In a sick attempt to get one of these things posted a month, please enjoy some random ramblings about various topics.
Topic 1: The election. For sake of the world, John McCain must never become President of the United States. For the sake of the world, John McCain must never become president of his local golf club. For the sake of the world, John McCain must never become president of his high school alumni association (although that particular one room school house has probably burned down by now).
This man is the worst candidate that I have ever seen. The last several months have been nothing but a continuous deluge of him flip-flopping, exaggerating, or saying things that just aren’t true. Not only does he not know who we are supposed to be fighting in Iraq, defense being his much ballyhooed strong point. He doesn’t even know what he voted for or what he said from one day to the next.
He doesn’t seem to realize that his votes in the Senate are a matter of public record, nor does he seem to know that those little black boxes with the blinking red lights record your words and image and those recordings can be replayed at anytime in the future.
There are four possible explanations for this, none of which are pleasant to think about:
1. John McCain is a habitual liar.
2. John McCain honestly can’t remember what he said or did in the past (whether this is due to his age, chronic injuries, or another factor is immaterial).
3. John McCain is so confident in his smear tactics and media minions that he doesn’t feel he needs to be consistent, coherent, or factual.
4. John McCain is an idiot.
And one possibility that is actually quite pleasant to think about:
5. John McCain is deliberately trying to lose the election because then the GOP can go back to being the poor beaten underdogs that they love to portray themselves as.
Topic 1.5: Cookie Gate round 2. I laughed out loud for about five minutes straight when I found out that John McCain’s wife has AGAIN plagiarized. A few months ago, Mrs. Cindy McCain was caught lifting recipes from the Food Network (Rachel Ray to be exact) and submitting them as “McCain Family Recipes.” Well, here we go again (cue: Benny Hill music). This time she has stolen her entry to the Family Circle Magazine First Lady Bakeoff contest from . . . wait for it . . . the Hershey website!
There are several comments worth making here. First: HERSHEY? You steal from Hershey? Are you kidding me? There are millions of cookbooks out there to swipe from (trust me) and you pick the Hershey website? The least you could have done was swipe from a good chocolate maker. Hershey chocolate tastes like wax.
Secondly, what does this say about the McCain’s? Between the husband and wife we now have a clear pattern of lying and theft in an attempt to get what they want. And they aren’t even very good at it. Beyond that, we see a pattern of trying what didn’t work last time and assuming everyone is too dumb to notice. Considering that Sen. McCain is proposing a continuation of the failed Bush administration, this is not a good idea.
Third, what does this say about America? The article that I read this story from mentioned that the winning recipe in the Family Circle bake off has correctly foreshadowed the winner of the general election the last four straight cycles. Why is it so important that the first lady be able to bake cookies? Hasn’t the whole “equality between the sexes” concept come farther that that? The first family is supposed to be a representative for the nation (part of that whole head of state thing) and the assumption is that the wife of this family has to be able to whip up a batch of great cookies. Am I the only one offended by this? And I’m a guy!
Topic 2: International Travel. I’m planning on returning to the United States this summer to visit my family and I am rather angry about something that came up when I booked my tickets. It turns out that the United States charges a $60 entrance fee to the country. That applies to both visitors and to returning nationals. I am an American Citizen! I should be able to enter my own damn country whenever I please! That’s why I bought a freaking passport in the first place. I know the US is broke, but there have to be better ways of making money.
Topic 3: Web comics. I just noticed that I mentioned these in my initial posting and haven’t said anything about them since. Web comics are comic strips drawn by amateur artists and posted to the internet. Most of these are rubbish, but there are a few that stand out. I tell you my top three now and expand upon that, er, someday.
1. El Goonish Shive. A typical high school drama including aliens, transformation guns, crystal generated clones, and a young mad scientist who falls in love with a squirrel. www.egscomics.com
2. Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire. A sword and sorcery fantasy story that centers on the life of Dominic Deegan, a seer who attracts trouble like a magnet and has a painful sense of humor. The man who draws this is one of the very few who has been able to turn his web comic into a full time job and updates 7 days a week. www.dominic-deegan.com
3. Order of the Stick: A D&D parody that’s drawn in deliberate stick figure style. If you’ve ever enjoyed a medieval quest fantasy from Tolken on down, you’ll like this. You don’t even have to understand the D&D references to get about 85% of the jokes.
www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html
Topic 4: Ice cream. Who doesn’t like ice cream? Hmmmmmm, ice cream.
Topic 5: Trigger phrase—drakengaurd seltzer Jefferson.
Topic 6: What’s good on TV? Not much, but there are some programs on American TV that I recommend. First is Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. This man is the heir apparent to Edward R. Murrow and Tim Russert. Second is American Gladiators. This show is a successful revival of the favorite programs from my youth. Come on, small people being smashed by larger than life characters for our personal amusement. Third, Doctor Who. The newest series sould be on American TV on either BBC America or Sci-Fi by now. It’s fantastic and the dynamic between the Doctor and the new Companion is truly unique. Lastly, I recommend the . . . er . . . OK, that’s all the good stuff on the air right now. But hey, Heroes is going to be coming back soon, right?
And now writing this is becoming tiresome. You may all run along now and return to your little lives. Begone!
(I’m practicing for when I become an Evil Overlord)
RyuSensei
Yeah, I know I need sleep.
