCentum]

In my school we weren’t even allowed to leave the cafeteria during lunch, they had teachers monitoring the doors. I was always jealous of how some schools let students choose where they ate. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom without permission.

[@samriver3677]

Great video, I really enjoyed!

[@AkiAmeko]

The one thing I would really like to see come from Japanese schools and make its way over to American schools is having students clean up after themselves. In my experience working in schools, students will refuse to (or complain endlessly) about having to do even very basic cleaning. Whereas, it seems Japanese students are learning to be responsible, considerate of others, and heck, actually able to clean up their space and take care of themselves as adults! (When I was in college, the weekly cleaning expectations in my apartment were brutal, and I had to learn the hard way how to clean properly.)

[@Mesterlock]

I think the cleaning after yourselves in Japan schools is pretty good to prep kids to be self sufficient and not lazy, as if expecting others to work for them, same as in the army they teach recruits to set their beds and clean their room every morning before the sergeant comes in, it creates an habit of discipline imo.

[@BushidoRoad]

Here’s an additional one I heard about: apparently, Japanese students still have to go to school on Saturday’s, which is just as crazy to me as the fact that you can’t actually do a Ransengan in Japan.

[@penttikoivuniemi2146]

That depends on the school.

[@thisissparta789789]

It was more common in the past, but it’s not as frequent anymore, and it’s not required in a lot of schools that still offer it.

[@Shijaru64]

Saturdays*

[@wait_whatt]

Wait... there are no lessons on Saturday in American schools? In my country school is 6 days a week (and it sucks). You are so lucky!

[@chrisr393]

@@wait_whatt What country do you live in? I'm American and have never went to school on a Saturday

[@davidyemm7910]

Well done Sora! Fun and informative. I liked your stranger ones in the past too. Keep creating

[@Binqkkk]

My Japanese cousins came for a year, they’re in my grade so when we would go to football games they would be mind blown over the smallest things and it was funny to see their reactions and they had the same lunch as I did, our school was open campus and I had my provisionals license at this time so I was allowed to leave during lunch period and just go eat anywhere as long as I came back to school in time, this was their first time experiencing something like this and they were shocked that 16 year olds could drive without adult supervision (provisional license) and the entire time they were extremely paranoid and asking me “what if we get caught” but I assured them we’re good and I put them on to Wendy’s, whataburger, five guys and shake shack. Good times

[@ruskerdax5547]

I know in many American high schools you're not allowed to leave during lunch break. I grew up in the Midwest, and it's pretty common in most places for high schools to have plenty of space and to have students come from quite a distance (easily an hour or more of walking one way) and it would be difficult to arrange so many buses to pick up literally every student, so parking lots for students are almost a necessity. The violence in some American schools is much worse than simple bullying, which is already quite extreme by Japanese standards. People would often describe at least a couple of the schools in the city I grew up as basically like prison. Schools had metal detectors, bulletproof glass, and armed guards. Police doing random inspections of student lockers using drug-sniffing dogs was not a terribly rare occurrence.

[@PC-tan]

Something I found funny about my school is that while stuff happens that people don't pay attention to, I don't really think people bullied other people, at least now like how it is shown in TV. Everyone just kept to themselves. You also didn't see any fights at all. One year a fight did break out and one of the teachers that was near the incident was shocked when some one told them that kids were fighting just because it never happens at that school. The worst stuff people do at that school are smoking pot in the bathrooms and teenage pregnancy, which happens in a lot of schools to begin with anyway. As a comparison the other high school in our district had way more fights between students and from my understanding was more closer to what you would see out of Mean Girls. I'm not sure if the reason for it was because it was more of an ethnically, socially, and financially diverse place compared to our school. In our school it was mostly kids that grew up in the area, but the other school had stuff like military families, and people moving to the area more recently for areospace stuff. That school had an aquarium!!!!!!!!!! Meanwhile my school was just 2 blocks away from the more dangerous parts of town. One thing in America schools that would likely freak people from other countries are cops. Nowadays it's normal to see a cop car parked in front of a school and people wouldn't think anything of it but in other parts of the world they likely would think, oh somebody must have done something wrong and are now going to get arrested, otherwise why would there be a cop car parked in front of that school.

