Graduation

Graduation was on Saturday, March 1. In exchange for working that day, we had all been given the previous Monday off (which is when I went to Sasebo). The weather was simply gorgeous, especially compared to how cold it had been: it was sunny, with a high around 17. The ceremony was held in the gym.

The entire student body attended. The first- and second-years made up the majority of people there, though there were about a hundred parents and townsfolk there, too. I was seated with the other teachers, but the third-year teachers had a special section. (I actually managed to snap a quick video of the scene.) The graduates' precessional was accompanied by Pomp and Circumstance, just like it is back home. The principal took the stage, and, after everyone stood, bowed, and sat back down, he gave a speech.

The only thing that surprised me about the events up until this point was the lack of difference from graduations I've seen. I was expecting a long-winded speech, which would have been all the more tedious for my lack of understanding. However, after maybe five minutes, he closed his speech, and promptly began the presentation of diplomas.

Rather than have all 216 graduates individually receive a diploma, they were presented to each class section.

I've explained class sections before--each grade level is divided into groups of about forty students, and each of those groups has the same homeroom. Unless a student performs terribly on exams or drops out, those homeroom groups remain the same more or less throughout their three years in school. So by the time graduation rolls around, they've bonded pretty well.

Anyway - the homeroom teacher for a group would approach a small podium and read the full name of each student, who would rise as they were called. (Boys were called first, then girls.) After all were standing, the teacher would call one name again, and that student would bow and approach the stage. The principal would then bow to the student, and award them a pretty framed diploma. The student would then bow, leave the stage, and return to their seat, at which point the class would bow and sit down. This happened for each of the seven groups.

After all the classes had been presented with their diplomas, the principal gave another short speech. After this, a male graduate took the stage. I think he was the student council president--he wasn't the valedictorian, because he didn't come from the highest-level class group. He gave a short speech; I didn't understand it, so I can't say much about it.

The next speech was given by a girl. (She also likely wasn't salutatorian, since she didn't come from the best group.) Though I couldn't keep up with all her Japanese, I understood her clearly. Her voice cracking from the very beginning, she gave a fifteen-minute speech thanking the teachers and parents for taking such good care of them. A few minutes in, I could hear sniffling throughout the gym. Glancing over to the third-year teachers, I saw that all of them were crying. The speaker was fighting through the lump in her throat that everyone could hear, and she held together pretty well.

After her speech, everyone stood, bowed, and sang the school song, followed by the national anthem. The teachers then lined up around the exit and congratulated the students during the recessional.

After this, the teachers came back to the staffroom for lunch. I think the students all went back to their homerooms, with the graduates packing up all their things, clearing out their desks, that sort of thing. After lunch, everyone gathered outside in the parking lot to send off the graduates. When I say everyone, I mean everyone--every single student and teacher lined the parking lot, many holding bouquets and gifts to give the graduates. I've got pictures of it here. Everybody was taking pictures, and the whole affair lasted about an hour and a half. Though I didn't really get to know my third-years, a few of them ran up to me asking for a picture, though this one stopped smiling as soon as we took it. (As you can see, I even succumbed to the V pose.)

Of the third-year teachers, there are four women. While everyone else was dressed in Western business attire--full suits for us guys, pantsuits and the like for the ladies--these four came fully decked out in kimono. I found out that a part of their kimono, called a hakama, was especially worn for the graduation. Of course, they let me take a picture with them.

Anytime there's a big school function (field day, cultural festival), there's a faculty party that night. Graduation was no different. We got together at the same hotel as back in September. There were about fifty of us, including the highest members of the PTA. After a short speech by the principal, and the meal (several courses, all varying degrees of mediocre), the third-year teachers took the stage to give a speech.

It took me a few minutes to catch on--they were sharing their favorite memories from the year. All of them were visibly upset: the least so were simply teary-eyed, while some openly cried during their speech. At first I thought there might have been a connection between this and some teachers being transferred to another school, but I was told that nobody knew who was leaving yet. They were simply weeping over bittersweet memories. One group even sang a song, with one of the teachers playing the guitar.

The whole day blew my mind. I remember not much caring about my actual high school graduation ceremony. I don't think any of my friends cared, either. I definitely appreciated the whole day, particularly my family being there, but the part involving the teachers didn't really make a difference in my mind. Our valedictorians certainly didn't take it seriously--the theme of their address was The A-Team, for pete's sake. After experiencing a graduation here, from the other side of the desk, I wonder how my teachers at Glendale felt, and how American teachers in general feel about it. It definitely helped me understand the mentality of the teachers here, seeing their tears of joy at the fruits of their labor.