Hit Count (not the number of people I have been paid to kill)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
American schools, why do I want to work there exactly?
OK, for the second time in as many days, I've found a story that shows makes me think "How exactly am I not good enough to teach in this country?" The full link to the AP story is below.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FLAG_INCIDENT?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
To sum it up, a Hispanic student in an Idaho high school brought a Mexican flag to school to celebrate cinco de mayo. His gym teacher (already a bad sign) confiscated the flag and placed it in the garbage can!!! This is the conversation as the student recounts it:
Teacher: Give me the flag.
Student: What's the problem?
T: The problem is that we're in the United States, not in Mexico.
Teacher tosses flag in trash. Tells student he can get it back at the end of the day.
After school, the student returned to collect his flag as promised.
S: Where's my flag?
T: What, the US flag?
S: No, the one for Mexico.
Student retrieves his flag from the garbage.
Please excuse me while I vomit.
I admit to some bias here. First, as the son of an immigrant and in many ways an immigrant myself, I sympathize with the student. Being American doesn't erase what you or your ancestors were before and you should be free to express pride in your heritage. Also, I am of the opinion that there are two types of teachers in this world, teachers and P.E. teachers. I've had to take teacher prep courses with future coaches and they are a completely different animal.
My favorite part of this disgrace is the justification from the coach. He claims he merely placed the flag in the trash because he had nowhere else to store it. I've heard some interesting ways to get the admin to give you a larger desk or office, but this one takes the cookie. The coach then claimed that he took the flag to protect the student from "white kids" who would harass and/or attack the student.
So, his defense of his racism is: We have a lot of racists in this school, they might do something worse. Oooookkkkkkkaaaaaaayyyy. Does none of this indicate that you have a larger underlining problem you ought to be addressing?
Then again, it did happen in Idaho. Many times when I've been to Idaho, I've noticed not only the distinct lack of diversity, I've noticed a lot of pride in that fact.
Sad.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FLAG_INCIDENT?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
To sum it up, a Hispanic student in an Idaho high school brought a Mexican flag to school to celebrate cinco de mayo. His gym teacher (already a bad sign) confiscated the flag and placed it in the garbage can!!! This is the conversation as the student recounts it:
Teacher: Give me the flag.
Student: What's the problem?
T: The problem is that we're in the United States, not in Mexico.
Teacher tosses flag in trash. Tells student he can get it back at the end of the day.
After school, the student returned to collect his flag as promised.
S: Where's my flag?
T: What, the US flag?
S: No, the one for Mexico.
Student retrieves his flag from the garbage.
Please excuse me while I vomit.
I admit to some bias here. First, as the son of an immigrant and in many ways an immigrant myself, I sympathize with the student. Being American doesn't erase what you or your ancestors were before and you should be free to express pride in your heritage. Also, I am of the opinion that there are two types of teachers in this world, teachers and P.E. teachers. I've had to take teacher prep courses with future coaches and they are a completely different animal.
My favorite part of this disgrace is the justification from the coach. He claims he merely placed the flag in the trash because he had nowhere else to store it. I've heard some interesting ways to get the admin to give you a larger desk or office, but this one takes the cookie. The coach then claimed that he took the flag to protect the student from "white kids" who would harass and/or attack the student.
So, his defense of his racism is: We have a lot of racists in this school, they might do something worse. Oooookkkkkkkaaaaaaayyyy. Does none of this indicate that you have a larger underlining problem you ought to be addressing?
Then again, it did happen in Idaho. Many times when I've been to Idaho, I've noticed not only the distinct lack of diversity, I've noticed a lot of pride in that fact.
Sad.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Why some people shouldn't vote
The following news article was copied from an ABC local affiliate in Florida:
PASCO COUNTY, FL -- A Florida substitute teacher was let go after doing a magic trick in front of his students. Jim Piculas made a toothpick disappear and reappear in front of a classroom at Rushe Middle School in Land O' Lakes. School district officials say there were several other performance issues with Piculas, but none of them compared to his "wizardry." Piculas says he got a call in the middle of the day from the head supervisor of substitute teachers, where he was told he couldn't take any more assignments since he had been accused of wizardry. Officials say Piculas had other issues, like not following lesson plans, which led to his termination. Piculas is concerned the incident may prevent him from getting jobs in the future.
This story made my brain hurt. If it doesn't wind up on Countdown in the next 72 hours, there is something seriously wrong.
PASCO COUNTY, FL -- A Florida substitute teacher was let go after doing a magic trick in front of his students. Jim Piculas made a toothpick disappear and reappear in front of a classroom at Rushe Middle School in Land O' Lakes. School district officials say there were several other performance issues with Piculas, but none of them compared to his "wizardry." Piculas says he got a call in the middle of the day from the head supervisor of substitute teachers, where he was told he couldn't take any more assignments since he had been accused of wizardry. Officials say Piculas had other issues, like not following lesson plans, which led to his termination. Piculas is concerned the incident may prevent him from getting jobs in the future.
This story made my brain hurt. If it doesn't wind up on Countdown in the next 72 hours, there is something seriously wrong.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Lessons to be learned: part the second
Today, I give you the second part of my set of lists on what the American and Japanese school systems can learn from each other. This time, it’s the Americans’ turn to show off as I present the top three things that the Japanese can learn from us. Just a warning, a lot of this is going to read as me pointing out the systems faults rather than suggesting ways to improve it. This is because I hold the American education system in rather low esteem. Therefore, I’m holding the ideals of the American system up rather than the practices.
