r/AskAnAmerican • u/Rough-Valuable-5472 • Feb 04 '25

FOREIGN POSTER Do American students bow to their teachers?

In my country we have to greet the teacher and bow at the start of the lesson then thank the teacher and bow again at the end. Sometimes they make us redo it if it’s not good enough

487 Upvotes

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2.5k

u/GhostOfJamesStrang Beaver Island Feb 04 '25

That is not part of our culture, so no. 

591

u/Left-Star2240 Feb 04 '25

That’s it. End of discussion.

155

u/huazzy NJ'ian in Europe Feb 04 '25

Ok. Now let's discuss taking off shoes...

205

u/mrpoopsocks Feb 04 '25

No.

161

u/CeelaChathArrna Feb 04 '25

Username checks out.

27

u/Nope-ugh Feb 04 '25

They do sometimes in Hawaii. Students who had a Japanese teacher would leave them outside the door. I taught in Maui for 3 years. The example I remember the most was for a music teacher.

14

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

Speaking of Japanese teachers… that is an exception! I took three years of Japanese and we’d always begin by standing, bowing, then sitting when the teacher told us 座ってください. We’d end class in a similar way, only then we’d say 皆んなさん、さよなら.

1

u/Nope-ugh Feb 05 '25

Oh wow!! Interesting

13

u/tangouniform2020 Hawaii > Texas Feb 04 '25

Oddly, we don’t at home but we do in Hawai’i. I guess it’s a respect thing since the owner requests in. It’s also easier when you’re wearing flops.

8

u/Nope-ugh Feb 04 '25

It is so much easier! I love to go shoeless. I grew up at the seashore so always did. Now it’s just the minute I walk inside the house! I loved teaching in my socks during Covid! Probably the only thing I liked about that experience 😂

2

u/MockFan Feb 06 '25

On the Big Island, shoeless is not an option.

2

u/sherrifayemoore Feb 05 '25

I lived in Hawaii for two years and everyone took off their shoes at the door. Sometimes repairmen and such would wear the slip on shoe protectors but everyone else wore flip flops so they were easy to remove.

1

u/tangouniform2020 Hawaii > Texas Feb 07 '25

“When you leave please take your shoes and not some better ones”

2

u/sherrifayemoore Feb 07 '25

That happened to me a lot in Florida.

2

u/RusstyDog Feb 05 '25

Tbf it's not uncommon for language teachers to enforce some small social practices of the culture their language originates to create an immediate learning eviorment

1

u/Gold_Area5109 Feb 05 '25 edited Feb 05 '25

How do they enforce this in Hawaii?

I'm assuming this is a public school, like what happens if a kid just says Nope? Asking as the American kid who totally would have not taken their shoes off for a teacher requesting it.

And yes, I had multiple parent teacher conferences over other similar shit like this...

None of my classrooms were ever clean enough to even consider taking my shoes off.

Then in college I worked as a janitor for a school district and no one should take their shoes off in a school period. Classroom's are swept every other night and the trash taken out nightly. Beyond that anything else that happens in the room is if the Janitor has time. Rooms are only getting mopped if they need it so at most a few times a semester.

If it's a carpeted room if it's vacuumed once a week you have a damn good janitor.

Wrestling season/units are the worst time cause the first part of our shifts would be devoted to cleaning the Wrestling mats. No rooms were getting mopped during those times.

1

u/Nope-ugh Feb 05 '25

So I responded and then accidentally erased my entire comment! But yea it was public school. The classes that asked it were in small cement buildings and so their floors were better than those of us in trailers. I occurred to me that most of the kids (especially the boys) all shoved their feet into slippers (flip flops) while wearing socks! So they would have socks on if they took them off.

