examining the escalation of classroom collapse in japanese

Examining the Escalation of Classroom Collapsein Japanese Schools and Suggesting PossibleSolutions

著者 MATHIS, Michaeljournal orpublication title

明治学院大学教養教育センター紀要 : カルチュール = The MGU journal of liberal arts studies :Karuchuru

volume 1number 1page range 101-125year 2007-03-24URL http://hdl.handle.net/10723/3130

ExaminingtheEscalationofClassroomCollapse

inJapaneseSchools

andSuggestingPossibleSolutions

MichaelMATHIS

IntroductiontoaClassroominChaos

September,1998.Imagineaclassroom numberingroughlyfortystudents,agessixteento

seventeen,dividedevenlyalonggenderlineswithtwentyfemaleandtwentymalestudents.All

thestudentsareattiredinvariousalteredanddisheveledformsoftheschooluniformandsport

avarietyofartificialhaircolors,frombrowntoaseeminglypopularshadeoforangish-blond,and

evenpink.Aswouldbeexpectedofagroupofteenagers,priortoclasstheyareboisterously

engagedinavarietyofleisureandsocialactivities.

Whentheteam-teachersentertheclassroom,tenminuteslatetoclass,nothingchanges.The

students・behaviorcontinuesasiftheteam-teacherswerenotevenpresent.Roughlytenorso

studentsareasleepattheirdesks.Atleastanequalnumberareeithersendinginstantmessages

oremailsoreventalkingtofriendsoutloudusingtheirmobilephones.Quiteafewstudentsare

readinglargecomicbooksormagazines.Thereareevenafewwhoareplayingvideogamesor

listeningtomusiconheadphones.Anumberoffemalestudentscanbeseenlookingintolarge

mirrorsandapplyingmake-up.Thosenotactivelyengagedinthepreviouslymentionedactivi-

tiesarebusilychattingawaywiththeirfriends.Lastly,thereisaboylyingdownonthefloorat

thebackoftheclassroom,asleep.

Theleadteam-teacher,theJTE（JapaneseTeacherofEnglish）,beginstoshoutatthetopof

herlungs.Outlandishasitmayseem,sheisnotscoldingthestudentsorscreamingforthemto

besilent.Sheisattemptingtoteach.Sheisaimingtospeaklouderthanaclassfullofforty

energetichighschoolsophomores.Shedoesnotsucceed.Theyignoreherlessonalmostentirely

andgoabouttheirbusinessasifshewerenotthere,pausingonlywhendirectlyspokentobythe

teacherandthengoingbacktotheirpreviousdiversionsassoonasthedirectinteractionceases.

ThiscontinuesforaboutthirtyminutesbeforetheJTEdismissesclasstenminutesearlyand

retreatsbacktotheteachers・staffroomuntilthenextclasswhensherepeatsthesameprocess

alloveragain.AllthisgoesonastheAmericanteam-teacher,theALT（AssistantLanguage

Teacher）looksoninaflabbergastedstateofabsolutehorroranddisbelief.

101

InternationalPerceptionsofJapaneseSociety

Althoughtheprevioussceneisararityatcollege-prephighschools,ithasbecomealltoo

commonatthemajorityofaveragerankedpublicschoolsthroughoutJapan.Theseimagesare

astarkcontrasttothestandardstereotypesdisseminatedinternationallybybothmassmedia

andevenbyacademicresearch.WhenmostoutsidersthinkaboutJapanesesocietyandJapa-

neseeducationingeneral,theyarelikelytoimaginelargeclassesofneatlygroomedandacademi-

callydiligentpupilswithanunwaveringrespectforteachers.Thecommonrepresentationput

forwardbymajormediasources,journalisticandacademic,aswellasbypopularmovies,isthat

theJapaneseareaseverelyauthoritariansocietyinwhichauthorityfiguresexpectsubordinates

totreatthemwithabsoluterespectorsuffersevereconsequences.

Thesecommoninternationalperceptionsappeartobecontradictorytotherealitymany

classroomteachersinJapanarefacingtoday.Manyteachersatboththeprimaryandsecondary

levelsarefacedeverydaywithagroupofstudentswhofeeltheycandoastheypleasewithout

anyfearofbeingheldaccountablefortheirmisbehaviors,creatinganenvironmentwherelittle,

ifany,learninggoesonatall.Althoughsuchclassroom environmentsarefarfrom beingthe

norm,therecentperceivedincreaseintheirnumberhassentashockwaveofalarmthroughout

theeducationalcommunity.Whileinternationalmediasourcescontinuetoraveatthesuppos-

edlyuniversalscholasticsuperiorityoftheJapaneseeducationsystem,thedomesticJapanese

mediahasbeeninundatedbyalarmsofanationaleducationalcrisis. AsBryanRossofthe

MainichiShinbunputit,・Unfortunately,anarchyisnolongerararestateintheclassroom・

（1999）.

HowdidtheinternationalperceptionsofJapanesesocietycometobesofarfrom reality?

WesternstereotypesofJapaneseeducationandJapanesesocietyatlargetendtooriginatefrom

thehackneyedportrayalsofJapanesepeopleinHollywoodmovies.PeopleinAmericaarelikely

toformanopinionofwhataJapaneseteacherwouldbelikefromtheonlysourcesavailableto

them,the1984JohnAvildsenmovie,TheKarateKidanditssequels,featuringthekarateteacher,

Mr.Miyagiasastrictdisciplinarianwhoexpectsabsoluteobediencefromhispupil.American

exposuretoJapanesecultureisalmostexclusivelylimitedtotheseauthoritarianmodelsdemon-

stratingdireconsequencestoanyonewhooffendstheauthorityfigure.Itshouldbenotedthat

Japaneseauthoritarianfiguresareoftenportrayedasmonstrouslyoppressivevillainswhose

eventualoverthrowisusedforcomiceffect,suchasinthefilmsGungHo（Howard&Ganz,1986）

andBlindDate（Edwards&Dunne,1987）,amongmanyothers.

StereotypicalHollywoodportrayalsaretobeexpected,butmoredisturbingistheamountof

academicresearchpublishedbythosewho,alltoooften,areescortedbyofficialsintheJapanese

governmenttoeliteschools,areshownafew highlyrehearsed・modelclasses,・andareonly

allowedtointerviewstudents,parentsandfacultythatarehand-pickedbytheresearcher・sgov-

ernmenthandlers,thewholetimebeingmisleadthatwhattheyareseeingistypicalofJapanese

education（Bracey,1997;Lewis,1999）.Otherso-calledresearcherspublishworksaboutthe

102

ExaminingtheEscalationofClassroomCollapseinJapaneseSchoolsandSuggestingPossibleSolutions

Japaneseeducationsystem withoutevenbotheringtogetanyfirst-handinformation,relying

solelyonscavenginginformationfromthepublishedworksofothers.Americansareroutinely

force-fedthismisinformationbytheirwell-intentioneduniversityprofessorsaswellasbypoliti-

ciansattemptingtoexploitthisinformationasawaytoassaulttheAmericaneducationsystem

（Berliner&Biddle,1995;LeTendre,1999;Lewis,1999）.

EventhemostcursoryofsearchesforinformationabouttheJapaneseeducationsystem,or

ofeducationinJapaningeneral,willyieldaseeminglyendlesssupplyofarticleswrittenpraising

thequalityofacademics,thededicationofthestudentsandfloutingJapan・sinternationalsuperi-

orityonstandardizedtestscores.WhatnegativepresseducationinJapandoesreceiveusually

centersonschoolbeingtoostrictandonthesuicide-inducingstresscausedbyJapan・ssystemof

meritocracy,rewardingfortheirentirelivesthosewhopassentranceexamstoprestigioushigh

schoolsandlater,examsforprestigiousuniversities,anddoomingthosewhoareunabletocom-

peteacademicallytothedespairofbeinglabeledasinferioruntilthedaytheydie,forcedtotake

theirplacesamongthedregsofsocietyorbeingforcedtobecomeroninwhotakeexamsrepeat-

edlyuntiltheysucceedatgettingacceptedintoauniversity（Schooland,1990;Wray1999;

Tsuneyoshi,2001）.Thisstereotypewasnotcreatedoutofavoid.Theseproblemsdefinitelydo

exist,butthereotherdilemmasthatmaybefarmoremenacingtoJapanesesocietyinthelong

run.

Itisnotuntilrecentlythattheinternationalmediaandresearchershavebeguntolookpast

thesecommonstereotypestorevealanentirelydifferentsetofproblemsfacingJapaneseeduca-

tors:ijime（bullying）,fut�ok�o（schoolrefusal）,violentjuveniledelinquents,andgakky�uh�okai

（classroomcollapse）.Thesesocialproblemsdonotstopattheeducationalsystem,aschildren

sufferingfromthemarelikelytogoontodevelopotherproblemsthathaveincreasinglybegun

toplagueJapanesesociety:hikikomori（shut-inswhomaybesoreclusiveastonotevenleave

theirrooms）,fur�t�a（seriallyunderemployedtempworkerswhorejecttheideaofkeepingastable

full-timejob）,parasaitoshinguru（parasitesingles,describingadultchildrenwholiveathome

longafterthetimehascomeforthem tobecomeindependent）andn�to（borrowedfrom the

Britishacronym NEET,coinedtodescribeyoungadultswhoareNotcurrentlyEngagedin

EducationorTraining）.Everyweek,ifnotalmosteveryday,therearestoriesinthedomestic

newspapersinJapanleadingreaderstobelieve,・Japanisbecominganationofslackers,・

（Bremmer,2002）.Itseemsthatthe21stcenturyhaseitherseenariseinproblemsassociatedwith

juvenilesand/oryoungadultsorhasfinallyawokentoproblemsthathavebeengoingonfor

quitesometime.

