Monday, April 21, 2008
Lessons to be learned
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.
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 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.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Tanabata, the Star Festival
This past Saturday (7/7) Japan celebrated Tanabata, the Star Festival. It’s a summer festival that revolves around the myth of Orihime and Hikiboshi. The story is as follows. Please note that this is not a cut and paste, but my own telling.
In the time of the Gods, there lived a beautiful maiden named Orihime whose name means Weaving Princess. She was the daughter of Tenkou, the Sky King, and spent her days weaving the most eloquent cloth by the banks of the Amanaogawa, the River of Heaven. Her only sorrow was that her work took so much of her time, that she had no chance to meet and fall in love with anyone.
Her father, Tenkou, was concerned for his daughter and arranged for Orihime to meet a shepherd named Hikiboshi, the Cow Herding Star, who worked on the other side of the Amanaogawa. It was love at first sight, and the couple was shortly married. All the stars of heaven danced at their wedding.
Sadly, their happiness was short lived. While the couple spent all of their time together, they neglected their duties. Orihime no longer wove her fabulous cloth and Hikiboshi let his cattle run wild. Enraged at such sloth from his children, Tenkou banished them to opposite sides of the Amanaogawa and destroyed the only bridge over the mighty rapids. Thus it appeared that the lovers would be separated for all eternity.
Orihime fell into deep despair and was prepared to hurl herself into the river when a flock of enormous birds surrounded Orihime and begged to know what the matter was. After hearing the sad tale, the birds agreed to form a living bridge across the river so that the lovers may meet. The plan was successful and Orihime and Hikiboshi rejoiced.
Naturally, it was not long before Tenkou caught wind of this. Furious that his orders had been disobeyed, Tenkou was about to exterminate the entire flock of birds when Orihime threw herself at her father’s feet and begged his mercy and forgiveness. Her words touched Tenkou and he spared the birds, but he could not stand to lose face by fully recanting his previous punishment. The sky king decreed that the birds may return one day a year to create the bridge and permit the lovers to meet.
This one day is the seventh day of the seventh month of the year, July 7th, the Tanabata festival. However, if it rains, the birds will be too wet to fly and form the bridge, so the people pray for good weather. This year, for example, the weather was perfect! So the star crossed (literally, the river is the Milky Way) were able to meet.
That’s the story. The other major tradition is for people to write wishes on slips of paper and tie them to a bamboo tree. This has no connection whatsoever to the previous story. The only link is the fact that the word “Hoshi” can mean “star” or “wish” depending on which kanji you use.
My school had a tree set up for the students to use. As you might imagine, the wishes were an even split between wanting a Nintendo Wii and a sh904i cell phone (the thing the iPhone wants to be when it grows up) and wishing to be the best at a particular sport.
Anywhere you go, kids are kids. I'll leave you with that thought.
So, happy belated Tanabata everyone.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Way Back Track 3: To HQ
Temporal Coordinates set for the last week of March 2007. Nicely done Sherman, good boy.
Today, we’re taking a look back at RyuSensei’s move from the training grounds of Narita to his full time base of operations in Niigata Prefecture. The first problem came when I woke up and realized that I would have to haul all of my earthly possession (in two VERY large bags, plus backpack, plus laptop) on to a tiny bus, through several train stations, and Lord knows what else.
The good news was that when I arrived at the hotel lobby, we were all told that we could mail some of our stuff ahead and that it would be at our apartments the following day. That’s the glory of a federally regulated and funded post office. It would have been nice to know this before having a mild panic attack over how I was going to get all my stuff from point A to point B, but that’s life. Interesting side note, one of the ALT’s that I trained with is from Canada and he refused to mail either his snowboard or his hockey sticks claiming that to do so would tarnish his sense of national pride.
Anyway, after cramming the whole gang into a bus that was clearly designed for far fewer people with far less stuff and who are preferably several inches smaller, add the “there's always room for one more” philosophy that permeates Japanese public transportation, and you have a rather unpleasant beginning to an unpleasant trip. But we were underway none the less.
The next phase of the adventure involved all 30 of us on the train from Narita to Tokyo Central Station, from which we would split up and depart for our assignments. That got a few stares from the locals, but not as many as you might imagine. This was still Tokyo and a gaggle of gaijin is not an uncommon sight, especially near the airport. The minor miracle was that no one was separated from the group during the trip. Japanese trains are very precise machines and the doors stay open for only a few seconds at any given station. If you aren't paying attention, the doors will close on you before you even realize that you are at your station.
