Ironic considering this is a site of stories.
How would you consider the subjects to differ compared to say the U.S.A.? Were there a lot of subjects that they don't have in the U.S.A. or was everything generally the same?
Not sure how it would differ in America as Ai-chan has never studied in America. But based on the movies, Japanese schools don't put much emphasis on foreign languages as America is. We do get to learn English, Chinese and German, but that is dependent on the availability of teachers and the quality is not always good. So those who want to learn English would move to Malaysia, which is a former British colony that is much cheaper than moving to America or Britain.
are japanese bathrooms also a place of smoking, bullying and doing drugs?
That's mostly stereotype. Japanese people do not enjoy spending time in the toilet. Japanese girls don't even like doing makeup in the toilet. And if you smoke in the toilet, the smell stays for a very long time. Of course, you can bring air purifier, but it would be suspicious if you bring air purifier everytime you go to the toilet. But yes, some people do get bullied in the toilet. However, Ai-chan has never personally come across this.
Drug use among Japanese students is very low but for smoking, they usually go behind school buildings to do that. Basically open places that can't be seen easily.
I've always wondered what the Student Council was even supposed to do, so thanks for sharing that!
On that note, what are class reps supposed to do?
Neither student council nor class rep exist in my country, so I have no idea what their function is supposed to be.
Class reps are by default members of the student council. They're lower level staff of the student council. They basically assist the teacher in managing the class, lead the class greetings (stand up, bow, greet, stand up, bow, thank you), ensure the class duties are performed, ensure the record books are filled in properly, liaise with the student council on any matters pertaining to their class, lead the class during school festivals and take care of the students in class.
While we have an Ai-Chan ama thread, though it is unrelated, I am curious why does Ai-Chan comment in third person?
It has nothing to do with being cute or adorable. Japanese people hate first-person pronouns. Even boys would say, "Takanashi-san won't do it." meaning, "This person will not do it." Japanese person would rather say, "Won't do it." than "I won't do it." Omitting the first-person pronoun is common in regular conversation.
Wait a moment, as uncommon as it be, what are people with natural red or blond hair supposed to do when these colours are against the rules?
Unless you can prove that it's your natural hair colour, you will always get scolded for it. Long ago, Japanese teachers would just cut your colourful hair to teach you a lesson, but nowadays, they just give you verbal assaults unless you've proven that your hair colour is natural for you. That's why some halfs colour their hair voluntarily.
In anime, it seems like they always bring their lunch from home. Can you buy lunch at school in Japan, or are you out of luck if you forget to bring your own? If you can buy lunch at school, what is it like? I got inspired by this video, and remembering how bad American school lunches are makes me want to pack my son's lunch so he gets better nutrition than that, but then again, if I have another kid, I don't think I'll have the energy to do that for him:
Strictly speaking, there are no cafeteria in Japanese schools. What we got are something like food shops where you can buy bread, onigiri or packed lunches. Most people however, bring their own lunch, either made at home or bought from convenience shops along the way to school. Because usually, there are only one food shop in the whole school and everyone jumps at that food shop. By the time you reach it, you're out of the stuff you want.
However, this only applies mostly to high schools. In elementary and middle school, public Japanese schools are required by law to provide school lunches, called kyushoku. Unless if you study in private middle schools, in which case, you do need to bring lunch to middle school. So if you have a cute sister in middle school making bento for you, she would do it just for you, not for her.
The girl in black t-shirt during lunch is likely the class representative as they're usually the last in line during school lunches since they have to make sure that everyone has lunch.
Can't you just cook it for them both in one go? It shouldn't be much more work than cooking for just one...
About lunches, most people prepare their lunches the night before from leftovers, then out it in the fridge and only take it out in the morning.
Older animes make it seem like High School is optional and mandatory education stops at Middle School. Is that real?
If it is, what job opportunities would someone who didn’t go to high school have? I mean specifically, could you have a trade skill (electrician/carpenter/etc) or would you basically only have very low level jobs to look forward to?
Yes, high school is optional. Once you graduate middle school, you can choose not to go to high school. Many celebrities dropped out of high school for various reasons. Companies also don't care about your high school, only your university degree.
Unfortunately, those who drop out of high school won't be able to work in professional field. But there are still plenty of jobs that won't ask for high school graduation certificate. Unlike other developed countries, the Japanese are not squeamish about dirty jobs. A high school dropout can work as electrician or other trade jobs, provided that they have the proper certificates.
For electrician, you need to go to a trade/vocational school that provides that qualification. For carpenters, the only qualification you need is that you're good with your job. For celebrities, they usually drop out of formal high school due to the difficulty of going to school while working. Plus, some schools don't even allow part-time jobs.