1. Question Everything! I have been teaching here for over a year and I have never had a student ask a question in class. Not because they didn’t have questions, but because it is not considered appropriate to ask questions in class. This fits into the Japanese philosophy of the group being more important than the individual. A student should not inconvenience the rest of the group or the teacher by asking questions and thus disrupting class.
This clashes with the American system significantly. I was always taught that it is impossible to learn if you do not ask questions. Besides, if one kid has the guts to ask for clarification on a problem, it is almost certain that 7 to 10 other children in that classroom will have the same problem. Also, students that question stand as an eternal challenge to the teacher, and not in a disrespectful way, because the teacher must truly know their subject so they can answer any question a student might as. This improves the quality of the learning and the teaching at the same time.
What I believe the Japanese system should do is to encourage the students to ask more questions in class. This one change does not put the group philosophy at risk because there are a thousand other things that reinforce it such as aiming for a 30 student class when the school has the room and manpower to have 25 or less. The best summary of the Japanese system I’ve ever heard is, “School is where we first learn that we are a fraction.” This generally good philosophy isn’t going away anytime soon.
2. Make Them Work For It: Remember spelling tests? Those horrible wastes of time from elementary school? Now imagine an entire curriculum based around them. That is a Japanese middle school. It is a regular practice to hand out a worksheet to students a week before an exam. The exam will then consist of the same material virtually word for word. Even better, the students are given class time to do the worksheet and (once that time has expired) they are given the ANSWER SHEET! The idea is that the student will do the worksheet and then self correct. Repeat until the child can do it in their sleep. . .
. . . and now for reality. The students don’t bother trying to do the worksheet on their own because they know the teacher will do it for them by giving them the answers. As a result, they only fill in the form when they know it’s going to be graded and spent the extra time they’ve “earned” doodling, texting on their cell phones, or sleeping (more on that later). The end result is a disturbingly large number of students fail tests to which they have literally been handed the answers.
Possible solution? Again, the answer is a mixture of the two systems. I like the idea of the students having the right answers in front of them when they study because you know they aren’t memorizing the wrong information. However, the students also need the chance to apply what they have learned. In most cases, this is done by puzzling out problems. If the students are just copying the answers to the worksheet, they are not engaged and won’t store that information in their long term memories. Besides, if more is done to keep the students engaged (and please note the difference between “keep them engaged” and “school must be fun”) their performance should improve.
3. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the thing that took me the longest to get used to, students sleeping in class and getting away with it. In America, falling asleep in class is seen as a serious sign of disrespect to the teacher and is not tolerated. Here, I see it every day and while it isn’t encouraged, it is tolerated far too much. Physical presence in the room is not the same thing as learning. If the students are napping, they are getting exactly zilch out of the class. (I would also like to take this moment to congratulate myself on using the word “zilch” in conversation)
This isn’t the fault of the students or the teachers. In fact, it is the same problem that has been plaguing the US system as of late. Students are overworked and under rested. Students arrive at school before 8am. Since almost all students walk or bike to school, they have to be awake much earlier. Many students don’t get out of school until 6 or 7pm. Many then go to Juku (cram school) for another couple of hours and don7t get home before 10pm. Then they start their homework. According to my student’s responses during a “What time did you _______ last night?” English lesson, going to bed after 1am is the norm. That means they are working on 5 hours sleep at the most.
Again, this fits the Japanese workaholic philosophy. In a country where giving 80 hours a week to your company is standard and taking a vacation day is virtually a crime, it makes sense that the school system would prepare the students for that kind of lifestyle. That doesn’t mean it’s healthy. I see the lifelessness in these kids’ eyes and it scares me. I don’t know what the best way to combat this is, but the best I can think of is the cut out the Juku.
It is becoming a mainstream school of thought that all the actual academic learning happens at Juku and the real school is all about social skills, discipline, and club activities. If the system can find a way to eliminate the Juku and put more emphasis on the main schooling, then that would cut several hours a week out of the students’ schedules and give them more time to rest. It. Will. Never. Happen. The Juku industry makes way too much money and the idea that “if my kid doesn’t go to Juku then they will be at a disadvantage!” will never get out of the parents heads. There are similar attitudes in the states and it always comes down to the wrong perspective. The parents worry about what they want (MY child) rather than what is best for the child (HIS/HER education and future). Not to say that these things are mutually exclusive, but it is better to focus on the later than the former.
I could go on for pages about the Juku system, and I might in another post. In summation, the there biggest things the Japanese can learn from the ideal American school system are:
1. Let them ask questions.
2. Don’t just give them the answers.
3. Wake the kids up.
Is I did last time; here is the list of changes that didn’t make the cut because they had absolutely no chance of success: sex ed, effort or improvement based grades in PE, and train the kids to be creative. As you can see, it’s a much shorter list that the one I had last time. The Japanese system has fewer flaws in my mind, but those it does have are huge and serious. I’m also weary of writing this in the first place because of the risk that I will try to impose my cultural values on another country. I’ve been trained and raised better than that, but the chance to do it is still there.
