Two Classrooms, Two Realities

Looking at the classrooms, the similarities outweigh the differences, but a few differences can be detected immediately and often reflect clear-cut class differences in demographics, values, and lifestyles, with Mori being more traditional Japanese and Umi being more atypically wealthy and cosmopolitan. The newer facilities, an electric heater, and linoleum floors give Mr. Seki’s room a cleaner, brighter look; the worn wooden floors, kerosene heater, and older equipment give Mr. Ito’s room a well-used, plainer look. Classrooms at Umi open out onto narrow balconies on one side and the school hallways on the other. Mori classrooms open only into the hallways without balconies. Mr. Seki’s students sit in single-file rows, while Mr. Ito’s students sit in rows of paired desks. ¹ Due to some alumni or local business contributions, classrooms at Umi got fresh flowers each week that added a nice touch. Mr. Ito’s classroom had hamsters and birds. On the walls, more student-made posters of duties and charts of achievement were posted in Mr. Seki’s classroom, while Mr. Ito posted poetry and charts written in his own calligraphy along with more student artwork. Student calligraphy posted along the top of a blackboard is a standard wall decoration in most classrooms, including Mr. Seki’s and Mr. Ito’s.