[@navster100]

Wtf school did u go to where they had all those security measures. Our school just had a few cops that would roam and that's it

[@cloudsn]

I graduated a long time ago, and we had no security at all. Literally my senior year they hired one singular security guard to handle how crazy the incoming Freshman were. And there weren't that many fights. There were some, but the kids tried to hide the fights by going out into the woods around the school. It wasn't just beating on a weak kid though, it was nearly always two jocks or whatever. Mostly people did ignore the people they didn't like. It wasn't super obvious until we were told to pair up for projects or labs. Then one kid would get totally left out in the cold.

[@ruskerdax5547]

@@navster100 several schools in the area I grew up in Ohio were like this.

[@liz_violet]

@@navster100 america and their guns, 😥 making me take EXTRA time outta my class day to make sure nothing "prohibited" makes it in.

[@jreiland07]

If I went to high school in Japan and I didn’t spend my after school time jumping into a bunch of corrupt adult’s psyches with a bunch of friends and reforming them I’d be hugely disappointed

[@ved2360]

Then you kill God with the power of friendship at the end of the school year.

[@TheBrutalSax]

@@ved2360then do it again next summer vacation on a road trip

[@geovanyerazo2501]

I miss Persona

[@TheBrutalSax]

@@geovanyerazo2501 couple more months baby

[@titanatlas9]

effing weeb

[@Moonflight021]

Regarding #2, when I attended a Spanish language summer camp, all of the campers had to clean up their cabins themselves. We had to vacuum, clean the showers, etc. it took a lot of campers some time to get used to, but it meant that things were usually very clean! There would also be chores related to the whole camp and public buildings, like sweeping, watering plants, setting tables, etc. kinda interesting

[@vincer7824]

This was amazing. I loved the dramatic music and transitions. You could be an anime voice actor for sure. Educational too.

[@benparker1822]

Prom AND Home-coming dances. For those who don't know, Home-coming is a dance on the weekend of the first home game played by the school's football team. Prom is for Junior and Senior classmen. (11th and 12th grade students.) Home-coming is open to all four grades of High School.

[@DoughBrain]

Not sure about other high schools, but we had at about 3-4 school organized dances per school year. One in the beginning of the school year. One for winter. And Prom which was only for Juniors(11th grade) and Seniors(12th grade). Anyone from the grades lower than that had to be invited by an older student. I think there was a fourth one, but I can’t remember what it was called.

[@Worcester144CL]

By "football", do you mean the hand egg sport that somehow calls themselves "football"?

[@RT-qd8yl]

I'm American and never experienced either of those. 😔

[@elezraita]

Typically not the first home game because that’s inconvenient timing in most cases. It’s usually a home game in the middle of the season where the previous game was away.

[@PC-tan]

There is also the Sadie Kokins dance that some schools have where the girl is the one that asks the boy to go to the dance with them.

[@unquiche]

There are definitely some things in the list that I think America does the right way, and other things in the list that I think Japan is doing the right way. They could stand to learn from each other: American students learning teamwork and responsibility, and Japanese students having more freedom and personal choice outside of classroom hours.

[@dominicirla7011]

What do you mean by teamwork?

[@sweetpeatie7033]

I think the main thing i envied about Japanese schools, as an American, was the school lunch food you could get if you didnt make your own bento lunch box. Japanese school food looked/seemed much more nutritous and full of flavor, rather than us Americans getting chicken nuggets, disgusting pizzas, or some kind of whole grain spaghetti with awful canned sauce. When I lived in Oregon and worked as a school lunch lady for a short time, they actually homemade some delicious food, but there was still the chicken nugget, corndog, and hamburger options next to a really delicious homemade tomato cream soup with basil and grilled cheese. Of course, the kids would go to the "safe" foods like the nuggets or corndogs. This was an elementary school, so kids tend to be pickier. But if you give them all better "healthy" options that's full of flavor, they will eat something. Just because America added more raw veggies and fruits to the school system doesnt mean their main food they serve isnt still on the bottom of the food totem pole.

[@Stitchpuppy01]

This is fantastic and you are so adorable!

[@letsgowalk]

I’m American, and I also envy the American kids who have open campuses! We weren’t allowed to go anywhere!

[@Videogeek95]

I lived in a small district in a town of 2000... The district's cafeteria was in the gym of the Elementary School... Literally the entire district was 1 campus and the Highschool/Middle School Building was at the top of a hill and the Elementary was at the bottom of the hill... Anyway... You can pretty much guess what we would have killed for on those 17 below degree days... The high school building didn't get a Cafeteria add on until after I graduated only a couple years ago... And literally the only reason it did was because of the School Shootings... 300 or so kids at a time walking down a hill in the wide goddamn open are kind of easy targets... On a side note... A town with only 2000 people Total somehow now has a Highschool with 4 Regulation Basketball Courts within the building... And we're a fucking football town to boot...