It’s a thin line to walk . . . the path of the wanderer.
(That was an awesome line)
1. Question Everything! I have been teaching here for over a year and I have never had a student ask a question in class. Not because they didn’t have questions, but because it is not considered appropriate to ask questions in class. This fits into the Japanese philosophy of the group being more important than the individual. A student should not inconvenience the rest of the group or the teacher by asking questions and thus disrupting class.
This clashes with the American system significantly. I was always taught that it is impossible to learn if you do not ask questions. Besides, if one kid has the guts to ask for clarification on a problem, it is almost certain that 7 to 10 other children in that classroom will have the same problem. Also, students that question stand as an eternal challenge to the teacher, and not in a disrespectful way, because the teacher must truly know their subject so they can answer any question a student might as. This improves the quality of the learning and the teaching at the same time.
What I believe the Japanese system should do is to encourage the students to ask more questions in class. This one change does not put the group philosophy at risk because there are a thousand other things that reinforce it such as aiming for a 30 student class when the school has the room and manpower to have 25 or less. The best summary of the Japanese system I’ve ever heard is, “School is where we first learn that we are a fraction.” This generally good philosophy isn’t going away anytime soon.
2. Make Them Work For It: Remember spelling tests? Those horrible wastes of time from elementary school? Now imagine an entire curriculum based around them. That is a Japanese middle school. It is a regular practice to hand out a worksheet to students a week before an exam. The exam will then consist of the same material virtually word for word. Even better, the students are given class time to do the worksheet and (once that time has expired) they are given the ANSWER SHEET! The idea is that the student will do the worksheet and then self correct. Repeat until the child can do it in their sleep. . .
. . . and now for reality. The students don’t bother trying to do the worksheet on their own because they know the teacher will do it for them by giving them the answers. As a result, they only fill in the form when they know it’s going to be graded and spent the extra time they’ve “earned” doodling, texting on their cell phones, or sleeping (more on that later). The end result is a disturbingly large number of students fail tests to which they have literally been handed the answers.
Possible solution? Again, the answer is a mixture of the two systems. I like the idea of the students having the right answers in front of them when they study because you know they aren’t memorizing the wrong information. However, the students also need the chance to apply what they have learned. In most cases, this is done by puzzling out problems. If the students are just copying the answers to the worksheet, they are not engaged and won’t store that information in their long term memories. Besides, if more is done to keep the students engaged (and please note the difference between “keep them engaged” and “school must be fun”) their performance should improve.
3. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the thing that took me the longest to get used to, students sleeping in class and getting away with it. In America, falling asleep in class is seen as a serious sign of disrespect to the teacher and is not tolerated. Here, I see it every day and while it isn’t encouraged, it is tolerated far too much. Physical presence in the room is not the same thing as learning. If the students are napping, they are getting exactly zilch out of the class. (I would also like to take this moment to congratulate myself on using the word “zilch” in conversation)
This isn’t the fault of the students or the teachers. In fact, it is the same problem that has been plaguing the US system as of late. Students are overworked and under rested. Students arrive at school before 8am. Since almost all students walk or bike to school, they have to be awake much earlier. Many students don’t get out of school until 6 or 7pm. Many then go to Juku (cram school) for another couple of hours and don7t get home before 10pm. Then they start their homework. According to my student’s responses during a “What time did you _______ last night?” English lesson, going to bed after 1am is the norm. That means they are working on 5 hours sleep at the most.
Again, this fits the Japanese workaholic philosophy. In a country where giving 80 hours a week to your company is standard and taking a vacation day is virtually a crime, it makes sense that the school system would prepare the students for that kind of lifestyle. That doesn’t mean it’s healthy. I see the lifelessness in these kids’ eyes and it scares me. I don’t know what the best way to combat this is, but the best I can think of is the cut out the Juku.
It is becoming a mainstream school of thought that all the actual academic learning happens at Juku and the real school is all about social skills, discipline, and club activities. If the system can find a way to eliminate the Juku and put more emphasis on the main schooling, then that would cut several hours a week out of the students’ schedules and give them more time to rest. It. Will. Never. Happen. The Juku industry makes way too much money and the idea that “if my kid doesn’t go to Juku then they will be at a disadvantage!” will never get out of the parents heads. There are similar attitudes in the states and it always comes down to the wrong perspective. The parents worry about what they want (MY child) rather than what is best for the child (HIS/HER education and future). Not to say that these things are mutually exclusive, but it is better to focus on the later than the former.
I could go on for pages about the Juku system, and I might in another post. In summation, the there biggest things the Japanese can learn from the ideal American school system are:
1. Let them ask questions.
2. Don’t just give them the answers.
3. Wake the kids up.
Is I did last time; here is the list of changes that didn’t make the cut because they had absolutely no chance of success: sex ed, effort or improvement based grades in PE, and train the kids to be creative. As you can see, it’s a much shorter list that the one I had last time. The Japanese system has fewer flaws in my mind, but those it does have are huge and serious. I’m also weary of writing this in the first place because of the risk that I will try to impose my cultural values on another country. I’ve been trained and raised better than that, but the chance to do it is still there.
It’s a thin line to walk . . . the path of the wanderer.