DefiningClassroomCollapse

Classroom collapse（学級崩壊/gakky�uh�okai）,alsoreferredtoasclassroom disintegrationor

classroomchaos,isatermthathascomeintovoguetoexpressateacher・scompletelossofcontrol

oftheclassroomenvironment,describing・asituationinwhichstudentsignoretheirteacherand

actup,walkout,runamok,speakoutofturnorevendestroysupplies・（Otake,2002）.Theterm,

103


gakky�uh�okai,hereafterreferredtousingitsmostcommonEnglishtranslation,classroomcollapse,

firstappearedintheAsahiShinbunnewspaperin1997,andwasusedtorefertoaphenomenon

occurringinelementaryschools.Innearly10yearssincetheterm wascoined,ithasbeenex-

tendedtoincludebreakdownstakingplaceinsecondaryschoolsaswell,withthemajorityof

articlesreferringtocasesofclassroomcollapsehappeninginjuniorhighschoolclassrooms.

Commoncharacteristicsofclassroomcollapseare:

・studentsgenerallymillingaroundtheclassroomandrefusingtositdownduringthelesson

・alargepercentageofstudentsriotouslychitchattingtothepointwheretheteacher・slectures

arebasicallyinaudibleandrebuffingrequestsbytheteachertobesilent

・outrightrefusalbymanystudentsintheclasstoperformassignedtasks（insubordination）

・studentsenteringandleavingtheclassroom,oreventheschoolgrounds,atwill,evenwell

afterthelessontimehasstarted

・activeuseofelectronicdevices,suchasmusicplayers,videogamesandmobilephones,

snubbingappealsbytheteachertoceasetheirusage

・organizedplayingofcardgamesorothergamesduringthelesson

・insomereportedcases（Otake,2002）,organizedboycottsofateacher・slessons

Isclassroomcollapseanewtrendoristhisaphenomenonthathasbeentakingplaceforsome

years?Forustoanswerthisquestion,wemustfirstdeterminewhatisandhasbeenconsidered

anormalteachingenvironmentinJapan.Althoughitwouldbeidealtoincludeall47prefectures

inourattempttoestablishadefinitionfornormal,itistacticallyimpossibletogatherenough

evidencetofirmlysupportanynationwideconclusions,sothedefinitionofanormalclassroom

environmentwillbelimitedtoevidenceamassedfrom empiricaldatagatheredfrom interviews

conductedwithinformantsworkinginthefieldofeducationintheTokyoMetropolitanArea,

comprisedprincipallyofTokyo,Kanagawa,SaitamaandChibaprefectures,aswellasfrom

personalexperienceasaclassroom teacherinsecondaryschoolsinKanagawaprefecture.In-

formants・names,aswellasthenamesoftheirschools,havebeenkeptanonymoustokeeptheir

workingrelationshipswiththeirpeersandsuperiorsintact.

My2�yearsexperienceasanALTfortheKanagawaBoardofEducationplacedmeinthree

publicseniorhighschoolsinYokohama.TheBoardofeducationgivesanunofficialrankingof

A,BorCtoeachprefecturalschoolbasedontheperceptionsofthestudents・overallacademic

ability.InformantsworkinginschoolsystemsintheTokyoMetropolitanAreaconfirmedthata

similarrankingsystemisusedinotherprefecturesaswell.IworkedinoneB-rankedseniorhigh

schoolandwasfortunateenoughtoworkintwoA-rankedseniorhighschools,oneofwhichis

consideredtobeamongthetop-tierofseniorhighschoolsinJapan.Informantsfromallthree

levelswereinterviewed,withthevastmajorityhavingexperienceinB-rankedseniorhigh

schools.

MostofthestudentsatA-rankedseniorhighschoolswillgoontoafour-yearuniversity

education.ThoseattendingtopA-rankedseniorhighschoolswillattemptentranceexamsfor

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eliteuniversities,sopressuretoperform academicallyishigh.Behavioralproblemsinclassat

A-rankedseniorhighschoolsarerare.B-rankedseniorhighschoolsareconsiderednormal,with

someamountofstudentsgoingontofour-yearuniversities,butwithmanynotseekingany

furthereducationafterhighschool.MostgraduatesofB-rankedhighschoolswhodocontinue

theireducation,goontopursuetechnicaldegreesorontotwo-yearcollegeswhichareusually

limitedtoacceptingfemaleapplicants.Peoplegraduatingfrom B-rankedseniorhighschools

constitutethemajorityoftheJapanesepopulation.BehavioralproblemsatB-rankedseniorhigh

schoolsarecommonplace.SeniorhighschoolsthathaveaC-rankhaveveryfewstudentswho

continuetheireducationafterhighschool.InformantsdescribeC-rankedseniorhighschoolsas

adismalenvironmentwherechaosrulesandverylittlelearningoccurs.Behavioralproblemsat

C-rankedseniorhighschoolsgofarbeyondsimplemisbehavior,withviolence,againstteachers

aswellaspeers,vandalismandothercriminalbehaviorbeingroutine.

Theanecdotedetailedintheintroductiondescribesaneventthattookplaceinthefallof

1998,ataB-rankedKanagawaprefecturalseniorhighschoollocatedinYokohama.Inthe2�

yearsthatIworkedatthatschool,Iconductedweeklyteam-teachinglessonswitharotationof

elevendifferentJTEs.Unfortunately,theeventsportrayedintheopeninganecdotedonotrepre-

senttheworstclassroomexperienceIhadatthatschool.Oftheeleventeam-teachersIworked

with,allelevenhadtosufferthroughseverebehavioralproblemsduringeverylesson.Ofthose

eleven,mostmadenoeffortwhatsoevertocorrectthesituation.Thenorm wastoteachasif

nothingwerewrongandtoignorethemisbehaviorentirely.Amorescientificassessmentofthe

situationcomestousfromalengthyobservationofpublicschoolsinJapanbyGeraldLeTendre

thatshowedthatmostJapaneseclassroom teachersignorebehaviorthatwouldbeconsidered

disruptiveinschoolsintheUnitedStates,suchaschattingorusingmobilephones（LeTendre,

2000）.

ThefewJTEsthatIworkedwiththatdidseem toactivelyacknowledgethemisbehavior

merelyreactedtoitwithvisiblefrustrationandoccasionalscoldingoftheoffendingstudents.

Usingthedefinitionforclassroomcollapseestablishedearlier,onlythreeoftheeleventeachersin

questioncouldbeconsideredtobesubjecttohabitualclassroomcollapse.Theremainingeight

teachersexperiencedeitherintermittentcollapsesofentireclassperiodsoroccasionallyexperi-

encedtemporarycollapsesduringlessonsdependingonthelevelofthestructureoftheclassroom

activitiesthattheteacherattempted.Evenduringthemosthighly-structured,teacher-centered

ortextbookcenteredactivities,usuallymorethanhalfofthestudentswerevisiblyoff-task.

MostALTsworkinginB-rankedseniorhighschools,whoservedasinformantsforthis

article,confirmedthatthestandarddefinitionofclassroomcollapsecouldbeappliedtomanyof

theclassestheyhadtakenpartin.ThoseworkingatA-rankedseniorhighschoolsconfirmedthat

suchcollapsesarecompletelynonexistent.InformantsworkingatC-rankedschoolsacknowl-

edgedthattheirschoolswererifewithclassroomcollapse.Japaneseinformantsweremorehesi-

tanttoconcedethatthey,themselveshadroutinelyexperiencedclassroom collapse,butall

Japaneseinformantsbelievedthatitwascommonamonglower-rankedschoolsandthatthey

knewofcolleagueswhohadsufferedfromit.

105


OneJapaneseinformantconcededthatsuchteachingenvironmentsexistedevenwhenhe

startedhisteachingcareermorethantwentyyearsago.Aftergraduatingwithhisteaching

certificate,hehadthemisfortuneofleavinghiseasylifeasacollegestudentatoneofthemost

eliteuniversitiesinJapan,forateachingjobataverylowC-rankedschool.Hesaidthathefelt

anextremecultureshock,notrealizingthatsuchschoolsevenexistedinJapan.Heconfidedthat

healmostdidnotsurvivetheexperience,lamenting,・Iquestionedwhatthepurposeofeducation

was.IfeltlikeIwasazookeeper.Ialmostquit.・

Accordingtoareportreleasedin2001,bytheNationalInstituteforEducationalPolicyRe-

search,morethan30％ ofelementaryschoolteachersreportedthattheyhadexperiencedclass-

roomcollapse（French,2002）.AnearliersurveyconductedbytheJapanTeacher・sUnionin1999

foundthatmorethanone-thirdoftheprimaryschoolteachersrespondingtothesurveywanted

toquit,withmorethanhalfcitingclassroomcollapseandanother16％ citingpoorrelationswith

students・parentsfortheirmainreason（Murakami,1999）.

Itislikelythattheclassroomcollapsehasbeenacommonphenomenonforquitesometime,

basednotonlyondatacollectedfromJTEsandALTsthatwereinterviewed,butalsobasedon

thedocumentedcasesofthesometimesviolentconfrontationsthattookplacebetweenrowdy

studentsandALTsasearlyasinthelate1980・s（McConnel,2000）.Culture-shockedALTswho

werefrustratedbytheJTEsperceivedlackofactiontocorrectanunworkablesituationtookit

uponthemselvestotrytoestablishsomemodicum oforderintheclassestheywereteam-

teaching,withsometimesgraveresults.McConnelnotesthatconfrontationsbetweenculture-

shockedALTsandtheirstudentscontinuetopresentproblemsfortheJETProgram.

