The first time I asked a Japanese principal how to build a good climate for
lesson study at a school, he mysteriously answered "volleying a beachball." It
was the kind of answer that eventually became very familiar; teachers developed
good working relationships in many ways-practicing for a game of
beachball volleyball against the PTA, planning the teachers' skit for the school
festival, or planning the 30 days a year of school-wide activities such as hiking,
school trips, sports day, and so forth (Lewis, 1995). Japanese elementary
teachers routinely consult each other on lessons in the teachers' room (where
teachers' desks are located, arranged by grade level), and they routinely take
care of each other's classes, since substitutes are not hired for short-term
absences (Bjork, 2000; Sato, 1996; Sato & McLaughlin, 1992; Rohlen &
LeTendre, 1996; Shimahara & Sakai, 1995).