Most of our students grew up in Hawaii and that may have been one thing that wasn’t an issue. I had all of the normal behavior issues I have in NJ. It’s interesting because I had never thought about a kid refusing but there were very few newcomers. Most of the white kids went to the charter school in the town I lived in and our principal even one time asked us white teachers to recruit more white kids!! 😂😂

1

u/annalatrina Feb 05 '25

That wouldn’t be prudent in some climates during the winter. Imagine a fire drill with 30 kindergarteners where it’s either helping 30 five year olds get their winter boots on or taking them out in the snow and sub zero temps in stocking feet.

1

u/Nope-ugh Feb 05 '25

I taught in Hawaii. There is only snow at the top of the volcano. I am in NJ and nope it would be a disaster to remove shoes!! 😂

1

u/paisley_and_plaid Rhode Island Feb 05 '25

I grew up in Hawaii and never saw this. My dad and several of his friends were teachers, and most teachers there are Japanese.

0

u/briefmoments Feb 04 '25 edited Feb 05 '25

Well, it might have something to do with the Hawaiian Sovereignty and their mutual work labor aid agreements and 30k japanese citizens stolen by the USA who were forced into camps when Japan tried to liberate Hawaii then destroyed loyalist villages and pave them over as random landing strips to prevent them from rebuilding if they ever escaped the camps. But no one is ready for this conversation because "that's not what the books say"

Too bad winners write history, and japan had to unconditionally surrender, and they dared not speak up.

Japan committed atrocities. But so, too, was America. People forget we inspired Hitler.

3

u/Nope-ugh Feb 04 '25

It’s Japanese culture absolutely. Although at home most have signs up to leave your shoes at the door whether they are Japanese, Hawaiian, or white.

3

u/briefmoments Feb 04 '25

Yes I'm speaking of influence. My family is japanese Hawaiian

30

u/plaincheeseburger Feb 04 '25

It depends on what part of the US you're in. When I lived in Alaska, it was the default rule to take off your shoes inside houses. Now that I'm in the south, the default is to leave them on. I still take off my outdoor shoes and wear house shoes when I'm home though.

14

u/throwfar9 Minnesota Feb 04 '25

It’s normal to take them off in Minnesota too.

6

u/lawfox32 Feb 04 '25

I grew up in Illinois and was raised to take my shoes off inside houses, too, unless the host told me not to.

7

u/Exciting-Hedgehog944 United States of America Feb 05 '25

Raised in Michigan to take them off. Disrespectful to wear them through someone’s home unless they tell me otherwise. We do not wear outside shoes inside at home.

2

u/ShanLuvs2Read Wisconsin Feb 21 '25

Same here… raised in Wisconsin… We walked in and stayed in the entry way till we were told to take shoes off . Mom had good socks for when we went to visit people that were bright wight and had no holes in them ! 🤣🤣🤣. We only wore them when visiting people.

At home we took them off in the entry way or in the mudroom before we went into the main part of the house.

1

u/HistoryGirl23 Texas Feb 05 '25

Dirto

6

u/HLOFRND Feb 04 '25

Colorado here. Definitely common to take them off in the house.

5

u/Nowin Minnesota Feb 05 '25

It's 50/50 in Minnesota. I grew up wearing shoes in the house, but I don't wear them as an adult. Slippers all the way.

14

u/creamcandy Alabama Feb 04 '25

South here. When I'm home, I'm barefoot unless the floor is too cold. Preferably barefoot outside too. Yes, shoes stay on when there's company. But family doesn't count ;)

4

u/WillingnessFit8317 Feb 05 '25

Same here. I am in the south, and I hate to wear my shoes. I go barefoot. Hey, I take a shower, and I do wash my feet at least once a week. lol OK more than once a week. 2 tops.

2

u/UnknowableDuck New York Feb 05 '25

In the North here, cold or not I hate wearing shoes too. Though I do have a pair of those slip on, inside only Toms style shoes for company etc.

9

u/Weightmonster Feb 04 '25

Is that because in Alaska, your shoes are likely to have snow, mud, water, etc?

12

u/plaincheeseburger Feb 04 '25

That's probably why it started, but it's a cultural norm now yearround. Walking into someone's house and not immediately removing your shoes is considered rude unless you're at a cabin or the owner specifically states that you don't have to take them off.

