Job Discussion Forums

[Venti]

Well, it seems that suicide is more popular than J-pop, anime, or sports among young Japanese people these days.
For those of you teaching in elementary, junior high, or senior high schools, do you see any of the bullying that's reportedly very rampant? I saw a little of it during my time in the public school system, but none of the students offed themselves.
Truly tragic times in this country for the very young. What's going on?

As far as the poll question goes, I'm sorry for the poor wording. I was wanting to know what you guys think about how hard (or easy) it is for Japanese kids to survive in public schools here in Japan compared to how hard (or easy) it is for kids in your home country to survive in public schools there.

[JimDunlop2]

Sorry, dude.... I couldn't vote because I didn't understand the wording of your poll...

At first I thought you were asking whether kids here are more difficult or less difficult than kids back home, but the poll answers didn't match that.... And then I got confused..... Sorry.

To answer your question though, I rarely see bullying in the elementaries where I teach... If I DO see something -- I try to respond in the best way possible. Quite often, it's some kind of "trigger" that sets the kids off. For example, I might be teaching, showing flashcards, etc, and as soon as the kids see a picture of a fish or something, they all turn to the one kid at the back of the class and start razzing him. Sometimes it's in good fun and the kid smiles or laughs -- but sometimes not.

I had one girl get harassed by the other students during my class, because I needed to use the CD player, and it was supposed to be her job to set it up for the teacher. Not knowing this, I just grabbed it, plugged it in, popped in my CD as I normally would. Well, half the class just started taking the piss and really letting the girl have it, badmouthing her (in Japanese) and accusing her of not doing the job that was entrusted to her. Well, needless to say, she broke down in tears and was disconsolate for the rest of the class. Way to go, guys!! It was in no way anyone's fault but you really wouldn't have drawn that conclusion by the way they were going on. Fortunately, the HRT had some common sense and did her best to repair the situation...

As for behaviour in general, I think the kids here are (in general) much worse behaved than back home. At first, I didn't think so but two years ago, we had a consortium of Fulbright Award winners -- a group of a dozen or so teachers from all over the United States, considered to be among the TOP educators in the country, visit our city as part of a Japan tour. They stopped in at a number of different elementary and jr. high schools to see how things were done in Japan.

Well, to make a long story short, we met a number of these teachers for drinks in the evening and I asked them their impressions. Overall, they were shocked and appalled... They used words like: complete anarchy, chaos, how can the teachers actually teach them ANYTHING, and if this is truly characteristic of a typical Japanese school, your job is NOT enviable...

Well, put up with it, I do -- and teach them, I try... In the end, I still enjoy my job but I found their feedback very interesting too. There was also an interesting article in today's Yomiuri about schools' reluctance to suspend students who bully others.

[Big John Stud]

I have to agree with Jim about not understanding the question. You ask, more or less but the chooses are definitely, probably and so on.
Definitely what? Probably more or less difficult to survive?

[Brooks]

when I was at a junior high, yeah, I did notice ijime from time to time.
At high school, if it is there, it isn`t obvious.

I would say ijime tends to be a problem at elementary and junior highs, mostly public schools.
And there is the difference in ijime for girls and boys. Girls may shun or ostracize whereas boys get physical.

My wife used to teach at public schools in Osaka, and she worked at probably one of the worst schools there. She taught kids who were Korean and buraku, and got fed up and left after her contract ended. She says she doesn`t want to teach anyone younger than 18.

I guess I seem strict, but I don`t like to put up with nonsense. Where I went to school in New York, kids couldn`t get the chances they do here.

[Venti]

Two junior high students, in unrelated cases in different parts of Japan, jumped to their deaths yesterday. It's happening so much lately. It's not rare to check out early in this country, but lately it seems like it might reach epidemic proportions. It's truly sad. There are so many good kids here.

[johncanada24]

[J.]

Almost nothing I hate worse in schools than bullying or students disrespecting each other. If it happens in my class I stop it cold. If I thought I could/can do anything I would/will pursue it as much as possible with the administration, whether I lost/lose my job or not. These kids need to be able to trust their teachers to be on their side, seems no one else is.

Beyond just stopping bullying that is at an advanced stage, I think the schools/teachers need to get some training in non-violent mediation techniques, teach students how to respect each other, and not tolerate this stuff when it starts in Kindergarten.

I know a lot of the schools in Canada now have a zero-tolerance policy. Might not be a bad idea for some educators here to go observe that and re-think their own.

[Venti]

It's easy to heap the responsibility on the school system, but cultural and family issues seem to be a big part of the problem. Kids are allowed to get away with so much during the elementary school years, both in and out of school. Japanese parents and adults, in general, tolerate almost anything little kids (especially boys) do without reprimanding them harshly at all. They do a lot of talking to kids when they're bad, but that's about it. Yes, there are some strict parents of elementary school kids out there, but they're a small minority. If you've spent a lot of time around Japanese families, you might be amazed at how little boys and girls talk to their mothers. Little boys, in particular, seem to act as if they are almost equal or better than their mothers in the family scheme. They often speak very harshly to their mothers without reprimand. In public, they might be encouraged to tone it down a bit, but at home, Jeez!
Little girls don't seem to do this is much and seem to be viewed as lesser beings than their older and younger brothers. Mothers are often overly stern with their daughters while being extremely lenient toward the boys. The home is probably where many young girls face their first bullying experience.

Then everyone hits junior high school and teachers and parents start coming down on the kids. Kids start learning a lot more about conformity and obligation. When I was teaching in public schools I would see bright, happy elementary school 6th-graders turn into dark, brooding junior high students. Yeah, most seem to get through this transition ok, but a lot of them never recover.

Anyway, things are bad with kids in my home country, too. All in all, I love Japan and enjoy teaching the kids here. I'd never want to teach kids in my own country. I hope things get better for the kids here.

[Eva Pilot]

Nakama hazude (sp)? It is fairly common right?

[Sweetsee]

To what degree is Japanese popular culture responsible for the common social malaise know as bullying?

[furiousmilksheikali]

[Sweetsee]

TV.