Itislikelythattheresultinhigherawarenessofthephenomenonofclassroomcollapsemay

bemoreofaresultofmediafrenzyratherthananytrueincreaseinclassroombreakdown.There

appearstobeaconflictinopinionsastowhetherthisistrulyanewandincreasingcrisisor

whetherthisissomethingthathasbeenaroundforeverthatpeoplearejustnownoticingdueto

thememorablenewterminologyusedtodescribeit.Immediatelyafterthecoiningoftheterm

gakky�uh�okaiin1997,thereseemstobeaspurinthepublicationofarticlesaboutvariousbreak-

downsintheteachingenvironment（Erbe,2003）.

Thesamethingcanbesaidaboutbullying（ijime）thatgainednotorietyin1985whenagirl

wrote,・Pleasestopbullying,・onhersuicidenote.Publications,bothmass-mediaandacademic,

regardingbullyingsurged.Againin1994,afteraboyleftavoicemessageontheanswering

machineofasuicidehotlinethatheintendedtokillhimselfbecauseofbeingbullied,therewas

aglutinthemediacoverageofbullying（Erbe,2003）.

Intheyear2006,athirdwaveofmediafrenzyoccurredwhenlettersweresentbyteenagers

toseveraleducationofficials,includingtheMinisterofEducationhimself,specifyingspecific

datesthatthewritersplanedtocommitsuicidetoescapebeingbulliedanddemandingthatthe

governmentdosomethingtostopbullying（・Japan・sEducationMinistryReceivesSecondLetter

WarningofStudentSuicidePlan,・2006）.Thesmallflurryofsuicideletterstogovernmentoffi-

cialswere,surprisingly,notallanonymous.Somestudentsincludedtheirnamesandaddresses

ontheenvelopes,suchasonegirl・swhobemoaned,・Ihateeverybody.Iwilldie.・（・MoreBullying-

106


SuicideLettersSent,・2006）.

Juveniledelinquencyisalsowidelyperceivedtobeontherise,duemostlytotheintense

mediacoverageeachaberranteventreceives.TheSakakibaraincidentin1997sparkedhysteria

thatyoungpeoplewerebecomingincreasinglydangerouswhenaboydecapitatedanelementary

studentandsenttauntingletterstothepoliceuntilfinallyapprehended.Theaveragepersonon

thestreettodayappearsconvincedthatyoungpeopletodayaremuchmoredangerousandmore

pronetocriminalactivitydespitethefactthatgovernmentstatisticsmeticulouslygatheredsince

the1950sshowthatjuvenilecrimepeakedinthe1980s（Ito,2002）.Itshouldalsobeconsidered

thatmuchofthecrimesthatarecurrentlyrecordedintothestatisticsforjuvenilecrimeare

minorcrimesinvolvingminorshopliftingandbicycleviolations,crimesthatwerenotincluded

instatisticsinthepast（Foljianty-Jost&Metzler,2003）.Althoughthemassmediaportraysthis

currentgenerationtobemoredangerousthananybefore,itwasactuallytheirparentsorgrand-

parentswhowerethedeadliestwith448homicidescommittedbyjuvenilesin1961,comparedto

just105casesin2000（Ito,2002）.Juvenilecrimedidtakeajumpin1996,buthasbeenonthe

declineeversinceandhasnevercomeevenremotelyclosetothejuvenilecrimeratesofmany

othercountries,suchasGermany,SouthKoreaortheUnitedStates（Fojanty-Jost&Metzler,

2003）

Wehaveshownthatdespitethecurrentinterestinsocialproblemsinvolvingjuvenilesand

theschoolstheyattend,therealityisthattheseareproblemsthatmayhaveexistedforquite

sometimeandtherecentattentiontheyarereceivingfrom mediasourcesmaynotreflecta

・crisis,・butmerelyamedia-createdhysteria.Regardlessofwhetherclassroomcollapseisarecent

trendornot,ithasnowbeenestablishedthatisnotmerelyacreationofthemedia,butisrecog-

nizedassomethingtakingplaceextensivelyatleastthroughouttheTokyoMetropolitanArea,if

notthroughoutthewholeofJapan.Althoughusuallyusedtorefertoalcoholism,theclich�e

・thefirststeptowardrecoveryisadmittingyouhaveaproblem・seemsapropos.Whetheritisa

newproblemoroldisirrelevant.Alegitimateproblemdoesappeartoexist.Now,howdowe

dealwithit?

CausesofClassroomCollapse

Likeanycomplicatedpredicament,itisbesttoanalyzetherootcausesratherthantoblindly

attackthesymptoms.Literaturecompiledonthesubject,pointstothefollowing:

・changesinparentingandtheriseofindividualism

・changesinthefamilystructure

・increasedurbanization

・institutionalproblemswithintheschools

ChangesinParenting

Oldergenerationsmightclaim thattheyouthofthe21stcenturybehavesverydifferently

107


thantheydidwhentheywereyoung.Crimestatisticspointtothecontrary.Asstatedearlier,the

juvenilecrimeratewasmuchhigherinthesixtiesthroughtheeighties.Perhapsthegeneration

thatwasresponsibleforthetwohighestspikesinjuvenilecrimewhentheywereyoungisalso

responsibleforraisingchildrenwhoareunabletoconformtotraditionalstandardsofbehavior.

AftertheWar,theJapanesepopulationbenefitedfrom anunparalleledeconomicboom,

featuringrapideconomicgrowthforaperiodofoverfortyyears.Thewartimegenerationshow-

eredtheirchildrenwithloveintheformofmaterialgoodsandallowedthemmoresocialfreedom

perhapsthaneverseenbefore.Duringthebubbleeconomyitseemedasifthewealthofsociety

wereonaneternalupwardswingandlivingasuccessfullifeprobablybegantobesomething

thatwastakenforgranted.Suddenly,acountrywithdeepdividesbetweenthehavesandhave-

notssawanunprecedentedincreaseinthosewhoconsideredthemselvestobemiddleclass.Even

workingclasspeopleconsideredthemselvestobeamongthemiddleclass.

Thebabyboomergenerationappearstohavetakenonsomevaluesnotwidelyseenbefore.

AsJapanmovedintothecategoryofeconomicsuperpower,youngpeoplebegantowaitlater

thanthepreviousgenerationtogetmarried,atrendthatwastakingplacethroughoutother

highlydevelopedcountriesaswell.Youngpeopleweretakingadvantageoftheextratimeto

enjoylife.Whentheydidgetthedesiretosettledownandgetmarriedtheywerefarmorelikely

toseekoutalovemarriageratherthangothroughthetraditionalchannelsofanarrangedmar-

riage.Thepost-wargenerationwasmuchmoreinclinedtoseekoutpersonalhappinessanditis

verylikelythattheypassedthesevaluesontotheirchildren.

Thewartimegenerationstruggledandhasanappreciationforhardwork.Theirchildren,

thebabyboomersmayhavenotexperiencedthesestrugglesfirsthand,butarelikelytobevery

familiarwiththeirparents・strugglesandhaveanappreciationforthefactthatthequalityoflife

theyenjoytodayisadirectresultofthewartimegeneration・sefforts.Thechildrenofthebaby

boomers,sometimesreferredtoasthejuniorbabyboomers,aswellascurrentgenerationofyouth,

havenotseenorexperiencedthekindofstruggleenduredbytheirgrandparentsorgreat-

grandparents,andaremuchmorelikelytotaketheirfamiliesandtheopulenceofJapanfor

granted.

Researcher,HideoTakayamaconductsasurveyeachyearaskingteenagerswhattheydesire.

Inthe1960s,theyaskedforthingsfortheirfamilies,likeaTVorarefrigerator.Inthe1970s,the

desireswerestillfamily-centered,butmoreluxurious,suchasacolorTVoracar.The1980ssaw

ashifttowardselfishdesires,suchasaWalkmanorabaseballglove.Butinthe1999survey,

Takayamawasshockedathowmanyyoungpeoplecouldnotthinkofanythingatallthatthey

desired,evenwhenprodded（Larimer,1999）.Thiscurrentgenerationofyouthhashaditeasy,

beingprovidedbytheirparents・withalltheirmaterialdesires.

Perhapsitisnotfairtocondemnthecurrentgenerationofparentsforspoilingtheirchildren

withoutconsideringthattheyareaproductofthecurrentopulenceofJapan.Eventhroughthe

currentrecession,atermthatmerelymeansaneconomicslowdownratherthananactualshrink-

ingoftheeconomy,Japancontinuestobeaprosperousnationwhoseresidentsenjoyanaffluent

lifestyle.Itislikelythatpreviousgenerationsofparentswouldhaveoverindulgedtheirchildren

108


justasmuchiftheyhadpossessedthemeanstodoso.Amae,whichpsychologistTakeoDoi

definesas,・indulgentdependency,・isperhapsthecentraltraitofJapaneseparent/childrelation-

ships（1973）.Itisnaturalforparentstoattemptto・indulge・theirchildrenasmuchaspossible.

Wecanseefrom HideoTakayama・ssurveys,thatasthewealthofJapanincreased,sodidthe

egocentricityofteenagers・responsesofwhattheydesire.Itseemsonlynaturaltoassumethat

parentsareexpectedtogivechildrenasmuchastheycantomaketheirlivesashappyaspossi-

ble.Previousgenerationsspoiledtheirchildrenasmuchastheycould.Thiscurrentgeneration

ofparentsisnodifferent.Theyjusthavemoremeanswithwhichtospoiltheirchildren,creating

childrenwhotrulydonotknowwhatitisliketodowithout.