[@ComfyChaos]

Same! My high school definitely wasn’t open campus. People would get Saturday detention and/or in-school suspension for leaving school during class or lunch hours without permission.

[@emilyaw3831]

My high school had an open campus for juniors and seniors, but our lunch breaks were so short and the lines at the local fast food places were so long that almost no one took advantage of them.

[@Sabbathtage]

Same. My mother went to the same school and she got open campus lunches. My school district was, unlike me, rich and white. There was a freak out about dangerous gangs during the late 80s-early 90s about student safety, and we lost our open campus lunches based on unfounded fears from the adults. We didn't all have room for all of us to sit inside the cafeteria, so many off us sat on the floor in the hallways and regularly got in trouble for sitting on the floor there during lunch. Just where the hell were we supposed to go to eat when the cafeteria is way too full?

[@SquidsMackenzie]

for my school it was only available to seniors. the envy was real.

[@iseetheendisnear2416]

It’s weird, because I distinctly remember being bullied the Japanese way in a specific class. My group would completely ignore me. It’s sad there wasn’t a concerned Japanese student to talk to me. The teacher bullied me by yelling the American way, though.

[@skydive5670]

Like in physical way or?

[@phillystevesteak6982]

More interesting is Americans would never label outcasting as bullying. Ever. Shows a fundamental difference in our culture's understanding of what constitutes abusive behavior.

[@blackchibisan8116]

I fricken love this and am taking notes for a character in one of my planned stories

[@photosapphic1984]

#3 really depends on the school and district policies. My high school did not let students leave during lunch (though many still would sneak out) unless you had an emergency or needed to go to work. To enforce things, they would lock all the exterior doors so if you left, the only way back in was through the main office entrance. Of course, being a large school campus, most students knew how to sneak back in, or would have a friend wait for them at one of the doors to let them in.

[@user-yj8co6vr6j]

For me you can only leave if you don’t have anymore classes after lunch. Otherwise you can’t leave. And lunch is only 30 minutes.

[@RenaSunflash]

Not only can American students have summer jobs, we can work during the school year too. I got my first job when I was 13. I worked Mondays 4 - 8:30pm at a public library, and every weekend either Saturday or Sunday for an 8 hour shift. In the summer I would get more hours because I didn't have to only work in the evening. The job was designed for high school students, so once I graduated high school, they ended my employment contract that August. Other students I knew worked at stores in the mall, at restaurants as servers, at a car wash ... basically any business where they could do shifts that started after school hours. I'd say most students didn't have jobs during the school year, but no one thought it was weird if you did.

[@larisachan1787]

So lucky, in India you're only allowed to work after college...or by being a dropout Student.

[@DOAHunt3r]

@@larisachan1787 Not lucky, the people who work those jobs usually need the money. Even if it isn't to make rent the minimum yearly household income to not be afraid of the slightest emergency is steep in America. Well-off families will refuse to let their children work part time jobs so they can focus on studying or only work enough so they understand why they don't want to be working a minimum wage service job dealing with the general public. Japan's social welfare system is seemingly much stronger so rules like banning children from working part time jobs while in education are reasonably practical.

[@TheGrouchDnD]

The editing is so dang good

[@boredpenguin]

Bullying also includes insults like what they think of how the person is dressed, they think the person is too intelligent, the person's lack of an significant other, etc. I've seen that in anime, not sure if it really happens in Japan also.

[@beatrixthegreat1138]

My bully liked to tell everyone I was on welfare because she didn’t like how I was dressed. I didn’t have people to teach me how to dress to avoid that and I couldn’t afford her standards.

[@boredpenguin]

@beatrixthegreat1138 mine was being told I smelled bad. I started using fabric softener, cologne, different deodorant, until I realized they were just being assholes.

[@beatrixthegreat1138]

@@boredpenguin *hug* been told that too I’m so sorry.

[@leroypreston2973]

I was bullied for liking Pokémon and kids said I was mexican due to my skin tone, I am black and caucasian. Bullying here isn't just being beat up, it's also mean taunts and nowadays cyberbullying where people will mock you on the internet or spread rumors. For being ignored, I kept to myself a lot as a kid and decided to make more friends as time went on.

