Last time, I shared the workplace ranking（article here）
This time, let’s look back at the school edition.
In the workplace, the ranking would differ depending on the job or industry. But in schools, I feel it’s more or less the same everywhere in Japan. Still, since it’s been decades since I was a student, writing this piece meant digging deep into old memories…
Ranking
So, let’s get started with the rankings — first, the difficulty ranking.
5th Casual talk in the classroom
Mental Load ★★★☆☆
Spontaneity ★★★☆☆
During breaks, staying at your own desk too long can make you seem distant. You’re expected to move around and join in on conversations.
4th Team sports
Mental Load ★★★★☆
Spontaneity ★★★☆☆
Team sports like baseball or soccer require strong teamwork. Since they demand both physical and mental strength, exhaustion builds up fast.
3rd Group discussions
Mental Load ★★★★☆
Spontaneity ★★★★☆
The challenge starts with which group you’re placed in. Speaking up while reading the room takes courage — it’s a constant mix of tension and nervous excitement.
2nd School events (such as cultural festivals, school trips)
Mental Load ★★★★★
Spontaneity ★★★★☆
Unlike regular classes, these events require quick adaptability. Nerves and fatigue often outweigh the fun, and you’re completely drained once it’s over.
Next, the strength ranking.
5th Individual sports
Comfort ★★★☆☆
Strength ★★★☆☆
In sports that suit you personally, you can train at your own pace without worrying about others, steadily improving through consistent effort.
4th Arts and culture classes or clubs
Comfort ★★★☆☆
Strength ★★★★☆
In art, music, or crafts, you can focus calmly and work with care. Your curiosity and keen eye shine through your creations.
3rd Spending time with a small circle of friends
Comfort ★★★★☆
Strength ★★★★☆
Chatting and playing with close friends feels relaxing. You might even show sides of yourself — like your knowledge or gaming skills — that you usually keep hidden.
2nd Writing book reports or essays
Comfort ★★★★☆
Strength ★★★★★
You’re better at writing your thoughts than speaking them. Working alone fits you well and brings out your analytical side.
1st Study time in the library or similar quiet spaces
Comfort ★★★★★
Strength ★★★★★
In a quiet space, you can study at your own pace. Time in the library, surrounded by books, is pure bliss for the curious.
School — a Closed World of Children
As I was creating this ranking and looking back on my school days decades ago,
I realized something:
school wasn’t really a miniature society.
It felt more like a world apart — a closed space shared only by children and teachers,
cut off from the wider society.
Because children are still emotionally immature, innocence and cruelty often coexist within them. You can glimpse both sides in moments when they tease, or even bully, someone who stands out — by looks, by personality, or by athletic ability.
Over time, a quiet hierarchy begins to form: those who are good-looking, funny, or athletic rise to the top, while others fall below. Everyone sensed it, even if no one said it aloud. And in that invisible classroom caste system, introverts almost always found themselves near the bottom･･･ 😵
Curiosity often outweighs empathy, and there is little mercy toward those who seem “different.” The Japanese school system at the time only made it worse — rewarding sameness and discouraging individuality (That was long ago, though. I’d like to believe things have changed — or at least, I hope so)
Even at a young age, children can sense that subtle atmosphere. They learn to play it safe — to avoid being left out, to stay out of trouble with teachers or parents, and to protect their place in the classroom hierarchy. And those who stray from that path — those who sink to the lower ranks — carry a quiet kind of sadness. I think this pattern, in varying degrees, can be seen all across Japan (Maybe in other countries, too?)
Unlike high school, where students are divided by test scores, elementary and junior high schools simply gather children who live in the same neighborhood — a mix of personalities, including those completely opposite to your own. The diversity of character, the immaturity of childhood, and the rigid framework of the school system — all blend together in that closed space, brewing a world that is uniquely its own.
For children, home and school make up their entire universe. So if they can’t belong in either, they have nowhere left to breathe･･･
The Lasting Impact of School on Our Lives
I may have sounded negative so far, but the time we spend in school is precious — it shapes the first half of our lives.
Even including university, it’s only about fifteen years — yet it feels as though nearly thirty years of adulthood were packed into that short span. Actually, It’s been over twenty years since I finished school, but those twenty years have passed faster — frighteningly faster — than my fifteen years as a student ever did. That’s how deeply our school years leave their mark on us.
As for my own memories ―――
there were tough times, and things I’d rather forget, but looking back, I’d say it was… fairly fun. As a kid, I played in parks, played games — simple moments that felt endlessly joyful. I didn’t even realize I was an introvert back then (though I was on the quiet side), and I probably socialized more easily than I do now 😅 I was decent at studying, average in sports, and generally just an ordinary kid who stayed out of trouble.
The ranking I shared above was my way of revisiting those days. It’s how my current self remembers them, and if I made it again a few years from now, it might turn out completely different. Please read it simply as one introvert’s quiet memoir 😌
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In closing, let me share a little about the origin of the word “school.”
It comes from the ancient Greek scholē, which originally meant leisure or free time. It referred to the hours when citizens were released from labor — free to devote themselves to learning, art, and the pursuit of happiness.
“Free and joyful time”…
How different that sounds from what I imagine school to be today.
So then —
What kind of place was school for you?