(That was an awesome line)
Monday, April 21, 2008
Lessons to be learned
I realize that this blog was supposed to be about my experiences in Japan and most of what I’ve written about has been political. It’s time to get this thing on track. The next two posts will be a partial list of things that I thing the American and Japanese systems can learn from each other. Today, what the Americans can learn from the Japanese.
1. Seisou: Pronounced say so, this is a set period of the day, (usually after lunch or the last thing of the day) where the students clean the school. The students are split into groups and assigned an area of the school to clean, supervised by a teacher. The students are armed with dust mops (essentially over sized swiffers), brooms, dustpans, and damp hand towels. Other groups also clean the bathrooms and the first floor windows. Due to the danger involved, adult janitors clean the windows on the second floor and higher. The duty roster is rotated weekly so that students get a verity of experiences . . . and only have to clean the toilets once every few months. Seisou typically lasts about 10-20 minutes.
I believe American schools should implement a similar program immediately. The start up costs might worry some districts because the schools would have to buy the cleaning supplies. But in the long term this will actually save the school money because A) they might be able to cut a janitor and B) the school will be less likely to have to clean up after major messes once the students are conditioned to think “If I make a mess, I have to clean it up.” Or “If I make a mess, my classmates have to clean it up and then they will be pissed at me over it.” The schools will also have to rework their schedules to allow 10 to 20 minutes a day for this, but that shouldn’t be too hard.
I can hear the American parents complaining already. “That’s the janitor’s job!” “It’s not fun.” “You are NOT teaching my child to be a janitor!!” No, we’re teaching your child to clean up after themselves, work within a group, and to respect public property by not making a mess in the first place. Got a problem with that?
Of course, the biggest obstacle would be the students, who would flat out refuse to do this. Since there is no real system of punishment in American schools (another issue entirely) the teachers have no way to force the students to do anything.
2. School Lunch: American school lunches are a disgrace! Burgers, fries, coke, pizza, and “food” that is so full of chemicals that you can’t even tell what it’s supposed to be. (What part of the chicken is a “nugget” anyway?) No wonder we are known around the world for our legendary waistlines. The Japanese have this crazy concept that since children have this one meal a day that the school provides, it should be as healthy as humanly possible.
The typical Japanese school lunch consists of a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup or stew, a salad, a protein item, and a box of milk. About 65% of the time the rice is plain but will occasionally be served with other foods or flavorings mixed in. The soup is usually a vegetable soup or a mix of vegetables and meat. The salad is usually a cold salad with little or no dressing. The protein is usually grilled, baked, or fried fish but will occasionally be a meat item instead. Roughly once a week, a desert is served. Every so often they mix up the menu and will have ramen day, bread & cream soup day, sushi day, etc. The average calorie count is 725kcal at the middle school level and 675kcal at elementary school.
These lunches are prepared at the district’s Lunch Center, a HUGE professional kitchen with a staff of 15 to 20 depending on the size of the district. From there, the fresh food is trucked to the schools daily. A great deal of time, money, and research is put into making the school lunch as nutritional as possible.
School lunch is compulsory and is free to elementary school students while the middle school and older must pay $30 a month. Many schools have alternate programs to deal with families who can’t pay.
Again, this is something we need to start doing and something the parents and schools will never stand for. The main reason: Yes, it’s expensive. However, it actually costs more to the students under today’s system. When I was in high school, the hot lunch cost between $2 and $2.50 a day. With a $30 fee for a month, that’s a dollar a day at most. The thing I see most parents complaining about is making school lunch mandatory. “You’re stealing our children’s freedom of choice!” No, we are trying to teach them healthy eating habits and save you time and money in the process. Got a problem with that?
3. Break Homework: Yeah, this is never going to happen. Japanese students have a packet of home work that they have to do over all of the major school breaks. Typically, it’s a packet of worksheets that review material from the previous semester and prepares them for the next. Since it is all but assumed that students will put this off until the last minute, this gives them a chance to refresh their memories right before they are dropped back into a full school schedule. Considering that American school take the “treatment is better that prevention” method and spend the first month or two of every school year re teaching what came the year before, this is probably the best idea of the bunch.
Other ideas that didn’t make this list because I know they would never fly in an American public school: School uniforms, 220 day school year, physical discipline, and home visits by teachers.
Stay tuned for the opposite side of the scale, things that the Americans can learn from the Japanese.
1. Seisou: Pronounced say so, this is a set period of the day, (usually after lunch or the last thing of the day) where the students clean the school. The students are split into groups and assigned an area of the school to clean, supervised by a teacher. The students are armed with dust mops (essentially over sized swiffers), brooms, dustpans, and damp hand towels. Other groups also clean the bathrooms and the first floor windows. Due to the danger involved, adult janitors clean the windows on the second floor and higher. The duty roster is rotated weekly so that students get a verity of experiences . . . and only have to clean the toilets once every few months. Seisou typically lasts about 10-20 minutes.
I believe American schools should implement a similar program immediately. The start up costs might worry some districts because the schools would have to buy the cleaning supplies. But in the long term this will actually save the school money because A) they might be able to cut a janitor and B) the school will be less likely to have to clean up after major messes once the students are conditioned to think “If I make a mess, I have to clean it up.” Or “If I make a mess, my classmates have to clean it up and then they will be pissed at me over it.” The schools will also have to rework their schedules to allow 10 to 20 minutes a day for this, but that shouldn’t be too hard.