[@beatrixthegreat1138]

@@leroypreston2973 yer among friends here mate. *hug*

[@tuzden]

I remember in middle school my teacher mentioning that in Japan the students had to clean their school instead of having janitors do it to all the kids in my class. Having just witnessed the closest thing to being a crime scene that isn't a crime scene in the bathroom earlier that day I was grateful for janitors

[@kellymurphy1098]

Japanese schools *do* have janitors for the bigger cleaning jobs, as far as I know. The kids are just expected to keep up with the routine, day to day cleaning. But also kids are encouraged to treat the janitors with respect, very different from here where janitors are seen as losers who have completely failed at life.

[@koryabel6319]

Dude I love your American greetings, “Sup brooo!” Is my favorite lol

[@B-ot2xx]

This is awesome!😂

[@gabrielleeliseo6062]

As already stated, the open lunch thing varies. Also, the student parking lot item varies. I never had a car in high school. I couldn’t afford it. I also had no interest in the promenade, aka “prom”.

[@Jiraiya-Sama482]

……did you really just say promenade……

[@Steven-tl8fs]

​@@Jiraiya-Sama482means he couldn't get a date for prom.

[@Senaru]

@@Jiraiya-Sama482LMAOO 😂

[@lainiwakura1776]

@@Jiraiya-Sama482 That's what it's short for, buddy.

[@soupsundying8362]

@@lainiwakura1776 I didn’t know either. Isn’t a promenade like a walking path on a beach or something like that?

[@JustGrowingUp84]

"Is your entire school made of party animals?" - this is where I started literally laughing out loud, well played Sora.

[@Jambino]

The bullying in USA schools is much worse than in Japan from everything I've heard

[@charlottetheunicorn8863]

There are pros and cons to both. I liked watching this, I learned a lot :)

[@watersluggers7413]

The cleaning school thing is too relatable for me as a Chinese. My parents were shocked aswell to know in America, students don’t need to do the cleaning lol

[@cheesedemon88]

I think it’s a good thing and I wish it was more commonly practiced in western schools, learning to clean up after yourself every day is a great habit to instil in kids

[@aaAAA--]

​@@cheesedemon88 honestly, whenever the teacher would occasionally let us clean the whiteboard, it was always a great honor getting chosen, because it was fun to erase lmao.I definitely wish they had the students clean after class here too, especially now that I'm older because sometimes I find it quite difficult lmao

[@watersluggers7413]

@@cheesedemon88 It's worth a practice too as a grownup

[@iponce2]

​@@cheesedemon88school is for studying, not custodial work. The parents should be teaching their children how to clean up after themselves, not the school.

[@visi5612]

@@iponce2 you have a point, but the cleaning part is mostly for discipline. Some children also have awful parents that don't teach jack, so it's good that the children at least have school to learn some basic life skills from.

[@rscholastica]

For the "open campus" for lunch, it really depends on the state and the school district. When I was in high school (1999-2003) in Massachusetts, you had to stay on campus for lunch. The exception was midterms and finals - you could leave campus to get lunch after your exams were done. But when my younger cousin was at the same high school (2005 - 2009), there was no more open campus for midterms and finals.

[@rosylagoon3600]

I’m in a Massachusetts high school and in our school as a senior I have open campus once a week. They might increase it tho.

[@Iwanttoblowmybrainsoutrn]

the same thing applies to me like lunch in Massachusetts. we're not allowed to leave the cafeteria during lunch, unless you get checked out, but we all are take home from school immediately after we're done with final exams.

[@yrevra2407]

Wow this was both entertaining and educational😂

[@keeganplayz1875]

Well, as an american who's now in university, I can say I miss highschool life. Living in japan seems super awesome. You guys are all super respectful to eachother!!

[@amirhaayers2736]

Not having a parking lot is kinda weird to think about. In America parking lots are EVERYWHERE. Not having one is kinda sketchy. Even my small highschool of only around 50 students had a parking lot. Some of my friend would drive to school and one of my friends after graduating went driving around the parking lot around the basketball court yelling goodbye to everyone as they drove off. Everyone was laughing and waving, saying goodbye back. Still one of my favorite school memories.

[@G0dspeed101]

Tbh, I wish I could live in a town without the necessity for cars lol The fact that Japanese people can simply use trains or walk without the worry of being mowed down by an idiot going 100 mph on a 35 sounds like a dream 🤣🤣

[@AAButtery]

Having parking lots is nice, but having to rely so heavily on cars in most states has become pretty inconvenient. There’s probably almost as many cars as there are people in the US…

[@shirleychen1087]

It’s not weird if you go to school in a city. I’ve never seen or even heard of a parking lot (for students to park) at any high school in NYC where I’m from. It’s not sketchy at all. I can walk down the block from my high school in Brooklyn and it’s full of restaurants and cafes to grab a quick bite during lunch. Really convenient actually.