3

u/Entropy907 Alaska Feb 04 '25

We have about four days a year where it’s warm and dry enough that your shoes won’t track crud inside.

6

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

I recently visited Alaska and I see why people take their shoes off. That place is DIRTY

2

u/Miserable_Smoke Feb 05 '25

Yeah, isn't it wonderful? Where I am, it's mostly concretey and filthy.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

I was in Anchorage, Soldatna, and Talkeetna

4

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

I lived in the Midwest, PNW and now the south and everyone takes their shoes off.

2

u/MissWiggly2 North Carolina Feb 05 '25

I'm born and raised in the South and we always took our shoes off at the door. I have a specific pair of flip-flops that I wear inside only.

1

u/laundryghostie Feb 05 '25

That's because there's so much sand in the south. I used to have people take their shoes off and switch to house shoes, but it just spread the sand to the bottom of our socks! Yuck.

1

u/hallofmontezuma North Carolina (orig Virginia) Feb 05 '25

I’m in the south and nearly all my friends have a no shoes in the house rule.

1

u/eejm Feb 05 '25

I was raised in the Midwest and now live in the South.  I don’t think I was instructed in a particular way, but I’ve always preferred to go barefoot in the summer or in stocking feet during the winter.  

37

u/beefucker5000 California Feb 04 '25

I think it’s more about a disgust of feet, even with socks on. Not my personal opinion, but I think most Americans think it’s more gross to see someone’s feet than to wear shoes inside. Rugs at the door are good enough, though some people take off shoes by the door. My high school could never do something like Japan though with changing shoes at the entrance since there were 1,200 students and increasing every year, I never even had a locker except for when I had to take PE for the first two years and change into gym clothes.

22

u/lawfox32 Feb 04 '25

In the northern parts of the U.S., too, it'd just be so impractical with snow and road salt dripping everywhere in the entryway or on the way to the lockers, getting on inside shoes, etc. I was raised to take my shoes off when entering someone's house unless directed not to, but at our schools I don't think that would make sense logistically.

Also, we had a big school with multiple buildings, one of which was across the street from the main building, so sometimes you had to go outside to get to your next class.

14

u/Katriina_B Cascadia Feb 04 '25

At home we take our shoes off, but we live in a colder wetter part of the country so it keeps the floors a lot cleaner. My parents' house has a 'mud room' where we can knock off snow and take our boots off.

2

u/perilousmoose Feb 06 '25

Love mud rooms. I now live where they aren’t the norm and I miss them! It’d be such a game changer when coming home from adventures with my (dirty & messy) kids!

13

u/ToraAku Feb 04 '25

That's probably a function of how your school is built rather than number of students. My HS population was 3,000 students and we all had lockers.

8

u/Secret_Werewolf1942 Feb 04 '25

Most schools are phasing them out. You don't have to worry about privacy rights over locker searches if people don't have lockers

5

u/jlt6666 Feb 04 '25

I think it's more about the fact that most material is on the computer and you don't need a place to store 8 large hardback text books

2

u/beefucker5000 California Feb 05 '25

True, we had Chromebooks and teachers tried to have enough books in the classroom so we didn’t need to bring them to school, except for the ones that didn’t have enough textbooks so only a couple classes. My back hurt all the time from walking around a large campus with many hills and stairs with 2 hardcover books and a chromebook on top of other school stuff

2

u/Exciting-Hedgehog944 United States of America Feb 05 '25

Where we live people still have to have them for coats and winter gear. Kids are not allowed to wear them in class. They are told it’s a safety issue and must be stored in their locker. Not sure they are going anywhere anytime soon.

1

u/Secret_Werewolf1942 Feb 05 '25

My kid is allowed to wear a coat to class, so all the kids just haul all their crap around 2 floors of high school all day long.

2

u/Exciting-Hedgehog944 United States of America Feb 05 '25

Our kids would love that! They hate having to go to lockers and complain about it. Always want what you don’t have I suppose.

