Babying Kids

OK, I am going to have a bit of a rant about the absolute BS that happens with Japanese students.  Or actually, with the way that they are treated by the Japanese staff.  In the west we have this concept that the kids are extremely well behaved and the rules are really harsh, but I find it to be quite the opposite and sometimes it drives me INSANE!

OK- on one hand Japanese kids are quite mature and are quite limited in their freedom.  They have to wear uniforms and at my school that includes the shoes they wear.  About the only thing they can choose is their socks and belts.  They aren't allowed to wear jewelry (earrings are a definite no-no, but some kids do get away with necklaces and bracelets) and they can't wear bright hair clips, bows, etc  They have to help clean the school, have to say excuse me when entering and exiting the staff room, they have to come to school on random Saturdays and don't really get much in the way of breaks between school years and at holidays.

BUT IN THE CLASSROOM they are treated like infants.  If a kid is sleepy, he will feel free to just sleep.  It is perfectly OK for them to never bring their book to class or to always forget their homework.  They get ten minute breaks between every class and a longer break after lunch.  If they don't want to answer, they don't have to.  Because they are automatically passed on to the next grade (as in they don't hold anyone back) it is quite possible for them to NEVER come to class and still graduate (as proven by one of the 3rd year graduates last weekend).

All of that is pretty frustrating.  But what really frustrates me is when the students are not pushed to try.  A lot of students have amazing ability but they don't excel because no one is there to push them on.  Not that we want to beat the students into learning, but a little push would help.

What set me off on this rant was last week when an elementary 6th grader was asked, "What's your name?" he replied in Japanese, "I don't know," and the teacher said, "I'm sorry, he can't speak English."  I would have understood if he had been really young or if he had been special needs.  I would have also understood if the question had been one of the more difficult ones like, "What do you want to be?" or "Do you have a cat?"  BUT SERIOUSLY!!  I ask "What's your name?" at the kindergarten and all of the kids jump up to tell me right away.

I also would have understood if this had been outside of the class.  But this was in the class and about five other students had already answered the question.  The teacher translated for him, and his friends did as well, but when I asked again, the kid continued to say he couldn't understand English, and the teacher continued to say sorry, he wasn't good at English.  When I think about the teachers I know in the States, I know they would have told the kid to stop messing around and to answer the question.

Now, again, I don't want to bully the kids into speaking English, but in letting them get away with, "I don't know," you are basically letting them get away with not trying, and as a result, they miss out on the chance to really learn.

As a child I hated it when my dad tried to teach me to ride a bike.  I, like all kids, fell down and was really frustrated with the whole thing.  Because one doesn't need to learn how to ride a bike, my dad left it.  Then three years down the rode at school when the police officer came to school to teach us bike safety, I was ashamed to be basically the only kid in the 4th grade who couldn't ride a bike.

With this elementary school kid, all I can think about is how, because he wasn't asked to practice in the lower grades, he is going to be really behind in Jr High and will eventually end up hating English and all English teachers.  Like riding a bike, he doesn't really need to learn English in the grand scheme of things.  BUT he does need it to get into a good high school.  I would hate to have him look back in regret at all of the time he wasted.

Now I don't want to come off as too crazy.  There is a chance that this kid will go to Jr high and be fine.  But this whole practice of letting the kids pretend they don't understand can be found in all of the lessons, and it seriously limits what we can do.  For example, when we were practicing, "Who is the ~est in the class?" I asked about who was the oldest.  When the kids said they didn't know, I asked about who had an April birthday (sine the school year starts in April kids with April birthdays are the oldest).  When no one answered, I moved on to May.  The teacher then told me that, "The kids are too shy to answer about their birthdays so we can't discuss the question."  What complete and total BS!!

To put a positive spin on this, at another school there is one student who is extremely special needs.  Sorry I don't know the PC terms to describe him.  I think he is autistic and for the most part, he is in his own world. He has a teaching aid with him and he comes to English class, but I don't really think he knows what is happening.  In most classes I think he would be just left to the side as he doesn't understand even simple games like fruit basket or high card.  But the teaching aid doesn't give up.

Every day in class she repeats the English over and over with him.  When we do a writing exercise, she writes it out and has him trace her letters (and this is in elementary where I am told to not even do writing with the high level students- I am asked to wait until Jr high which is even more BS).  When we are playing Rock Scissors Paper, she grabs him by the shoulders and has him face his opponents.  She does let him bring story books for when we are doing long explanations or CD listening, but she also makes him do the English book.  In all reality, this kid can barely speak Japanese so the idea of him speaking a foreign language is a STRETCH!  And yet, no matter what, she does not allow him to not try, and because of that he has small victories.  Two weeks ago at the elementary he said Good morning to me in the staff room.  And when she told him it was time for English class one day, he picked up the English book.  She pushes him because she cares enough to not give up on him- she knows he can be more then what he is now.  In seeing his progress, it makes me sad and extremely annoyed when perfectly able children are allowed to settle for less.

America is not perfect in its education.  And I am by no means a perfect teacher.  But seriously Japan, why are you selling these children short of their futures???