I can hear the American parents complaining already. “That’s the janitor’s job!” “It’s not fun.” “You are NOT teaching my child to be a janitor!!” No, we’re teaching your child to clean up after themselves, work within a group, and to respect public property by not making a mess in the first place. Got a problem with that?
Of course, the biggest obstacle would be the students, who would flat out refuse to do this. Since there is no real system of punishment in American schools (another issue entirely) the teachers have no way to force the students to do anything.
2. School Lunch: American school lunches are a disgrace! Burgers, fries, coke, pizza, and “food” that is so full of chemicals that you can’t even tell what it’s supposed to be. (What part of the chicken is a “nugget” anyway?) No wonder we are known around the world for our legendary waistlines. The Japanese have this crazy concept that since children have this one meal a day that the school provides, it should be as healthy as humanly possible.
The typical Japanese school lunch consists of a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup or stew, a salad, a protein item, and a box of milk. About 65% of the time the rice is plain but will occasionally be served with other foods or flavorings mixed in. The soup is usually a vegetable soup or a mix of vegetables and meat. The salad is usually a cold salad with little or no dressing. The protein is usually grilled, baked, or fried fish but will occasionally be a meat item instead. Roughly once a week, a desert is served. Every so often they mix up the menu and will have ramen day, bread & cream soup day, sushi day, etc. The average calorie count is 725kcal at the middle school level and 675kcal at elementary school.
These lunches are prepared at the district’s Lunch Center, a HUGE professional kitchen with a staff of 15 to 20 depending on the size of the district. From there, the fresh food is trucked to the schools daily. A great deal of time, money, and research is put into making the school lunch as nutritional as possible.
School lunch is compulsory and is free to elementary school students while the middle school and older must pay $30 a month. Many schools have alternate programs to deal with families who can’t pay.
Again, this is something we need to start doing and something the parents and schools will never stand for. The main reason: Yes, it’s expensive. However, it actually costs more to the students under today’s system. When I was in high school, the hot lunch cost between $2 and $2.50 a day. With a $30 fee for a month, that’s a dollar a day at most. The thing I see most parents complaining about is making school lunch mandatory. “You’re stealing our children’s freedom of choice!” No, we are trying to teach them healthy eating habits and save you time and money in the process. Got a problem with that?
3. Break Homework: Yeah, this is never going to happen. Japanese students have a packet of home work that they have to do over all of the major school breaks. Typically, it’s a packet of worksheets that review material from the previous semester and prepares them for the next. Since it is all but assumed that students will put this off until the last minute, this gives them a chance to refresh their memories right before they are dropped back into a full school schedule. Considering that American school take the “treatment is better that prevention” method and spend the first month or two of every school year re teaching what came the year before, this is probably the best idea of the bunch.
Other ideas that didn’t make this list because I know they would never fly in an American public school: School uniforms, 220 day school year, physical discipline, and home visits by teachers.
Stay tuned for the opposite side of the scale, things that the Americans can learn from the Japanese.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Soiling my childhood.
Before I begin, I should remind the reader that I am a proud Military Brat. I grew up on international Air Force bases. I love the American military because I understand it at a level that people who have never been associated with the armed forces, whether in uniform or not, can't understand. That said, I can no longer remain silent.
Fredrick Douglass once said, "A patriot is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse it's sins." It is in that definition of patriotism that I read with a heavy heart yet another example of crimes committed by American servicemen against Japanese citizens. These are not minor crimes either, I'm talking about theft, rape, gang rape, and murder. Not a month goes by that another of these stories doesn't hit the news cycle. It's always the same. An enlisted man gets drunk and then does something so mind buggeringly stupid that it damages a 60 year old political and military alliance. It's been going on for years but the most recent dust up started about 11 months ago when a marine allegedly raped a 14 year old girl. Although the case was later dropped, reportedly because the parents didn't want to put their daughter through the ordeal of a trial, accusation is the same as conviction in the court of public opinion (and too frequently in the Japanese legal system) and so the damage was done. Today's story was about a naval petty officer who allegedly stabbed a 61-year old Japanese taxi driver to death.
I understand that this has received little or no coverage in the US news media. Considering the current political climate, that is understandable if not excusable. I can provide links to sources for these stories if it is requested in the comment section.
That's it for the reporting, now for the commentary:
What the hell happened to the military I grew up in? More specifically, what the hell happened to the discipline and training that made us the envy of the world? The people who have allegedly committed these crimes, guilty or not, have brought shame and dishonor down upon a worldwide organization. When you put on that uniform, you become a part of something bigger than yourself and your successes and failures, professional or personal, reflect on that group.
I preface this next statement with the following: I have never gone through basic training for any branch, nor do I intend to and it has been over a decade since I was a part of military life. Last I checked, the group connection that I spoke of in the previous paragraph was the first thing taught to the recruits. That's also why Conduct Unbecoming a (insert name of branch here) has been an offense meriting discharge since time immemorial. Regardless of whether or not the military justice system throws the book to them, the men involved in these crimes clearly didn't get the message and the armed forces will be better without them.
