Schools battle bad behavior of first-graders.
Mood:  sad
Here are some excerpts from an article in the English version of the Daily Yomiuri newspaper this week: "Primary school teachers frequently find it hard to manage first-grade classes as children ... walk around classrooms and talk during class time.....A major factor contributing to the disintegration of acceptable behavior in the classroom is the declining ability of the family and the community to raise children properly." Oh, my gosh, does this sound familiar, U.S. teachers? "The term soichi puroburemu (first-grade students' problems) was coined to refer to the situation as most of the students who cause trouble are those who cannot adapt to their new surroundings.....An increasing number of primary schools nationwide are implementing various measures to deal with the behavioral problems of students in the lower grades. One such method is limiting the number of students in classes to ensure a manageable group of children. The method can be approved in exceptional cases under the compulsory education standard law, but it states that a class should have 40 children." Oh, my gosh. "Another method is a cooperative exchange between kindergarten and primary schools of teachers to facilitate a child's transition from one school to another." It seems sad to me to see that Japan is beginning to experience a problem that has been growing larger and larger in the states. I can't help but think that it may have something to do with TV, music, computers, and advertisements, which are carbon copies of what our kids and WE in the states are being bombarded with. Turner broadcasting and all the corporations including Pepsi, McDonald's, MTV and...are here preaching their form of consumer-ism. The kids are getting used to shorter and shorter sound bites. They are the short-attention span kids who have been raised on fast food and TV. What are we doing to our kids? Ok, i know it's only my opinion. I'll stop preaching now and go have some tea and read a good book.