[@amirhaayers2736]

@@shirleychen1087 NYC is an outlier. NYC is so cramped and overpopulated that you can't fit a lot of parking lots but most other places have them.

[@r2c238]

​@@amirhaayers2736 late but same thing in San Francisco. No parking lots at any schools. you can easily walk from school to a bunch of restaurants, cafes, stores, and malls. many kids dont get their license in high school because its way more convenient and less expensive to walk or take public transit. one of my favorite memories growing up there was that i was able to be independent. i could walk out of my house and go anywhere without having to rely on my parents to shuttle me around in their car. sadly, in most other areas of the U.S, one has to wait until they get their drivers license at 16 to be independent.

[@Vaennylla]

In Nagasaki, we have this thing called "Peace hour" during Wednesdays where we're given an hour of free time to do whatever we want, even leave school and hang out. Sure, that hour's supposed to be spent at a chapel or a temple, but no one's really forced to go if they don't want to. I think Hiroshima does the same thing, but I'm not sure.

[@TheXev]

1:39 Many schools do allow you to leave home for lunch, but only if your house is within walking distance and you are pre-approved to do so. I imagine this is different depending on where you live. I'd think some schools with fast food nearby would allow students to go there instead for lunch. 2:29 It's important to note that the legal driving age in Japan is 18, vs most US states (but not all) of 16. So some US students drive to school as young as 16, where in Japan you have to be 18 to even get a drivers license in the first place. This is slowly changing in the US, as more states raise the driving age to 18 for safety. 5:03 Most schools allow students to work year round, as long as they request for a "work permit," receive parental approval, and they keep their grades above a C average. Sometimes the work can even take place during school hours if the student already has enough credits to graduate High School.

[@hawkdracano3840]

Very good video.

[@matthewjay660]

Sora, some American high schools have reserved parking spots for the seniors that are sold off at the beginning of the year in auction. The senior student is then allowed to customize paint their parking spot usually with their name, the year they graduate, and the hobbies and/or clubs they are in. It's a fundraiser for the senior class to sell these senior reserved parking spots. 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵

[@aycc-nbh7289]

My high school didn’t have that and I had to park at my friend’s house across the street from the school.

[@endmysuffering2699]

It’s not just during summer break we can work…from my sophomore year onwards I had a job during the school year and the summer. Those days as a line cook were absolute torture…makes me appreciate my current job a lot more 😂

[@l33tsaber]

On the driving thing, it gets even wilder. In farming towns like the one I grew up in, sometimes there's even a designated "Drive Your Tractor To School Day" as a sports team spirit event.

[@KeitanKetsueki]

It's interesting to see some of these! I don't think that any of the high school are open campus in my city, so there's definitely no leaving for lunch, but some schools have work-study programs where students have less classes and then leave early to drive to work. Others would have open periods if they had met a credit requirement so they had short school days. I also worked with a lot of high school students who had jobs with full-time hours (and not just during the summer).

[@jonmarler]

In my high-school, I had a "co-op" class where I was required to have a job during the school year. I got 3 elective credits for it. I attended my senior year from 7:15AM to 10:12AM and was expected to work at least 20 hours a week, including during the day when I would otherwise be at school. I had a special pass that I had to show to the parking lot security guard to get my car out of the parking lot, and could show police if I was challenged for not being at school.

[@selenopheria]

The off campus lunch surprised me too. Nobody left, we all ate in the cafeteria. And talked. Played games. Like "War" between fifteen students. Most intense card game I've ever been in.

[@ashleypenn7845]

We routinely splayed Spit, Slap Jack, and even Uno on occasion. We were a small private school, though. Looser rules. And since we were so small, we didn't actually have a cafeteria. The lunches available for purchase were all takeout (Friday was always pizza day and always the longest line) and we either ate at our desks or at the picnic tables outside if the weather was nice.

[@emilytheresa8719]

I had a job during my senior year of high school, not just over the summer. Never realized that might not be the norm in other countries, a lot of my friends and other students worked as well. My younger sister has had a job throughout her sophomore and junior years, so it’s not just the older teens that work during the school year too.