Those of us destined for Niigata boarded the Shinkansen, the bullet train, for the next leg of our journey. This is where it gets fun! Please note the sarcasm in my keystrokes. You see, my company had bought us the tickets, but had failed to mention that the train was over booked and our bottom ranked tickets got us in the door, but did not guarantee seats. So we had to stand, but not in such a way that blocked the aisle. What is the solution to this you may ask? That's right, the toilet. A two hour, cross country, $115, train ride . . . standing in the open area of the bathroom car holding our luggage and periodically playing twister so that people could actually use the facilities. We managed to keep ourselves entertained by commandeering a sink and setting up someones laptop to play DVDs and by switching off access to the one porthole style window (as opposed to the huge window in the normal cars). Let me repeat: 2 HOURS!!!
Once we actually arrived at Niigata station, we me our coordinators. These are company employees that are supposed to help us find our way around town, act as translator for important meetings, and generally help us get settled. Now we are all tired and stiff from the uncomfortable trip, not to mention hot as the toilet car is not air conditioned, and each lugging bags that had up to 1-3 times our bodyweight (depending on the person). In other words, we looked like a bunch of refugees from a union meeting of the hitchhikers local 407. Not the best first impression. Thankfully, my coordinator was understanding and we hit it off fairly well.
By this point, I was on my own as all the remaining members of my group had left for their own assignments. What followed for me was a whirlwind of meetings I didn't understand, names I won't remember, and buildings I'll never see again. The end result is that I have an apartment and it is FANTASTIC! It's a 50,000 yen/month apartment that I'm getting for 38,000 because the view consists of 6 inches of dirty concrete and then the back end of the next building over. It also happens to be a two room, two story apartment with full kitchen and bath! Not to mention my own assigned parking space (considered a serious luxury). It will take/took me a few months to get everything set up and livable, but that's all part of the game.
The rest of the adventure of the day involved a lot of shopping for things like a futon, curtains, and other such things. Rather dull, but I will say this, I love one coin shops (100 yen shops).
The next, and final, edition of Way Back Track, will detail the entrance ceremony at my main school, and explain an average day in my life working at a Japanese middle school.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Woah!
OK, just a quick one today. I have three points for you.
POINT 1: Go see SiCKO. Now! Log off from this computer, get in the car, and see Michael Moore’s new film. The topic, as most of you already know, is the American healthcare industry and the complete cluster ***k that it has become. By the way, It turns out that I was partially right a few months ago when I said on this very blog that the blame for American medicine can be placed on Nixon. Mr. Moore’s film includes some old audio recordings from Nixon’s Oval Office that are . . . fascinating.
So go see it. Now. I’ll wait.
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2 hours of depressing realizations later…
Wow. That is nasty and yet so right at the same time. My British friend sees me in a whole new light now that he has some idea how American’s live. All my foreign friends pity me and my people.
POINT 2: Dick Cheney is either an incredibly stupid man or he has so little respect for the American people that it’s laughable. I’d believe either. It was recently reported by Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” and with both sources double checked by me personally, that Dick Cheney has had images of his residence (The US Naval Observatory) pixilated out on the Google Earth satellite mapping program. Please note that both the White House and the
Check out the video at this link:
http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/index.jhtml
POINT 3: The conservatives have now made an attempt to actually rewrite reality to suit their whims. Citing extreme liberal bias on the part of the public online edited encyclopedia Wikipedia, a new conservative site entitled Conservapedia has launched at http://www.conservapedia.com/ and it is scary. Front page articles at the time of this writing include the evils of Rosie O’ Donnell and how the British are planning to create human-animal hybrids. This encyclopedia also lists the year 4004 B. C. as the most likely point of the creation of the universe. Another definition from “The Trustworthy Encyclopedia” is this: Homosexuality is an immoral sexual lifestyle between members of the same sex. It is more than simply a sexual act, it is going beyond the boundaries that God has setup for marriage; one man and one woman.
By the way, I found this response to the liberal evils of Wikipedia by clicking on a link found . . . on Wikipedia!
I’ll leave you with that.
RyuSensei