I believe that this is a symptom of a larger problem. Specifically, the current state of recruitment practices. Understandably enough, war time is when recruitment rates in an all volunteer army falls like a stone. Considering that our forces are being stretched way too thin at the moment, we need all the men and women we can get. Therefore, all branches have been forced to drastically drop recruitment requirements in order to meet quotas. This includes a lower passing bar on intelligence and psychological testing and a willingness to permit those with criminal backgrounds to train with firearms. If this sounds like anything but a bad idea then you need reading lessons.
When you take dumb, psychologically unsound, former criminals, put them in uniform, arm them, and force them to face the fact that death is a real possibility for the immediate future, you are asking for trouble. Add to that the fact that many of the younger enlisted men and officers see military service as the world's greatest frat house (an image the USMC seems to actively encourage) and you have a recipe for disaster. The people who fight for our country, who we trust billions of dollars of equipment to, need to be the best and brightest and not the lowest common denominator.
After all this, I still hate to say anything against the military. But when a culture that you
love (and that's what the military is, a culture all its own) is under siege, then you have to say something. I started this post with a quote, so I'll end with one.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." --Mark Twain
Fredrick Douglass once said, "A patriot is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse it's sins." It is in that definition of patriotism that I read with a heavy heart yet another example of crimes committed by American servicemen against Japanese citizens. These are not minor crimes either, I'm talking about theft, rape, gang rape, and murder. Not a month goes by that another of these stories doesn't hit the news cycle. It's always the same. An enlisted man gets drunk and then does something so mind buggeringly stupid that it damages a 60 year old political and military alliance. It's been going on for years but the most recent dust up started about 11 months ago when a marine allegedly raped a 14 year old girl. Although the case was later dropped, reportedly because the parents didn't want to put their daughter through the ordeal of a trial, accusation is the same as conviction in the court of public opinion (and too frequently in the Japanese legal system) and so the damage was done. Today's story was about a naval petty officer who allegedly stabbed a 61-year old Japanese taxi driver to death.
I understand that this has received little or no coverage in the US news media. Considering the current political climate, that is understandable if not excusable. I can provide links to sources for these stories if it is requested in the comment section.
That's it for the reporting, now for the commentary:
What the hell happened to the military I grew up in? More specifically, what the hell happened to the discipline and training that made us the envy of the world? The people who have allegedly committed these crimes, guilty or not, have brought shame and dishonor down upon a worldwide organization. When you put on that uniform, you become a part of something bigger than yourself and your successes and failures, professional or personal, reflect on that group.
I preface this next statement with the following: I have never gone through basic training for any branch, nor do I intend to and it has been over a decade since I was a part of military life. Last I checked, the group connection that I spoke of in the previous paragraph was the first thing taught to the recruits. That's also why Conduct Unbecoming a (insert name of branch here) has been an offense meriting discharge since time immemorial. Regardless of whether or not the military justice system throws the book to them, the men involved in these crimes clearly didn't get the message and the armed forces will be better without them.
I believe that this is a symptom of a larger problem. Specifically, the current state of recruitment practices. Understandably enough, war time is when recruitment rates in an all volunteer army falls like a stone. Considering that our forces are being stretched way too thin at the moment, we need all the men and women we can get. Therefore, all branches have been forced to drastically drop recruitment requirements in order to meet quotas. This includes a lower passing bar on intelligence and psychological testing and a willingness to permit those with criminal backgrounds to train with firearms. If this sounds like anything but a bad idea then you need reading lessons.
When you take dumb, psychologically unsound, former criminals, put them in uniform, arm them, and force them to face the fact that death is a real possibility for the immediate future, you are asking for trouble. Add to that the fact that many of the younger enlisted men and officers see military service as the world's greatest frat house (an image the USMC seems to actively encourage) and you have a recipe for disaster. The people who fight for our country, who we trust billions of dollars of equipment to, need to be the best and brightest and not the lowest common denominator.
After all this, I still hate to say anything against the military. But when a culture that you
love (and that's what the military is, a culture all its own) is under siege, then you have to say something. I started this post with a quote, so I'll end with one.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." --Mark Twain
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Obama speech reaction
I'm back after yet another long absence and this time I am not making any delusions of regular updates. You get what you get and that's all that you get (cha cha cha). This time it is my reaction to the Philadelphia speech of Barack Obama. This is my immediate reaction upon seeing the speech on YouTube. This was originally a letter to my parents presented with only minor edits for anonymity. If it sounds like I am stealing material from Countdown with Keith Olbermann, that's because I am.
I just watched the the latest Obama speech and wow! I just wanted to give voice to my immediate reactions. Incidentally, I am writing this before I see the reaction on Countdown so I am not copying from anyone, this is all me.
I've come to the conclusion that if Barack Obama is not elected to the office of President of the United States, I will never return to that country save to visit family. If the American people don't elect this man then there is no reason to ever return long term. He has said absolutely everything correctly and the country will be severely, if not irreparably, damaged if he is not elected.
Some of the views that he expressed in his speech, specifically the ideas that racial tension is connected to deeper problems that can and should be easily addressed are the similar (although far more elegantly spoken) to the ones that nearly got me run out of several college classes before I learned to shut the heck up. Furthermore, I have been nearly and actually beaten in the past for daring to suggest that the United States is not yet a perfect country and that there are more steps to be taken. To hear a presidential candidate express those same views and making the excellent point that the entire system is in place to make those very much needed steps possible is inspiring. "This union may never be perfect . . . but it can always be perfected."