Anothercommoncriticismmadebyteachersagainstparentsisthattheyarenotdoingtheir

jobtoteachchildrenthebasicsofproperbehaviorandself-controlathome.Thiscurrentgenera-

tionofparentswaitedmuchlatertogetmarriedthantheirpredecessorsandwasmuchmore

likelytoseekoutloveratherthananarrangedmarriage.Self-fulfillmentappearstobeanimpor-

tantcharactertraitforthistransitionalgeneration.Thereisanincreasingtrendamongparents

todaynottodesiretosmothertheirchildren・sfreewill,buttoencouragethemtodoastheywant.

Theseparentswantfortheirchildrentobehappy,notonlybyshoweringthem withalltheir

materialdesires,butbyallowingthemtohavetheindividuallibertytohavetheirownwilland

pursuetheirownspiritualandemotionaldesires.Thesynthesisofadesireforchildrentoexpress

theirindividualityandtheoverindulgenceassociatedwithamaecancreateanexplosivemixture.

InaninterviewwithTomokoOtake,astaffwriterforTheJapanTimes,aprincipalofanelemen-

taryschoolinTokyowasquotedascomplainingthat・parentsareconfusingselfishnesswith

individualism・（2002）.

Again,perhapstheparentsarebeingunjustlycriticized.Asnotedearlier,itisstandard

practiceforteacherstoignorewhatwouldbeconsideredunacceptablebehaviorinmostAmeri-

canorEuropeanclassrooms（LeTendre,2000）.Teacherscanbesaidtoindulgetheseselfish

behaviorsaswell.Traditionally,childrenhavebeenexpectedtobehaveproperlywhileinpublic,

butwhenathomeareallowedfewrestrictions.Boys,inparticular,havecustomarilyhadfew

limitationsplacedontheirbehaviorwhileathome（Doi,1973;Kataoka& Kasumoto,1991）.

AccordingtoProfessorChisakiToyama-BialkeofTokyoUniversity,・BycomparisontoAmeri-

canorGermanmothers,Japanesemothersarelesslikelytofeelannoyedandmorewillingto

excusechildren・sbehavior,believingthattheyarenotyetresponsibleordonotunderstandthe

situation・（2003）.Despiteexpectationsofappropriatebehavior,misbehaviorbychildrenoften

goesunpunishedbecauseoftheconventionalbeliefthatchildrenaretooyoungtoknowany

betterandthereforeshouldnotbedisciplined.Erroneousstereotypesheldinternationally,char-

acterizetheJapanesetobeauthoritarianandAmericansocietytobelibertarian.Intruth,the

oppositeistrue.Ina1996survey,・85％ ofthe16�to�18�year-oldssurveyed（inJapan）saidthey

hadthefreedom torebelagainsttheirparents,comparedwithjust16％ intheU.S.・（Larimer,

1999）

109


ChangesintheFamilyStructure

Parentingtrendsemployingaprecariousblendofrespectforindividualismanduseoftradi-

tionalamaearenotsolelytoblameforariseinself-centeredandpubliclyunacceptablebehavior.

Otherchangesinthefamilystructuremustalsobeconsidered:thegreaterageofnewparents,the

declineofthebirth-rateandincreaseofsinglechildhouseholds,thegrowthinthenumberof

nuclearfamilies,andtheamountofabsenteefathersandworkingmothers.

Agradualdecreaseinthebirthratecanalsobeattributedtothepost-wargeneration・sdesire

foralifewithmorefreedom.Birthratescontinuetofalltothisdate,aggravatedbothbythe

numberofsinglesintheirthirtiesandbythenumberofparentswhoopttoonlyhaveonechild.

Japanrecordeditslowestbirthrateeverin2005,at1.25babiesbornperwomanoveralifetime

（・JapanBirthRateBeginstoRise,・2006）.Sincearateof2.1isneededtokeepthepopulationlevel

static,Japan・spopulationhasbeenshrinkingforthelastfewyears（・FinalCensusData:Popula-

tionDecliningbutMoreForeigners,・2006）.Withoneornosiblings,thisgenerationofchildren

hasnothadtolearnfromthekindsofcompromisesthatpreviousgenerationswithmanysiblings

benefitedfrom.

Relatedtothedecliningbirth-rateisthegrowthinpopularityofthenuclearfamily.Past

generationsvaluedtheextendedfamily.Previoussocietalnormsdictatedthattheeldestsonwas

responsiblefortakingcareofhisparentsintheirdecliningyears.Three,andsometimesfour

generationslivingunderthesameroofwascommonpractice.Althoughthistraditionstilllives

onhereinthebeginningofthe21stcentury,itisinastateofrapiddecline.Moreandmoreyoung

marriedcouplesarelivingalonewiththeironetotwochildren.Theriseinthree-personhouse-

holds,twoparentsandanonlychild,hastakenawayavaluableopportunityforchildrentolearn

thesocialskillsneededtobeabletomakecompromisesandtobeabletoadaptwhenthingsdo

notgoastheywouldlike.Achildwithnosiblingsandnoextendedfamilylivinginthehouse

doesnotlearnhowtogetalongwithpeopleofdifferentages（Otake,2002）andgetstoentirely

monopolizehismother・sattention.Inshort,childreninthisyoungergenerationhavebeen

spoiledbecausetheyareusedtoalwaysgettingtheirwayandarenotabletoeasilymakecom-

promises.

Inpublic,however,childrenareexpectedtoshow empathyforothers.Traditionalchild

rearingstylecentersontheparentsandextendedfamilyteachingempathytotheirchildrento

understandhowtheirbehavioraffectsotherpeople.AtypicalcommentfromaJapanesemother

wouldbesomethinglike,・Ifyoudothat,otherpeoplewon・tlikeyou・（Doi,1973）.Traditionally,

explicitteachingofproperbehavioriscombinedwithmodelingbythefamilymembersofappro-

priatebehavior.Japanesechildrenaremuchmorelikelytobetaughtbehaviorthroughthistype

ofosmosisthantheirWesterncounterparts.（Toyama-Bialke,2003）.

Thelackofthepresenceofsiblingsoranextendedfamilyiscompoundedbytheabsenteeism

ofmanyfatherswhoworkorgoouttowork-relateddrinkinguntillateatnight,sometimesseven

daysaweek.Timemagazine・sTim LarimerinterviewedoneTokyoteenagerthattoldofa

strangemancomingtohishomewhenhewasatoddler.Heaskedhismother,・Whoisthat

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man?・Shereplied,・That・syourfather,・towhichheresponded,・What・safather?・（1999）.When

Japanwasstillbasicallyanagriculturalsociety,thechildrenwouldworkalongsidetheirfamily

atanearlyageandwouldgettospendeveryeveningwiththeirextendedfamily.Inmodern

times,thenormisbecominganisolatedexistenceofonlymotherandchild.Thechildwhogrows

upasanonlychildinanuclearfamily,withafatherwhoworkslate,hasonlythemotherasa

role-model,withtheabsentfatherandgrandfatherunabletoprovideamuchneededpositive

malerole-model.Withoutanextendedfamilyoroldersiblingstouseasrole-models,learning

throughosmosiscannoteasilytakeplace.Themotherbearsalltheresponsibilityonhershoul-

ders.

IncreasedUrbanization

Oneofthechiefcausesoftheriseofthenuclearfamilyanddemiseoftheextendedfamilyis

theincreasedurbanizationseeninthelate20thcenturythatshowsnosignsofslowingdown.In

1858,Japanwasanalmostentirelyagriculturalsociety,numberingbetween31-32million.From

the1930sto1945,Japan・spopulationisestimatedtobearound70million.Bythe1980s,Japanhad

increasedtoover120millioninhabitants.Muchofthenewpopulationlefttheruralfarmcommu-

nitiesandheadedforurbanareas.Now,theTokyoMetropolismakesupalmost1/3ofthetotal

populationofJapan,crammedintoarelativelysmallarea（Shinryo,1996）.Eventoday,young

peoplecontinuetofleeruralcommunitiesfortheexcitementandopportunityofbigcitylife.

Notonlydothesenewparentsmissoutonthebenefitsofanextendedfamily,buttheylose

thesenseofcommunitythatcomesfromlivinginasmalltown.PeopleintheTokyoMetropolis

oftendonotbenefitfromasenseofcommunityanymoreandoftendonotevenknowtheirown

neighbors（Otake,2002）.Japanisoftendescribedasashame-basedculture,butthisshamecomes

fromfearofbeingostracizedfromthegroupandfromthecommunity（Davies&Ikeno,2002）.

Teenagersnowadaysarefrequentlyrudeinpublic.Thereistendencyforpeoplelivinginthe

TokyoMetropolistoavoidconfrontationandnottotalktostrangers（Kataokoa&Kusumoto,

1991;Yamada,1997）.This,combinedwiththesheervastnessandnumberofpeopleintheMe-

tropolisgivesyoungpeopleasinceofanonymityandinvincibility.Theyfeelthattheycando

whatevertheywanttoinpublicwithoutconsequences.Thelackofasenseofcommunityisakin

tothelossofinteractionswithanextendedfamily.Youngpeopledonotgetthechanceto

assimilatetraditionalvaluesbecausetheydonotformthecloserelationshipswithenougholder

peopleneededtolearnproperlivingthroughexamples,orosmosis.

