Job Discussion Forums

[Grasshopper]

Hi Folks.

I had a recent experience while working with a Japanese jr. high school kid. I was team teaching in a public school class with a Japanese teacher, and we were working on a speaking activity. The kids had to read us a passage, and then they would get a sticker.

They really loved it. One boy was trying really hard, but he couldn`t seem to get it. He was close. The classes ended. He got frustrated and began throwing his stuff around, and I went to talk to him, and tried to get him to tell me what the problem was (or rather open up a discussion & give him the option to finish his passage). He took out a razor blade and cut his finger.

I just kept talking to him, and after a few minutes, he agreed to come see me later to finish the passage. He didn`t come, and I wasn`t concerned about the passage, but more about him. The Japanese teacher had seen most of our interaction, but missed the cutting piece. I tried to talk to him, and first he told me the boy is always like that, and that`s why he has him help him at the beginning of the class. I told him that my concern was that he has a razor blade and he cut himself. He seemed surprised and said he`d talk to him.

It seems he did talk to him, because later on in the day, the boy came down to get a bandaid with him. And when I asked the teacher, he said the boy was now fine.

I saw the boy today, and he would barely look at me. I tried talking to him, but he wouldn`t connect--even about baseball. I told him I had seen him playing yesterday, and he looked great, etc. He just didn`t even respond.

I feel unsure how to proceed from here. Due to the cultural differences (I`m American), I don`t agree with the way the situation was handled. I would have been on the phone with the parents, and school councilor, etc. And he and I would have talked again, and things would clear up. The talking piece is a bit of a struggle because of the language. I do okay, but I can`t really say what I want to say to him to make those connections.

Anyway, I am wondering do I just let it go & accept there`s nothing I can do about it? Do I keep trying to connect in different ways? Or is that going to create more difficulties (is it going to isolate him for example?)

Does anybody have any ideas? How would you handle this situation?

Thanks.

[Glenski]

Talk to the Japanese teacher and/or the kid's homeroom teacher to get more background info. Meanwhile, just treat the kid as usual.

[Grasshopper]

Thanks for the advice.

The homeroom teacher happens to also be the English teacher I was teaching with. He seems reluctant to give me any background info on any of the kids, as do the other teachers. And I`m not sure if it`s because they don`t have it, or don`t want to/feel they need to share it.

I do find though, that not having that kind of information makes my job a little more complicated. I tend to be quite sensitive as I worked with special ed children in the states, but it would certainly help to have that kind of info.

So do you think I should just let it go, pretend like it never happened so to speak & just make a note of it for future interactions with that particular kid? I`m not real comfortable doing that, but I don`t know what other options I have.

Thanks again.

[JimDunlop2]

The reluctance to share any information is endemic. I've always wondered why that was..... I received one explanation from a Japanese teacher but I don't know if that explanation was adequate.

It was explained to me that often the only person (if that) who knows the background of a student is the homeroom teacher... This is presumably to prevent teachers (and students) from discriminating against him/her... Eg. "Ha ha! Look at dumb Hiroki! He's an Asperger case!..." So all of this info is usually kept secret.... Unless it's very obvious -- eg. you can't hide Down's Syndrome.

Apparently it also has a lot to do with the parents. Many parents will refuse to let their children receive special needs education or see a counsellor or be diagnosed for learning disabilities. That, apparently is optional. Until things like this change, don't expect to get any info about kids (especially special needs) unless it's truly on a need-to-know basis... If you don't NEED to know -- they won't tell you. Once I gave some poor kid a right proper bullocking because he jumped up and pulled my goatee. Later on, in the staff room, the teacher told me that I was not out of line to do that, BUT to keep in mind that the kid was a special needs student, so to take his behaviour (and future discipline) with a grain of salt... Even then, no one told me what was wrong with him. They just mustered up the best English they could, and explained to me, "He is.. how you say... a very strange boy. He needs.... special teachers. He has some head disease... you know?" (In Japanese, I didn't get any more details either)....

Your situation is, unfortunately, common. If you are not the child's homeroom teacher, you are not in a position of influence. It sucks, but it seems that even OTHER Japanese teachers do not have much authority over the students, unless it's the homeroom teacher...

I'd say proceed as usual.... If you act like it never happened, it may the best way, as it allows everyone (especially the student) to save face. And that's pretty important in Japanese society.

[Grasshopper]

Again, thanks for the advice. What you describe feels very similar. But I realize it`s not just this one case. It`s the way the society is. And from my experiences, this society hasn`t evolved beyond that point yet.

Sometimes I feel like I`m on Star Trek and I have to keep the Prime Directive...and not interfere with the natural development of the society. It`s hard, but I guess they have to get there on their own. And hopefully, they will look to people who have experiences here when they`re ready.

I think this is one of those pieces that it`s hard to see from outside the culture.

Thanks, and will just take a breath and proceed as usual.

[JimDunlop2]

[Brooks]

more like Planet of the Apes.
Some things may seem familiar to you, but are in fact different.
Just observe how other people act. Don`t get angry, and go with the flow.
You may meet a rebel or two, who will confess that he/she doesn`t like everything about the system either.
You may want to change the system, but you can`t. It is what it is.

[Grasshopper]

Thanks for the support & elaboration on the Star Trek analogy. There`s lots more where that came from...

The experiences here have been most interesting & enlightening. I have found that I can connect with people & the seem to understand my view point, but being a part of the Japan Collective if you will, it doesn`t really matter.

Resistance may be futile, but I won`t be assimilated. And there is comfort in that at least.

It will be interesting to see where things go with this society over the next 20 years or so. I wonder if this area will change a whole lot or if it will stay the same.

I see other areas changing, but I think this will be one of the last, because in order to make effective gains, I guess the Japanese as a society have to accept that it`s okay to be different. And this piece effectively goes to the core of the "group" construct. So, I think it will be awhile.

But, I will continue to violate the Prime Directive wisely & where applicable.

Thanks for all the great input.

[sushi]

One of the above posts mentioned something about losing face over the incident. How can knowing something about a students weirdness and screwed upness be bad. Do the Japanese people see themselves as a perfect people without any blemishes, or is it a big no no for foreigeners to get a peek into the real world of Japanese people.

[JimDunlop2]

Not exactly. Japanese teachers use shame as a disciplinary measure... So if the student was reamed out by the homeroom teacher for doing what he did, he has already suffered a lot of shame. After that, everything is supposed to be fine (by Japanese standards)....

By pretending it never happened (and the homeroom teacher will likely never bring it up again either) the student doesn't keep getting reminded of the fact that he behaved like a moron! Thus allowing him to save face in front of both teachers and his peers.

If you were to bring the incident up again (for whatever reason) the kid would be right back at square one -- being scolded for his weird act... and being shamed again.

[Gordon]

Not being told students' backgrounds doesn't end at high school. I teach in a uni and last semester I had a guy that stuck his hands down his pants and rub himself during class. Then he would sniff his hands. This went on all the time and about all I could do was tell him to stop. Apparently he had stopped taking his meds, but very little happened. He also did dreadfully on his tests and would then start to shred the test paper up and often start to cry. At the end of the semester he was transferred out of my class, but I doubt he is getting much help. I feel sorry for him. He is the type of person you expect to read about in the paper one day who goes off and kills someone.