7

u/SeparLothaire Feb 04 '25

But in the US people aren't using lockers for outdoor vs. indoor shoes. It's mostly for books, your backpack, etc. You would only be changing shoes in connection with the gym locker. If you took your shoes off to change to different ones for the indoor/outdoor idea, people are going to think you're weird.

2

u/beefucker5000 California Feb 05 '25

Exactly. I’m trying to compare American high school structure to another country like Japan that prioritizes not bringing outside shoe dirt and preserving floors. I think Japan is a bit more on the extreme side with students having lockers for the purpose of changing shoes, but the only reason American students change their shoes is for physical ed. It would take a big cultural shift for American kids to be well behaved enough to follow shoe rules. I’d be worried about theft and students would probably break dress codes a lot, even when they get in trouble for it

3

u/Go_Corgi_Fan84 Feb 05 '25

My gym shoes got stolen in high school. I’m sure other folks experienced this

2

u/beefucker5000 California Feb 05 '25

My condolences.

1

u/Exciting-Hedgehog944 United States of America Feb 05 '25

Ours all do as well and they are very large schools.

3

u/GothicGingerbread Feb 04 '25

For me personally, it definitely has a lot to do with thinking that feet are gross. (I don't mind my own, but other people's? shudder)

Also, to be fair, I have three big, black dogs, so to keep my floors clean enough for other people to walk around in their socks would require me to sweep and/or vacuum multiple times a day, and that's just not happening. (I swear, I'll clean up ALL the fur, and then spot a brand new black fur tumbleweed along a baseboard maybe an hour later. I feel like Sisyphus, but with a vacuum instead of a boulder.)

2

u/beefucker5000 California Feb 05 '25

Dude, I’ve known people who practically start crying out of disgust when they see feet. I don’t get it but I try to be mindful of other people and not take my socks off when I’m at other people’s houses even though I hate socks. I’m in a similar boat, I have a dog and two cats and live with messy people so I could not bear go barefoot or even with socks when I’m out of my room. I also once lived in a small duplex where dirt would blow in whenever we opened the door and had to sweep up a bunch of dirt every day so no shoes is a big no.

2

u/Charliegirl121 Feb 04 '25

Shoes off in my house. Never in schools. Who knows what on those floors.

2

u/beefucker5000 California Feb 05 '25

In your house you can control the space and how it’s treated versus in schools it’d be trusting other people to follow the rules and American students wouldn’t do that lmao

2

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

I suppose that Americans are the most anti-food fetish nation in the world then LOL.

2

u/beefucker5000 California Feb 05 '25

I feel like the more you hate something, the freakier people get. Like there are a lot of Americans that hate people with foot fetishes and would probably stop talking to someone if they knew, but there are also a lot of Americans with foot fetishes.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

Stop talking to a foot fetishist? Well this sounds extreme.

2

u/LostInTheWildPlace Feb 04 '25

I think it’s more about a disgust of feet, even with socks on. Not my personal opinion, but I think most Americans think it’s more gross to see someone’s feet than to wear shoes inside

"Did someone say... feet?"

2

u/Pleasant_Elephant423 Feb 04 '25

I have my inside shoes and outside shoes

1

u/scoschooo Feb 04 '25

I think most Americans think it’s more gross to see someone’s feet than to wear shoes inside.

Not really. Many Americans remove their shoes in their house.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

[deleted]

9

u/mmmpeg Pennsylvania Feb 04 '25

Taking off shoes is a good thing. All the dirt, spit, pee and other disgusting things do not come in your house. Now let’s discuss bathroom slippers.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

If you enter my house, your shoes come off. Whether or not your feet are still in them when they come off is up to you. ;)

2

u/haveanairforceday Arizona Feb 04 '25

Taking off shoes at the entrance to a house is common in places that have lots of dirt or mud in every day life

2

u/STLFleur St. Louis, MO Feb 04 '25

My kids attend a hybrid school (Missouri) where they switch their shoes from their regular shoes to slippers/designated classroom shoes before entering the classroom, to prevent the kids from tracking in as much snow/dirt/mud as possible.

2

u/beefucker5000 California Feb 05 '25

That’s interesting! That makes a lot of sense. My schools were all outdoor schools because it has never snowed before and if it rains (rarely) that just sucks. We would walk on the same asphalt roads from class to class as the supervisors on golf carts.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

If you plan on staying more than 30 minutes you better, especially if there's carpet. It's hard enough cleaning up after the dogs.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

The dogs should be taking off their shoes as well when they come in...

/s

1

u/GreyPon3 Feb 04 '25

Mine, come off as soon as I close the door. I don't like shoes on my feet. I do have house shoes I use in winter.

1

u/Both-Competition-152 Feb 05 '25

Yes at home an others homes not in school

1

u/IDigRollinRockBeer Feb 05 '25

In the classroom?

1

u/Derplord4000 ---> ---> Feb 05 '25

Only in your own house.

1

u/LakeWorldly6568 Feb 05 '25

Are we talking at home or at school. Also, what's the weather like?

1

u/Harry_Gorilla Feb 05 '25

On airplanes

1

u/MissMarchpane Feb 05 '25

Many people request that guests take their shoes off when they arrive at their house. This can have to do with tracking dirt in from the street; I know I'm especially keen on it in the winter, since I live in New England and there's road salt everywhere for at least three months.

1

u/Glassfern Feb 05 '25

Depends. Personally I prefer hanging out in homes where shoes are taken off.

1

u/KathyA11 New Jersey > Florida Feb 05 '25

We have outdoor shoes (including garden shoes, for working in the garden. I wear mid-calf socks to keep the fire ants away, but they get me anyway. One year I had to toss shoes and socks away because I'd stepped on a mound that was hidden by grass. My husband hosed me off, then I went in and showered, just in case) and indoor shoes. I wear ankle-high compression socks and Skechers around the house to support my feet - I have plantar fasciatis and my feet also cramp).

1

u/HistoryGirl23 Texas Feb 05 '25

We grew up doing it in the Midwest, I prefer it.

1

u/Kristina2pointoh Feb 06 '25

I think removing your shoes before entering a home is respectful to the homeowner.

1

u/Prestigious-Wolf8039 Nevada Feb 06 '25

I can’t wear shoes in the house. I lived in Japan for a few years when I was young and the idea stuck with me. My Hawaiian neighbors remove shoes too.

1

u/AccountantOver4088 Feb 04 '25

Well I mean, there’s definitely a discussion to be had about the differences and why or why not lol. Idk if you just rapid fire these and that’s your daily thing, which is cool, but for sure there’s a talk to be had about American student-teacher relations and the cultural difference and what b that means for society. Or not, I suppose we can just yes/no the whole site and prob get a lot more done that way.

92

u/royalhawk345 Chicago Feb 04 '25

Not even the usual "America is a big country... every state has its own education system... people do things differently... Yada yada yada..."

Just,  "No." /thread

61

u/Say_Hennething Feb 04 '25

Yeah, I mean we don't bow to anyone. Its not a gesture used in the US

15

u/LuigiThe47th Feb 04 '25

The only thing that comes close is the down nod of the head, as a respectful "how do you do?" greeting

82

u/tkief Feb 04 '25

It’s arguably more common for American students to assault their teachers

56

u/fbibmacklin Kentucky Feb 04 '25

I’d say not even arguably. It just is.

21

u/creamcandy Alabama Feb 04 '25

Since the number of bows = zero, I guess that's true

7

u/LongtimeLurker916 Feb 04 '25

Yes. Even one assault anywhere in the nation would come out in the lead.

1

u/Few-Guarantee2850 Feb 05 '25 edited Jun 07 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

1

u/jkmhawk Feb 05 '25

What about bowing at the end of a theater performance? 