InstitutionalProblemswithintheSchools

Parentsarenottheonlyonestakingcriticism.Whengovernmentresearcherspublished

theirfindings,theycited・teacherincompetence・asthemaincauseofclassroomcollapse（Otake,

2002）.Thismaybeanunjustblanketcriticism,sinceitistheparentswhohavethegreatest

abilitytoformthechild・shabits.Bythetimeachildstartskindergarten,theywillhavespent

from3-4yearsbeingraisedbyfamilymembersandwillhavealreadydevelopedacertainamount

ofsocialskills.Teachersofthehighestdegreeofskillandtrainingwouldhaveadifficulttime

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teachingaclassfullofstudentsthathadnotbeenpreparedbytheirparentsforthetransition

intoschoollife.

Ontheotherhand,ateacherwholackstheskillsneededtobeagoodteacherrunstherisk

oflosingcontrolofhisclass,evenifitismadeupentirelyofstudentswhohavebeenraised

properly.In2002,twohundredeighty-nineteachersinTokyowerefoundtobeincompetent,

includingoneteacherwhocontinuedteachinghislessonsevenafterallthestudentshadleftthe

classroom（・289TeachersFoundIncompetentin2002,3Dismissed・）.In2005,nearlytwiceas

manyteacherswerejudgedtobeincompetent（・Record566teachersjudgedincompetent・,2005）.

Inordertoestablishanenvironmentwherelearningcantakeplacerequiresafirmfoundationof

contentknowledgeinthesubjecttheteacherteaches,anabilitytoformgoodrelationshipswith

students,andafirst-rateuseofteachingmethodologies.

Ateacherwholacksknowledgeinhiscontentareaorlacksthemostbasicskillsofteaching

methodologyisindangeroflosinghisstatusasanauthorityfigure.MyexperienceintheJET

ProgramasanALTforKanagawaprefectureintroducedmetoavarietyofJTEs,someofwhom

hadanexcellentcommandoftheEnglishlanguage,andsomeofwhomcouldhardlystutterout

asemi-coherentsentencewithoutfirstturningintoanervoussweatyred-facedtremblingmess.

ItwascommonforteacherstoavoidmeforfearofhavingtospeakEnglish,evengoingasfaras

toduckintothebathroom toescapeiftheysawmecomingdownthehall.TheheadEnglish

teacheratoneschool（anA-rankedschool）avoidedmeforalmosttwofullyearsbeforeIfinally

methim.WhenIdidmeethimandhewasforcedtospeakEnglish,Icompletelyunderstoodwhy

hehadsteeredclearofmeforsolong.Mostembarrassingofallwasthefactthatmanyoftheelite

studentsatA-rankedschoolshavesuperiorskillsinEnglishtotheirteachers,andtheyknowit.

Unfortunately,lackofskillinthecontentareaisprobablynotlimitedtoonlyEnglishteachers.

Teachingskillisnotrestrictedtocontentknowledge.Interpersonalskillsareoftheutmost

importanceinteaching（Carnegie,1936;Fay&Funk,1995;Darling-Hammond,1997;MacKenzie,

2003）,andevenmoresohereinJapanwheretheguidancerolesofateacherareconsideredtobe

moreimportantthanacademicroles（LeTendre,2000;Tsuneyoshi,2001;Toyama-Bialke,2003）.

Thestrongertherapportthattheteachershareswithhisstudents,thelesslikelyitwillbethat

hewillencounterdisciplineproblems.Formingagoodrelationshipwithstudentsisnoguaran-

teetoavoidbehavioralproblems,butformingabadrelationshipwithstudentssetstheteacher

uptoexperiencechallengestohisauthorityanddamagestheharmonyheneedstoestablishin

ordertoteacheffectively.

InNatsumeS�oseki・sclassicnovel,Botchan,thetitlecharactermovesfromhisurbanhomein

Tokyototakeateachingjobatjuniorhighschoolinaruralarea.Beingslightlynervousonhis

firstteachingdayandbeingfilledwithabitofarroganceathisself-perceivedsuperiority,he

attemptstointimidatehisstudentsbyspeakingquicklyandloudlyintheTokyodialect,using

asmanyslangwordsashecantokeepthemoffbalance.Whenastudentrequestshimtospeak

alittlemoreslowly,herespondsbyscornfullyreplying,・I・llobligeyoubyspeakingmoreslowly

ifyoureallycannotfollowme,butbeingaEdo（Tokyo）manthroughandthrough,Icannot

speakyourdreadfuldialect,andyou・llhavetowaitpatientlyuntilyoucanunderstandme・

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（S�oseki,1904）.Asexpected,hepermanentlydamageshisrelationshipwiththestudentsandthey

proceedtomakehislifeasdifficultaspossiblethroughouttherestofthenovel.Inanyrelation-

ship,notjustteaching,establishingahostiletonewillassurethatnomeaningfulcommunication

willgoonbetweenthetwoparties（Carnegie,1936）.

PossibleSolutionstotheProblem

・Providingprofessionaldevelopmentforteachers

・Increasingparent-teachersupport

・Hiringmoreofficialtrainedguidancecounselors

・Gettingadministratorsmoreinvolved

・Decreasingclasssizeand/orschoolsize

・Establishingandenforcingreasonableschoolandclassroomrules

ProvidingProfessionalDevelopment

Asstatedearlier,beingwell-trainedandwell-preparedforclassisnoassurancetoprevent

behavioralproblems,butbeingpoorlytrainedandpoorlypreparedcanleadtodisaster.Profes-

sionaldevelopmentbeginsduringtheuniversityyears,incontentandeducationclassesand,

mostimportantly,duringtheinternshipperiod.ItisstandardpracticeinJapan,forperspective

applicantsforteachingcertificatestogobacktotheiralmamaterforafourweekinternshipthat

usuallyconsistsalmostentirelyofobservation.Iftheinternsareallowedtoteachalesson,they

dosounderstrictcontrolofthementorteacherwhowillusuallyplanthelessonfortheintern.

DuringthetimethatIworkedatA-rankedseniorhighschoolsinYokohama,university

studentscametodotheirinternshipseachyear.AtthehighestA-rankedschool,theinternswere

not・trusted・toteachthestudentssincetheywereafraidthatitcouldhurtthehighschool

studentsacademically.WhenIaskedaboutthis,Iwastoldthattheinternswerenotrealteach-

ers,butwerestudentsthemselves,andtheseniorhighschoolstudents・studiesweretooimpor-

tanttoturnovertoanunlicensedinexperiencedcollegestudent.Aftergraduation,theinterns

wouldstarttheirfirstteachingjobswithoutanysupportfrom amentorteacherandwithout

havingeverstoodinfrontofarealgroupofstudentstoteachthem.Inmanycases,newteachers

arethrownintoarealclassroomwithrealstudentsandmustlearnonthejobwithoutanyexpe-

riencedprofessionalpresenttoguidethem.

Whencomparedtointernshipsinothercountries,theJapanesesystem appearscomically

amateurish.Somecountriesrequireinternstotrainteachingrealstudentsunderamentor

teacherforafullyearbeforetheycanapplyforateachingcertificate.Inalmostallcases,the

internswillpracticeteachingbytakingoversome,ifnotall,ofthementorteacher・sclassload.

InmoststatesintheUSA,thetimeperiodoftheinternshipcoincideswithoneuniversityschool

term（quarterorsemester）.Theinternshipistakenforcollegecreditasauniversitycourse

whichtheinternmustpassinordertograduateandqualifytoapplyforateachingcertificate.

IntheUSsystem,theinternisplacedinapublicschoollocatedneartheuniversitycampus,

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almostnevertheiralmamater.Aprofessorfromtheuniversitywillcheckontheintern・spro-

gressandwillevenevaluatetheirteachingabilitybyobservingclasses.Attheendoftheintern-

ship,theuniversityprofessorandmentorteacheratthehighschoolwillassigntheinternagrade

fortheinternshipcourse.Iftheinterndoesnotperformsatisfactorily,hewillnotgraduateand

willnotqualifyforateachingcertificate.Failinganinternshipisnotarareoccurrence.

OnewaytoimprovethesituationinJapan・spublicschoolsistoassurethatonlythemost

qualifieduniversitygraduatescanapplyforateachingcertificate.Iusedtoteachcoursesre-

quiredforateachingcertificateatNihonUniversity・sCollegeofInternationalRelations.Each

year,morethanonehundredstudentswereacceptedintothecertificationprogram,yetonlya

few,usuallyonly1�3,wouldbeabletopassthecertificationtest.All,morethanonehundred,of

theseapplicantswenttodotheirfour-weekinternshipsattheiralmamaters,wastingalotof

people・svaluabletimeandmissingalotoftheiruniversitycourseworkintheprocess.

SomestatesintheUSrequireallapplicantsforaninternshiptopassabasiccompetencytest

priortobeingpermittedtodotheirinternship.Iftheapplicantdoesnotpassthetest,theywill

notbetrustedorallowedtorunaclassfilledwithrealpublicschoolstudents.Requiringstudents

topasstheircertificationtestinordertoqualifyforaninternshipwoulddrasticallycutdownon

pointlessinternships.Thiswouldfreeuniversitiesuptoestablishrelationshipswithsurrounding

primaryandsecondaryschoolswhowouldgladlyacceptprovencandidatesintolengthilyqual-

ityintensiveinternshipprograms.Havingtheinternsgotoareaschoolsandradicallyreducing

theamountofinternsthroughsomeformofelimination,suchasacertificationtest,wouldallow

universityprofessorstogoandevaluatetheinternsandassignthemagrade.

Servinganinternshipataschoolthatismorerepresentativeofthepopulationatlarge,

ratherthanattheapplicant・salmamaterwillgivethemamorerealistictrainingforwhatlies

ahead.Anypersonbecomingateacherisobviouslyacollegegraduate,meaningthattheyalmost

certainlygraduatedfromacollege-prephighschool,placingthemroughlyaroundthetop35％

ofhighschoolgraduatesinJapan.Goingbacktotheiralmamater,almostcertainlyanA-ranked

school,willnotpreparethemforthekindsofproblemstudentstheyarelikelytoencounterwhen

theybegintheirteachingcareers.

