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Japanese cram school gives students permission to smash window, break into building on test day

Casey Baseel Jan 11, 2018
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Also tells would-be burglars how long they’ll have until the cops show up in crazy display of educational commitment.

If you were going to describe Japanese teens in broad terms, “studious” and “law-abiding” would be pretty good choices. But one cram school understands that in extreme circumstances, those two aspects may come into conflict with each other.

This weekend, students across Japan will take the Center Test, a two-day standardized examination that numerous universities use as their entrance exam, or at least a major part of their admission criteria (it’s essentially Japan’s version of America’s SAT). So the pupils at Joysta, a cram school in the Shimane Prefecture town of Izumo have a lot on their minds as they come to class this week for their final lessons before the test.

Kids are still kids, though, and the Joysta staff knows that they might forget something critical, like their test registration paperwork or ID, in the classroom and not realize it until the morning of the test. Notice we said morning. The Center Test starts at 9:30 in the morning, while Joysta doesn’t open until 2 in the afternoon. So what should Joysta pupils do if the need to get something from the classroom before the test?

Break in.

https://twitter.com/__nemui__zZ/status/950648581572083712

The school has posted a notice, shared by Twitter user @__nemui__zZ, which reads:

If you’ve forgotten something in the classroom on the day of the Center Test:

The test starts early in the morning, so there will be no instructors at Joysta at that time. Even if you contact us by phone or email, we will be unable to come quickly to the school.

If you absolutely must get into the classroom, you are allowed to smash the school window next to the bicycle parking area. You will, of course, be charged a repair fee, but this is better than blowing your chance to take the test.

Also, be aware that after you smash the window, police officers will quickly arrive, so please retrieve your belongings and get out of the school within three minutes. If the police catch you, you will be late for the test.

It’s hard to say whether this is kind or crazy. On the one hand, it’s remarkably understanding of Joysta to acknowledge that desperate times call for desperate measures, and also considerately thorough of the staff to remind would-be burglars that they’ll need to make their escape before the police show up. On the other hand, if the school thinks there’s such a high chance that a student will need to get something that it needs to give express permission of this sort, maybe having one staff member come in early on the days of the test would be a good idea.

But @__nemui__zZ thinks there might be a subtler purpose to the sign. Even with their school’s permission, many teens would feel a natural resistance to break into the building, especially if they knew they’d also have to run from the police. So @__nemui__zZ’s theory is that by putting the sign up ahead of time and spelling out the undesirable scenario that could unfold, it’ll encourage students to be extra-diligent about not leaving anything behind in the classroom.

Or maybe we should just expect a little craziness from Mr. Sato’s home prefecture.

Source: Twitter/@__nemui__zZ via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso