Hooray for Public Education!

A bit about Education. Teachers in Japan do not have their own room. The rooms are divided according to how the students are divided (1st year computer information, 2nd year mechanics, etc), and the teachers have a shared office. Teachers generally have 3 classes per day and use the rest of their time for preparing lessons, managing club activities and generally keeping far too busy.

In the fall, schools all across Japan have festivals that feature student performance in sport, music, dance or whatever else interests the students. The students in my school are currently preparing for their festival in the beginning of October. Part of the activity includes composing cheers and constructing mascots to encourage classmates. This afternoon, after classes had finished, the gym teacher rushed into the teacher's office saying, "I need to get on the internet! What is this thing called Spongebob?" Apparently, some of the students began planning to build a Spongebob costume, but most of the teachers had no idea what Spongebob was. Thus, the teacher's room has been abuzz all afternoon with the printing of cartoons and explanations of why a Sponge with opposable thumbs would want to wear a tie.