Aftertheybecomecertifiedandpracticingclassroom teachers,theyshouldberequiredto

attendandpresentatworkshops.Workshopsandextendedtraininginclassroommanagement

wouldbeinvaluabletoteachersworkinginB-rankedandC-rankedorschoolsthataredifficultto

workinforsomeotherreason.Theseworkshopscouldbeusedasachanceforteacherstocoun-

seleachotherandtotalkabouttheirproblems.Beingaclassroom teachercanbeoneofthe

loneliestjobsintheworld,especiallyifyoufeelthereisnobodywithwhomtoconfideproblems.

Underthecurrentsystem,mostteachersneverhaveanopportunitytobrushupontheirskillsor

tolearnnewmethods（French,2002）.Also,astrictsystemofobservationandevaluation,espe-

ciallyduringthefirstfew yearsshouldbeusedtoguideteacherstowardimprovements.If

needed,theseobservationsandevaluationsshouldbeusedtoremoveteachersthathaverepeat-

edlyproventhemselvestobeincompetent.

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IncreasingParent-TeacherSupport

JapanandtheUSarestarkcontrastsinregardstowhomthechildbelongs.IntheUS,itis

cleartheparentsarethelegalguardiansofthechildandtheyentrusttheschooltotakecareof

theirchildrenandtoeducatethem,providingavaluableservice.Conventionalwisdom states

thatitistheparents・responsibilitytomakesurethattheirchildrenbehavethemselvesandnot

causeproblemsfortheteacherorfortheirclassmates.Inmyexperience,studentswouldusually

immediatelyterminateunacceptablebehaviorwhenfacedwiththepossibilitythatIwouldcon-

tacttheirparents.Incaseswhenitisnecessarytocallaparent,thegoal（onethatisnotalways

successful）istoapproachtheparentwiththeintenttoteam upandworktogethertosolvea

problem,withthechild・sbestinterestinmind.

Whenthechildisnotoncampusortakingpartinaschoolactivity,theschoolhaslittleor

noauthorityoverwhatthechildcanorcannotdo.Inasituationwherethechildhasgotteninto

legaltrouble,theparentswillbenotifiedimmediately,andtheschoolwillalmostcertainlybeleft

outoftheequation.Suchmattersareconsideredtobethefamily・sprivatebusiness.

InJapan,thechildisprimarilyconsideredtobeastudentandisthoughttobeawardofthe

school.Theschoolstypicallyhavealengthilylistofacceptableandunacceptablebehaviorsand,

iftherulesareviolated,willexecutesomeformofdisciplinetooffenders,usuallyscolding,but

sometimessomethingmoresevere.Themostcertainwaytogetintroubleistobecaughtsmok-

ingorridingamotorcycleinpublicwhilewearingaschooluniformbecauseitbringsshameto

theschool.Ifthestudentgetsintolegaltrouble,thehomeroomteacherwillbecalled.Sometimes

theparentswillbecontacted,aswell（Toyama-Bialke,2003）.

Theworkingrelationshipbetweenparentsandteachersistenuousatbest,bothinJapanand

intheUS.Teachersinbothcountriescitethisasoneofthemoststressfulpartsoftheirjob

（Darling-Hammond,1997;Murakami,1999）.Teachersoftenfeellikesociety・sjanitors.Theyhave

tocleanupthemesswhenastudenthasseverefamilyproblems,livesinadangerousneighbor-

hoodorsuffersfrom poverty.Parents,manyofwhom arecollegegraduatesthemselves,are

countingoneducatorstokeeptheirchildrensafeandtoprovideagoodlearningenvironment.

ItiscommonintheUS,andisbecomingincreasinglymorecommoninJapanforparentsto

second-guesstheirchildren・steachersandtoevenquestiontheirqualifications（French,2002;Ito,

2002）.

Thesolutionmaylieinthetechnologyofthefuture.Already,manypublicschoolsintheUS

requireteacherstopostlessonplans,classroomassignments,homework,andtestscoreson-line

forparentstoaccess,usingasecurepasswordprotectedaccount.Evenmoreeffectiveisthatthe

student・sdisciplinaryrecordisalsoavailablefortheparenttoaccess.Insomecases,administra-

torsrequireteacherstoinformparentsviatheInternetanytimeanofficialdisciplinaryaction,

suchasadetention,iscarriedout.Astheproliferationofpersonalcomputerscontinues,itisonly

amatteroftimebeforeallclassroomteachersandparentshaveaccesstosuchaccounts.

WhileworkingforanA-rankedschoolinYokohama,Ilearnedthatparentsareonlyinformed

aboutthestudents・progressthreetimesayear,aftereachtrimestergradingperiod,unlessthe

115


studentgetsintosomekindofcriminaltrouble.Repeatedlyscoringlowontestsorrepeatedly

notdoinghomeworkgoesunreported,asdoallbutthemostseveredisciplinaryproblems.While

discussingthegradingsystemsoftheUSandJapanwithoneofmyformercolleagues（aJTE）,

ImentionedthatatthehighschoolinAmericathatIusedworkfor,parentswerekeptappraised

aboutacademicprogresseveryfiveweeksandwereusuallycontactedanytimethestudent

receiveddisciplinaryactionandwereusuallycontactedifthestudentstartedperformingbadly

academically,eveninthemiddleofeachthefive-weekperiodsbetweenprogressreportsand

reportcards.Hisresponsewasverytelling.Contemplatinghavingthesamesystemathisjob

hereinJapan,heirritablyasked,・Doparentsreallyneedtoknowthatmuch?・Helikedaslittle

contactwithparentsasnecessary,consideringsuchahighdegreeofcontacttobeaninvasionby

theparentintotheschool・sdomain.

Iftheparentandteacherhaveagoodworkingrelationshipwiththechild・sbestinterestin

mind,theyshouldnotmindworkingcloselytogether.Afterall,thechildwillonlybelongtothe

schoolforafewyears.Hisrelationshipwithhisparentswilllastalifetime.Whichshouldbe

moreintimate?Ifthechildiscreatingproblemsorissufferingfromproblems,theparentsand

teachersshouldfeelcompelledtoworktogethertosolvethem.Ifthechild・sbehavioristhe

problem,presentingaunifiedfrontwillmakethechildmoreinclinedtothinkaboutchanging

anyundesirablebehavior（McKenzie,2003;Toyama-Bialke,2003）.

HiringMoreOfficialTrainedGuidanceCounselors

ThisisacasewheretheAmericansandJapanesecanlearnfromeachother.TheAmerican

highschoolhomeroomsystemfeaturesanalmostnon-existentrelationshipbetweenthehome-

roomteacherandthestudents.IntheUS,thehomeroomteacher・sprimary,usuallysole,respon-

sibilityistocheckrollandsendanabsenteelisttothemainoffice.Thehomeroom periodis

usuallyfifteenminuteslongandismoreorlessatimeforstudentstosocializealittlebeforethey

separateandgoofftoseparateclassesthattheyhaveeitherelectedtotakeorhavebeenplaced

inbasedonstaterequirementsorleveltrackingwithintheschool.Guidancecounselorsareno

better,astheydonotusuallyhaveverymuchinteractionwithstudentsunlesstheyareinsome

sortoftrouble.Theexceptiontothisiswhenacounseloristryingtohelpastudentgetaccepted

tocollege.

IntheJapanesesystem,thehomeroomisofparamountimportance.Notonlyisthisgroup

ofstudentsconnectedtogetherthroughouttheyearforspecialfunctions,theyusuallystay

togetherinthesameroom alldaylong.Thehomeroom teacheristrulyresponsibleforthe

welfareofthestudentsunderhiswatch,takingcareoftheirregularacademicguidanceand

providingregularcounselingtothemintheirtimesofneed.Iwouldstronglysuggestmaintain-

ingtheJapanesehomeroomsystemwhereateacherisinchargeofagroupofstudentsandthat

groupofstudentstakespartinschoolactivitiesasanorganizedunit.Iwouldalsoadvocate

introducingthissystemtotheUS.

Addingtrainedguidancecounselorswouldnottakeawayfrom thehomeroom teacher・s

obligationsorauthority.Usedcorrectly,counselorswouldassistthehomeroomteacherwhenhe

116


needsit,whenseekinginformationorwhendealingwithaproblem withastudent.Students

withbehavioralproblemsalltoooftensufferfromproblemsathome.Classroomteachersusually

donothavethepropertrainingtodealwithsevereproblems.Itistimeslikethiswhenaperson

whoactuallyhastrainingincounselingshouldstepuptohelporganizeeveryoneinvolved,

parents,teachersandadministrators,totackletheproblem toimprovethesituation.Unfortu-

nately,manypeopleintheteachers・unionhaveopposedtheadditionoftrainedguidancecoun-

selors,claimingthatitwouldtakeawaywhatiswidelyconsideredtobetheprimaryschoolor

secondaryschoolteacher・smainobligation,toestablishrapportwiththestudentsandtohelp

guidethemthroughlife.