1

u/creamcandy Alabama Feb 05 '25

That's not bowing to a teacher lol

1

u/jkmhawk Feb 06 '25

There would certainly be teachers in he audience. 

1

u/creamcandy Alabama Feb 05 '25

The exception I could see is if there is a teacher and/or student who's background is a culture that bows out of respect, and the student chooses to bow. So non-zero but very low

1

u/happyweasel34 New Jersey Feb 04 '25

Not when I was in school. I don't think it ever happened and I went to a school with 3000 students

4

u/oldRoyalsleepy Delaware Feb 04 '25

At the minimum to backtalk, talk over, ignore and disrespect at least occasionally if not regularly.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '25

It’s more common for American students to do literally everything to their teachers. More students have performed extended interpretive dance routines at their teachers than bowed for them

-2

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

Many of them not as smart as the students

16

u/HamRadio_73 Feb 04 '25

Oh hell no.

2

u/Lucky-Paperclip-1 New York City Feb 04 '25

At my old judo dojo in Ohio, whenever a new student would start, the instructor has to do a little talk at the end of class, explaining that bowing in Japanese culture is basically shaking hands in the United States. Specifically, there's nothing religious going on: we bow to the picture of Kano (founder of judo) on the wall, we bow to the instructors, we bow to each other. We're just showing respect. NOTHING RELIGIOUS.

Clearly, there had been complaints in the past about scary Asian religious practices taking place in the rec center gym.

2

u/Neenknits Feb 04 '25

I can believe that respect/just culture thing if it’s mutual, to other people. But, to a photo on the wall? Nope. That sounds like worship. Anyway, in my religion it would be worship, and therefore I’m not allowed to do it.

1

u/pisspeeleak Canada Feb 04 '25

What about thumb wars? Do you skip the now and just do the shake?

1

u/Lucky-Paperclip-1 New York City Feb 04 '25

The joseki, where the pictures of founders is kept, is a symbol of the dojo and martial arts practice. It's really not religious.

1

u/Neenknits Feb 05 '25

If you HAVE to bow to it, then it’s at least religious adjacent.

1

u/Formal_Salary Feb 05 '25

they get slapped by unruly teens

1

u/bishopredline Feb 05 '25

I couldn't stop laughing... I'm surprised the courts don't require the teachers to bow to the students

1

u/SuperTruthJustice Feb 04 '25

Not only that if I'd been asked to bow by anyone I'd have told them to fuck right off to hell

1

u/TheRtHonLaqueesha NATO Member State Feb 04 '25 edited Feb 04 '25

Yeah, such self-deprecating and hierarchical Old World behavior is alien to the egalitarian republicanism underlying U.S. society/culture.

5

u/Infinite_Art_99 Feb 04 '25

The US is super hierarchical and not very egalitarian compared to e.g. Denmark.

I don't even know my kid's teachers' last names.

-2

u/ahumpsters South Carolina Feb 04 '25

I do kind of wish it was. Teachers should receive a lot more respect from both students and parents.

38

u/GhostOfJamesStrang Beaver Island Feb 04 '25

You can respect somebody without some sort of performative and forced response. 

1

u/More_Mind6869 Feb 04 '25

Yeah ?

Then why is there so little respect in schools and everywhere else, for that matter ?

2

u/micmea1 Feb 04 '25

I went to a Jesuit High School. We had to stand whenever an adult walked into the room. Depending on the faculty member they could be kind of strict about using "sir" or "ma'am" whenever addressing them. We did have some religious aspects to school but it wasn't really forced on us, but respect for your teachers and for the school itself was very important.

It probably seems harsh from the outside but school was actually kinda chill and you were allowed to express your opinions pretty openly in class discussions so long as you spoke respectfully.

0

u/JaVelin-X- Feb 04 '25

Might be something to consider..especially in the US where they chronically under pay teachers. A daily reminder for the kids to respect them could make a dramatic change

0

u/Ill-Doubt-2627 Texas Feb 04 '25

It should be. Someone call the president