It is Obama's use of quotations that impresses me almost as much as anything else. I have been criticized in the past for using the Constitution to back up my political opinions and for proclaiming that the values of the Christian faith (and the Catholics more specifically) are based on acceptance, forgiveness, and love rather than "There is only one correct answer, my way or the highway." Obama did both in this speech and it truly inspired me in a way that no public figure of my lifetime has. Admittedly, the speakings (a more apt description than speeches) of the current president have invoked equally strong reactions from me, those mostly involve amusingly shaped dents in the wall and the consumption of aspirin.
All of this is not to say that the speech was devoid of political strategic moves. His use of bible quotes and his religion, aside from being an obvious topic for the speech, did have the effect of flashing a large neon sign over the back of the Senator's head that said "I am Christian!" That said, he worked it into the speech so well that is didn't feel like being hit on the head with a cross shaped mallet. It reminded me of a public speaking course that I was required to take at WSU (easiest A of my life by the way). The textbook held up Former President Clinton as an example of what to do when giving a speech. It is inevitable that future editions of such texts will hold Obama in that place.
Toward the end of his speech, I experienced what can only be described as an "Edu-gasm" after the comments that every school and every student is everyone's problem. If Stephen Cobert wants to use the word edu-gasm on his show, then he had better be ready to pay for it.
In conclusion, there can no longer be any doubt about which of the current field of candidates is best suited to hold the office of President of the United States. I know there are many, even within my own family, who may disagree with me. To them I say: I'm sorry, but you are wrong. Others will say that I am over reacting by saying that I don't want to come back to the US with out President Obama in office. To them I say: You're probably right. However, at this specific point in time, Sen. Obama appears to be the best and possibly last chance to fix my country. In the past, it has been said during poor administrations that America will always survive. If we don't make some serious changes to our nation, government, and way of thinking, then will the spirit of America survive? "Not this time."
Thank you for your patience during this rant. Please remember that this was written fairly late at night, but I stand by every word of it. If it makes you feel better, imagine me throwing my script at the camera and breaking the screen.
This has been Ryu Sensei on this, the 365th day since my arrival in Japan. Good morning, and good God I need to go to bed.
I just watched the the latest Obama speech and wow! I just wanted to give voice to my immediate reactions. Incidentally, I am writing this before I see the reaction on Countdown so I am not copying from anyone, this is all me.
I've come to the conclusion that if Barack Obama is not elected to the office of President of the United States, I will never return to that country save to visit family. If the American people don't elect this man then there is no reason to ever return long term. He has said absolutely everything correctly and the country will be severely, if not irreparably, damaged if he is not elected.
Some of the views that he expressed in his speech, specifically the ideas that racial tension is connected to deeper problems that can and should be easily addressed are the similar (although far more elegantly spoken) to the ones that nearly got me run out of several college classes before I learned to shut the heck up. Furthermore, I have been nearly and actually beaten in the past for daring to suggest that the United States is not yet a perfect country and that there are more steps to be taken. To hear a presidential candidate express those same views and making the excellent point that the entire system is in place to make those very much needed steps possible is inspiring. "This union may never be perfect . . . but it can always be perfected."
It is Obama's use of quotations that impresses me almost as much as anything else. I have been criticized in the past for using the Constitution to back up my political opinions and for proclaiming that the values of the Christian faith (and the Catholics more specifically) are based on acceptance, forgiveness, and love rather than "There is only one correct answer, my way or the highway." Obama did both in this speech and it truly inspired me in a way that no public figure of my lifetime has. Admittedly, the speakings (a more apt description than speeches) of the current president have invoked equally strong reactions from me, those mostly involve amusingly shaped dents in the wall and the consumption of aspirin.
All of this is not to say that the speech was devoid of political strategic moves. His use of bible quotes and his religion, aside from being an obvious topic for the speech, did have the effect of flashing a large neon sign over the back of the Senator's head that said "I am Christian!" That said, he worked it into the speech so well that is didn't feel like being hit on the head with a cross shaped mallet. It reminded me of a public speaking course that I was required to take at WSU (easiest A of my life by the way). The textbook held up Former President Clinton as an example of what to do when giving a speech. It is inevitable that future editions of such texts will hold Obama in that place.
Toward the end of his speech, I experienced what can only be described as an "Edu-gasm" after the comments that every school and every student is everyone's problem. If Stephen Cobert wants to use the word edu-gasm on his show, then he had better be ready to pay for it.
In conclusion, there can no longer be any doubt about which of the current field of candidates is best suited to hold the office of President of the United States. I know there are many, even within my own family, who may disagree with me. To them I say: I'm sorry, but you are wrong. Others will say that I am over reacting by saying that I don't want to come back to the US with out President Obama in office. To them I say: You're probably right. However, at this specific point in time, Sen. Obama appears to be the best and possibly last chance to fix my country. In the past, it has been said during poor administrations that America will always survive. If we don't make some serious changes to our nation, government, and way of thinking, then will the spirit of America survive? "Not this time."
Thank you for your patience during this rant. Please remember that this was written fairly late at night, but I stand by every word of it. If it makes you feel better, imagine me throwing my script at the camera and breaking the screen.
This has been Ryu Sensei on this, the 365th day since my arrival in Japan. Good morning, and good God I need to go to bed.
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