Oneinformantgrumbledthataddingtrainedguidancecounselorswouldreducehimtobeing

nobetterthanajuku（supplementaryprivateafter-schoolcram school）teacher,however,if

guidancecounselorswereadded,itwouldfreeupmoreoftheteacher・stimetofocusoncreating

engagingqualityacademiclessons.Thenstudentswouldnothavetopayextratogotojukuto

getthequalityacademicsthatarelackingattheirregularschools.Someteachersmaybalkat

thisconceptbecauseitrunscontrarytotraditionalviewsthattheprimarygoalsofteachersare

notacademic,buttoprovideguidance（Tsuneyoshi,2001;Toyama-Bialke,2003）.Timesmaybe

changing,however,asarecentEducationMinistrypollrevealedthatanoverwhelmingmajority

of69％ ofrespondentsrepliedthatschoolsshouldnotbetakingcareofmattersaffectingchil-

dren・slives（・HowtoCopewith・ClassroomChaos,・・2001）.Interestingly,itwasolderandmore

experiencedteacherswhoweremorelikelytorespondinsuchawayandyounger,andperhaps

moreidealistic,teachersmorelikelytorejectsuchthinking.

GettingAdministratorsMoreInvolved

Inmy2� yearsofteachingatpublicschoolsinJapan,theprincipal,ork�och�osensei,wasa

completemysterytome.Heseemedtobeawayfrom campusanawfullot,andwhenhewas

there,healwaysseemedtobesnuglytuckedawayinhisoffice,theonlyclimatecontrolledroom

oncampus.Myfirstk�och�osenseiwasnotaformerEnglishteacher,butspokequiteabitof

English（morethansomeoftheactualEnglishteachers）,soIwouldoccasionallystickmyhead

intosayhelloandtoenjoytheheatingorair-conditioningforafewmoments.Heneverseemed

verybusy.

WhenIaskedmyco-workersaboutthek�och�osensei・sresponsibilities,theygaveavery

standardnondescriptanswer,・Heisinchargeofrunningtheschool,・whichleftmeratherunsat-

isfied.Whenpressedformoreinformation,theycameupwiththeideathathemanagesthe

financialsideoftheschool.Theyalsocameupwiththeideathathe・representstheschool・as

afigurehead.Whenpressedfurther,theydidnotreallyseemtoknowmuchatallaboutwhatthe

k�och�osenseidoes,andseemedvisiblypuzzledaboutitthemselves.

Americanadministrators,bothprincipalsandvice-principals,takecareofthefinancialman-

agementoftheschoolandperform samethepublicrelationsdutiesastheirJapanesecounter-

parts.Inaddition,theyworkverycloselywithteachersandstudents,aswellasparents,solving

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problemsthattakeplaceduringlessonsoranywhereelseoncampus.Administratorsareoften

requiredtositandobserveteachers・lessonsandtogivethemfeedbackonhowtoimprove.The

bulkofworkthatAmericanprincipalsdoistohandletheunpleasanttaskofdealingwithdisrup-

tivestudents.

Thebenefitsofanactiveprincipalandvice-principaltoA-rankedschoolsandthepurpose

theycanserveatB-rankedandC-rankedschoolsareverydifferent,butjustasimportant.At

higherrankedschools,theadministratorscanspendmoretimeobservingclassesandevaluating

teacherswiththeintentofhelpingthem toimprovetheirlessons,aspartoftheircontinuing

professionaldevelopment.Althoughclassroomcollapseathighrankedschoolsishighlyunlikely,

theteachersatthoseschoolswillhavetoberotatedtodifferentschoolsafteracertaintime

period.ForTokyoprefecturalschools,therotationperiodiseveryeightyears.ForKanagawa,

itiseverytwelveyears.Helpingteacherstoimprovethemselveswhileteachingatahighranked

schoolmighthelpthemsurviveifthenextschooltheygetrotatedtoisalowrankedschool.Of

course,suchobservationscanalsohelptorevealseverelyincompetentteacherswhomightrun

intoproblemsatlowerrankedschools,including:classroomcollapse,violentconfrontationwith

students,inabilitytorelatetotroubledstudents,andeventhepossibilityofanervousbreakdown

duetostress.Suchteacherscouldbedismissed,retrainedorkeptawayfrom lowerranked

schoolstoavoidproblems.

Administratorsatlow rankingschoolswouldservethesamepurposeastheirAmerican

counterparts,helpingteacherstoprovideanacceptablelearningenvironmentbydealingwith

disruptivestudentswhomightserveasadistractiontootherlearners.IntheUS,schoolswith

ahighreputationtypicallyhaveonlyonevice-principal.Largercityschoolsinneighborhoods

withlotsofsocialproblemsusuallyhaveafew vice-principalstoassistteachers.Providing

teachersatB-ranked,andespeciallyatC-rankedschools,withsupportfromateamofprincipals

wouldsendamessagetothestudentsthattheteacherisnotalone,andifthingsgobeyondthe

classroomteacher・sabilitytocontrolthesituation,thereisahigherauthoritythatwillcometo

hisrescue.Myexperienceisthateventhethreat（awarning）ofsendingastudenttotheprin-

cipal・sofficeisenoughtocausemostdisruptivestudentstoaltertheirbehavior.Studentsdonot

wanttoberemovedfromclass.

DecreasingClassSizeand/orSchoolSize

Bothclasssizeandschoolsizehavebeenthesubjectofmuchdebateformanyyearsinthe

US.Thefinalconclusionwasthateventhoughitisalotmoreexpensivetohavesmallerclasses

andsmallerschools,thebenefitsareworthitandtaxpayersareusuallywillingtofootthebill.US

classsizesareregulatedbystatelaws,sothereisasmallamountofvariationfromstatetostate,

rangingfrom24to32.ArecentsurveyofUSparentsshowedthattheygotupsetifthenumber

ofstudentsinaclassexceeded25（Gordenker,2003）.

ClasssizeinJapanhasgonethroughsomereductionsoverthenlastsixtyyears.Priorto

1958,thenumberofstudentsstipulatedforeachclasswas50.Thelimitwasdroppedto45and

finallydownto40,whereitstandstoday.Thereisincreasingpressurebygovernmentofficials

118


tobringthenumberdownto30（Nakanishi,2005）.Someofficialshaveevenpushedtocutclass

sizesinhalf,downto20（Murakami,1999）.Cuttingclasssizes,especiallyatlowerrankedschools

andinallelementaryschoolswouldgreatlyrelievethepressureexperiencedbyclassroomteach-

ersattemptingtomanagealessoninwhatisalreadyadifficultenvironment.Dealingwith20

problemstudentsisdifficultenough.Dealingwith40isimpossible.

Onarelatednote,New YorkCitycanboastofanaccomplishmentthatgreatlyreduced

behavioralproblemsatpublicschoolsinlow-income/high-crimeareas.Theideawastocreate

microcampusesofnomorethan200students.Theprogramwasgreatlysuccessfulatreducing

alldisciplinaryproblemsacrosstheboard（Darling-Hammond,1997）.Ratherthanclosingschools

inJapanduetothepopulationdecline,woulditnotbeabetteruseofthealreadyavailablereal

estatetoformsmallerschools,especiallyinthecaseofC-rankedschools?Theconceptbehindthe

microcampusisthatitrestoresasenseofcommunitythatismissingfrom lifeinamega-

metropolissuchasNewYorkortheTokyoMetropolis.Studentscannotfadeintotheanonymity

ofthecrowdwhentheydosomethingwrongbecauseeverybodyknowswhotheyare.

EstablishingandEnforcingReasonableSchoolandClassroomRules

Thetopicofschoolandclassroom rulesisthesubjectofaresearchprojectIam currently

workingonandplantoexpoundonatlengthinafuturepublication,soIwillonlygobrieflyinto

conceptsbehindtheuseofclearandreasonablerules.

Allmylife,IalwaysthoughtJapantobeanoppressivelyauthoritariansociety,untilIcame

hereandrealizedhowlibertarianithasbecome.Partofthechangehascomefrommorerebel-

liousandindividualisticyouth,butmosthascomefrom increasinglypermissiveteachersand

parents.Teachersworryfartoomuchaboutbeinglikedbystudentstothepointthattheylose

theirvalueasperspectiverole-models.Anabundanceofhighprofilecasesofphysicalabuseby

teachers,includingatleasttwothatresultedinthedeathsofstudents（Schooland,1990）,has

madeteachershesitanttousecorporalpunishment,whichhasbeenillegalforsometime.This,

combinedwithcasesofviolenceagainstteachers,hascausedteacherstotakeapassiveposture

whendealingwithwhattheyperceivetobepotentiallydangerousstudents.Intoday・sworld,all

studentsarethoughttohavethelatentpossibilitytobedangerousandsuddenlysnapinafitof

kireru（atermthatliterallymeans,tosnap）（Fujita,2003）.

Onemightarguethattherearealreadycountlessschoolrulesinplaceandthatstudents

violatethemwithimpunityandthataddingmoreruleswillnothelp.MorerulesisnotwhatIam

advocating.Currently,theschoolrulesformostschoolsaresonumerousandsopickyastobe

consideredridiculoustothestudentbody.Myriadregulationsexistgoverningnotonlyhair-

styles,haircolor,make-up,andappropriatedress,butsometimestheserulesmeasurerequire-

mentsdowntothemillimeterand,inthepast,wereruthlesslyenforcedbyruler-wieldingfaculty

（Schooland,1990;Wray,1999）.Thisisacasewhereafewclearandreasonablerulesaremore

effectivethananenormousglutofnitpickyrulesgoverningthemostirrelevantpartsofastu-

dent・slife.Isitreallynecessaryfortheschooltobenotifiedifthechildisgoingtoleavetown

withparents?Isitreallysoimportantthatstudentsnotbeallowedtogoseemoviesintheaters?

119


Suchrulesaresoridiculousthattheycannotevenbereferredtoasoutdated.Suchrulesnever

madeanysense.Studentsaresavvyenoughtoseethroughthecharade.