[@sugar3155]

My school didn’t do talent shows, but there were senior project showcases. You would work on a project (could be any subject including arts) and towards the end of the year you could present it. It was good to put on college applications. Students who drove to school were often encouraged to do it by their parents because the parents could have the older sibling drop off the younger ones.

[@Jeff-sc1hf]

American schools (in my experience) often have three school dances associated with each of the seasons of the school year: Homecoming (autumn) - a dance that happens on the weekend of the first "home game" of the school's most important sports team (usually american football) Winter formal - a dance shortly before the winter holiday break that is more formal and usually themed (think a mini-prom) Then, of course, Prom (spring) - usually only 3rd and 4th year students are allowed to attend, though some schools allow all grades

[@Pixie_Shmixie]

1:56 Funnily enough, my school didn’t have that! There was also no guarantee that we’d even have a lunch period, so most of the time, myself and many others had to eat during class.

[@MrJojomylove]

This is all so well done. Its super funny, I love your Americans accent, its spot on. I like a lot of thing they do at Japanese schools including the cleaning aspect.

[@pupplechick]

this is so creative 😭

[@dropkickpikachu]

My high school didn't have janitors so we had a rotation of student groups who did all the cleaning. So when I see students in anime/dorama cleaning the place up after school it's nostalgic for me.

[@CheesyLizzy]

4:24 Wait really? I could handle that. I've been ignored my whole life 😆

[@Coach_Shiner]

I actually prefer to be left alone

[@dozrFAB]

Thank you

[@_Xiagax_]

To be fair, there are some high schools that are closed campus here in the states. I moved around a lot and some of them were either open or closed. My freshman year it was open but sophomore and junior year was closed because it was a higher crime area. Schools will have their reasons whether or not they allow you to leave for lunch or not. As far as bullying, it's not ALWAYS physical. One of the worst cases of bullying I received was one of my classmates who worked with me at an after school job got butthurt over some goofing around when I bumped into her. She tried to go to the extreme letter of "you're not supposed to touch women in anyway" and got her boyfriend involved who sent a mutual coworker to "teach me a lesson". The guy wasn't too bright and "had a talk" with me well after the initial incident, which I was unaware of anything gone wrong. Because our mutual coworker was open about that he was supposed to beat the crap out of me, I brought it to my principal and school resource officer. They told my classmate that her boyfriend sending someone after me to assault me could've got them BOTH in a crap ton of trouble. So my classmate, went back to management directly and claimed she was assaulted by me. No questions asked, I was terminated on the spot, no chance to give my side of the story or even get in touch with my principal or the school resource officer.

[@sayanlaha3649]

I am from West Bengal, a state in India. When I studied in High School, I also used to come home at lunch break to have lunch...actually my home was so near to my school, so I came home instead of bringing lunch at school. Open Campus Lunch is also legal I'm my college but I've never done that though my college is also near to my home.😆 They're both within the radius of 1km. In short, all the things you mentioned, most of them was normal in at least in my school.

[@kana2491]

日本ではそれを「隣の芝生は青く見える」と言います。 ところでソラさん、日本語上手ですね！

[@sorathetroll]

ちゃうわ

[@ameziali4480]

we have that same phrase in english! "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"

[@just.a.cube.]

At my school they have janitors, but we always have to help clean up after concerts and our classrooms

[@DavidLS1]

In the sixth grade, we were allowed to go out for lunch. I still remember the Woolworth's thirty five cent specials. A slice of pizza or a hot dog and a drink. We felt so grown up.

[@tiggytheimpaler5483]

I knew some japanese kids who went to my school in America, and I was super jealous of they way their class system was set up, the fact they didnt have to carry 8 textbooks to every class, and the fact that they didnt start school at 745 in the morning like we did 😢

[@remixgameyt1172]

You start school at 7:45??? We start at 7:00 - 7:30

[@turtlemech6837]

I start at 7:50 😁😁

[@artisticato6035]

lol my school starts at 8:40 😭 used to be 8:30 with A period classes at around 7:20

[@52andattitude48]

7:45? Jesus, my high school started at 8:20 and I thought that was bad

[@adisca2k]

The american class system is so alien to me. In my country, you get the same classroom with the same collegues for 4 years, until you graduate primary/middle/high school. Even in university we keep the same collegues for all seminars or labs throughout the entire year.

[@GeebusCrust]

When i was in high school, like 17 years ago, leaving campus for lunch was unheard of. But there were often lots of seniors who had most of their credits already, and would just get to leave for the day around lunchtime since they only had like 2 classes a day.