Startinginthemid1990s,studentsstartedanopenrebellionagainstdresscodes,bydying

theirhair,wearingjewelryandalteringtheirschooluniforms.Evenstudentsatprestigious

A-rankedpublicschoolsbegantorebel.Thegirlsofthekogyarusubculturewentastepfurtherby

dyingtheirhairoutlandishcolorsofgrayororangishblond,tanningtheirskinuntiltheylooked

asiftheyweremadeofleather,andwearingbizarrebluemake-upontheireyesandlips.One

kogyarufashionthatbecamemainstream werer�uzusokkusu（loosesocks）thatresembleleg

warmers.Thisfadfashionhadallbutvanishedbythepublicationofthisarticle.Thisbringsus

tothequestion,・Doesitreallymatteriftheydyetheirhairorwearmake-uporjewelry?・Are

therenotmoreimportantthingsthatteachersshouldbetryingtoregulate?Theresultbecame

anoverabundanceofludicrouslyunenforceablerulesthatleftteachersandadministrators

laughablyshakingtheirheads,wavingtheirfingersandfutilelyscoldingrulebreakersina

MontyPythonesquemanner,・Stop!OrIshallsay,・Stop!・again!・（Gilliam&Jones,1975）.

Schoolorclassroomrulesmightnotbeeffectiveinpreventingunacceptablebehaviorinall

students,butthecurrentsystemofmanycomplicatedandpickyrulesdoesnotservejusticeto

anyoneinvolved.Theopeningsceneofthispaperdepictedthechaosofmyweeklytripstoa

B-rankedschoolinYokohama.IshouldtakethistimetopointoutthatB-rankedisnormal.These

werenotbadkids.Theywerejustundisciplined.Thefirstfewmonthsofmyexperiencewere

miserable.SomeJTEshaddevelopedaself-defensemechanismthatallowedthemtocompletely

shutoutallthemisbehaviorsandtoteachtheclassasifeverythingwasalrightandallthe

studentswereon-task.Otherswerelikeme,stressedandexhaustedattheendofeach30�50

minutesession,withthedurationoftheclassdependingonhowmuchstaminawehadthatday.

Afterayear,Iapproachedmyteam-teachers（JTEs）aboutusingclassroomrulesforproper

decorum,likeIusedwhenIwasahighschoolteacherintheUS.TheinitialreactionwasthatI

wastryingtodosomethingterribletothestudentsandthatIshouldworkhardertoformgood

relationshipswiththem.Notonetogiveupeasily,Ipursuedthetopicforafewweeks,onlyto

betoldthatwhatIproposedwasillegal,asaviolationofthestudents・humanrights.Acouple

ofphonecallslater,includingonetotheBoardofEducation,andIwasabletoinformthemthat

whatIproposedwascompletelylegalandhadtheblessingsoftheBoard.Theyeventuallysuc-

cumbedandclassroomrules,writteninJapaneseweredisseminatedtothenewstudentsinApril

of2000.Therewereonlyfoursimplerulesthatwereclearandreasonableandhadconsequences

thatwerereasonableandproportionaltotheoffense（SeeAppendicesA&B）

ThedaycameandtheruleswereexplainedbytheJTE.TheresultwasthatIhadalmostno

troublewiththestudentsfortheentireyear.Behavioralproblemsallbutceased.Thesamewas

truewithclassesforallfourJTEsIworkedwith,eventheoneswhoexperiencedseverehabitual

classroomcollapse.Theruleswereeffectiveforalleightcoursesatthatschool.

Afewstudentstestedtherules（violatedthemtoseewhatwouldhappen）,asstudentsare

apttodo,（Fay&Funk,1995;Marzano,2003;McKenzie,2003）.Whentheydid,theconsequences

wereenforcedina・matteroffactmanner・（McKenzie,2003）,withoutanyshoutingorvisible

120


anger（Carnegie,1936）.Thiswasnotapersonalconfrontation.Therulewasreasonable.They

knew itandtheconsequencesandchosetoacceptthoseconsequences.Despitefearsbythe

facultyofinsubordinationandanensuingviolentconfrontationmadesofamousbyotherJET

participants,（McConnel,2000）,theentireyearwentsmoothly,withoutanymajorincidents,and

withmostofthestudentseagerlyfollowingtheclearandreasonablerulesthathadbeengiven

tothem.

Theywerenotbadkids.Theyjustneededsomeleadership.Theycouldtellthattherules

werereasonable,sotheysawnoreasontodisobey.WhenIaskedmyteam-teachersiftheywere

usingtheschoolruleswhenIwasnotpresent,theysaidthattheydidnot,claimingthattheonly

reasonitworkedformewasthatIwasaforeignerandthattheycouldnotdosuchthingsbe-

causetheywereJapanese.IamguessingthatthechaoscontinuedintheirclasseswhenIwasnot

there.Again,theseweregoodkids,whoreallyjustneededtobeguided.

ConcludingThoughts

ClassroomcollapseisprobablynotanewphenomenonhereinJapan,butitdoesseemtobe

morecommonthanitwas.Thestrictdiscipline,enforcedwithbrutalcorporalpunishment,isa

thingofthepast.Bothparentsandteachersaremakingthesamemistaketryingtobegentleto

thechildrenandnon-confrontational,allowingthechildrenthefreedomtodowhattheywant.

Thereisafinelinebetweenexpressingone・sfreedomandjustbeingselfishandinconsiderateof

others.Changesindemographics,parentingandteachingphilosophy,aswellastheriseof

individualismhavechangedtheeducationallandscapeforever.

Institutionalchangesareneeded,includingmorecounselors,moreinvolvementfromadmin-

istrators,andsmallerclasses.Wecannotwaitforthegovernmenttomakethesechanges,forwe

havealreadylostenoughfineyoungmindstothefeebleprovincialstrategiesthatarecurrently

inuse.Itisuptoeducatorsandfamilymemberstosetthestandard.Willthisbealostgenera-

tionthatnotdoesnotonlyfallshortacademically,butfailstolearnindispensablesocialskills?

Wemustchoosethepathofleadingthem,andguidingthemintheirdecisions,bysettingaclear

standardforthem tofollow. Thisstandardshouldbetaughtbysettingclearandreasonable

limitsandconsistentlyandfairlyenforcingconsequencesforimproperbehavior.Childrenalso

mustlearnfrom ourexamples.Withoutteachersandfamilytakingontheroleofleadership,

childrenwillbeleftwithnobodyelsetoemulatebuteachother.

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123


AppendixA:EnglishVersionofClassroomRules（1998）

OralCommunicationBClassroomRules

1.ThisisanEnglishconversationclass.Ifstudentsarechattingduringthelesson,thelessonwill

notruneffectively.Duringthelesson,studentsmustlistencarefullyandnotspeakunless

answeringateacher・squestioninEnglishorotherwisetakingpartinclassroomactivities.

2.WhenyourclassmatesarespeakingEnglish,listen.Itmayhelpyoulaterifyoulistentowhat

theysay.Notlisteningwillmakeitmuchmoredifficultifyouareaskedaquestion.

3.Sleepinginclassisnotpermitted.Ifyouaresleeping,wewillwakeyouup.

4.Thefollowingitemsmustbeputawayimmediatelywhentheteachersenterclass:

・MobilePhones

・ComicBooks,Magazines,orOtherReadingMaterialsnotrelatedtoclass

・PrintClubPicturesorOtherPictures

・PlayingCardsorOtherGames

・GameBoysorOtherVideoGames

・Make-upandMake-UpMirrors

・RadiosorOtherMusicDevices（Walkman,MDPlayer,CDPlayer,etc.）

・HomeworkfromOtherClasses

・Letters

HavingtheseItemsoutduringclasswillresultinaWARNING.

・Iwillsay,YouhaveaWARNING!・

Iftheitemisnotputawayfortherestoftheclass,theitemwillbeimmediatelyconfiscateduntil

afterschool.Confiscateditemsmustbereclaimedattheendoftheschooldayinthestaffroom.

TheoffendingstudentmustapologizeinEnglish:

・I・msorry.MayIhavemy back?・

Mobilephoneswillbeturnedoffwhiletheyareconfiscated.

124


AppendixB:JapaneseVersionofClassroomRules（1998）

オーラルコミュニケーションBクラスでの規則

1.このクラスは，英会話の授業です。もし授業中に生徒がおしゃべりをしていたら，授業は効果的に

は進みません。授業中はよく聞いて，英語で発言する時以外はおしゃべりをしてはいけません。

2.クラスメートが英語で発言しているときは，静かに聞きましょう。他の人が答えているのをよく聞

いていると，後で自分が指されたときに参考になります。

3.授業中の居眠りは絶対に禁止です。授業中寝ている人は，必ず起こします。

4.先生が教室に入ってきたら，下記の私物はすぐにしまいましょう。

・携帯電話

・漫画，雑誌，その他の授業に関係のない読み物

・プリクラやスナップ写真

・トランプやその他のカードゲーム

・ゲームボーイなど

・化粧道具や化粧鏡

・ラジオ，ウォ－クマン，MDプレーヤー，など

・他のクラスの宿題

・手紙

これらの物を授業中に持っていた場合は，・警告・をうけます。

・Youhaveawarning!・といいます。

警告を受けた後で，一度でもそれを出しているのをみかけたら，即刻没収し，放課後まで返しません。

没収されたものは，放課後教員室で返却するので，必ず取りにこなければなりません。その時，没収さ

れた生徒は，英語で謝罪し，英語で没収されたものを返してもらうように頼まなければなりません。

・I・msorry.MayIhavemy back,please?・

なお，没収した携帯電話はすべて，電源を切っておきます。

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examining the escalation of classroom collapse in japanese

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