middle school – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today. Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:23:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/en_rocket_1024.png?w=32 middle school – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com 32 32 176746664 Tokyo middle school leaflet asks students to write down, turn in their social media passwords https://soranews24.com/2021/12/04/tokyo-middle-school-leaflet-asks-students-to-write-down-turn-in-their-social-media-passwords/ https://soranews24.com/2021/12/04/tokyo-middle-school-leaflet-asks-students-to-write-down-turn-in-their-social-media-passwords/#comments Sat, 04 Dec 2021 13:00:30 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=568067 
The board of education’s excuse doesn’t really hold up.
It’s important for everyone in today’s world, especially kids, to be aware of the dangers of scams and giving out private information.
But what do you do when the one asking for that private information is an official document from your school?
That’s what happened recently at a middle school in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward, which reached the attention of the Internet from this tweet:
▼ (Translation below)
ちょっと、アホすぎて人権侵害すぎて言葉がないんだけど
中学校からのプリントで、「我が家のSNSルールを保護者と話し合ってかけ」「終わったら学校に提出しろ」ってやつに、
「SNSパスワードを書け」って欄があるんだけど。なに考えてんだ！？
私的領域への越権行為も甚だしい！— ıɥsnɯoʇnqɐʞ (@kabukabubaby) November 30, 2021
“Excuse me what? This is so stupid and such a violation of rights that I have no words.
On a leaflet that was sent home with middle schoolers that they were told to use “to discuss house rules for social media,” and “to turn in to their school when finished,” there’s a section for them to fill in their “social media password.”
What are they thinking?!
This is an extreme abuse of authority and an invasion of personal space.”
Many online have posted images of the leaflet in question, showing that this wasn’t some simple typo or anything, it’s pretty blatant:
▼ The line in question is the fourth blank down.
(Translation below)
おいおいおいおい、パスワード記入欄がある上に、「家族で共有」て記述まであんのに、「ミス」とはちゃうやろが
こういうこと犯っといて、問題になったら「ミスでした」て逃げんの、あまりに汚らしいんちゃうか
まじで教師て屑ばっかりか— 多田 将 (@sho_tada) December 4, 2021
Our House Rules for Social Media
Easy Fill-In SheetUsage Time
I will use my smartphone and social media for _____ hour(s) each day.
I will use my smartphone and social media until _____ o’clock each day.Storage Place
After then, I will put it away in _____.How Its Managed
The password to my social media is _____.
I share this password with _____ (ie: my family).
The Nerima Ward Board of Education has since responded to the controversy, saying that they passed out the leaflets to students for households to create rules for social media, and asked the students to turn them back in to the school to check that they were filled in.
However, the Board of Education notified each school in Nerima Ward saying that students should turn in the leaflet without filling in the password section. Unfortunately one school did not receive that explanation, resulting in 276 students turning it in as-is. There were no reports of such a mistake happening in the other schools.
The Board of Education has said that they will prevent such incidents in the future by deleting the password section, storing the leaflets that were already turned in inside a “locked up location,” and returning them directly to each family. So far they claim that no passwords have been leaked.
Of course that’s a very strange explanation. If students were meant to turn in the leaflet without filling in that blank… then why was it there in the first place? If students were supposed to bring it back home again and then fill it in, there’s no mention of that. And even if that was the case, writing down your password is what you learn never to do in Internet Safety 101 no matter what anyway!
Japanese netizens were similarly confused and shocked:
“I don’t understand why they asked the kids to turn it in in the first place. Their Internet literacy is lower than the kids’ is.”
“Do not fill that in, do not turn that in, do not share it.”
“We’re taught not to leak our passwords, but as soon as you turn it in to the school, it’s leaked….”
“Did Internet literacy just stop progressing 10 years ago???”
“The only correct answer is writing ‘Our house rule for social media is not writing my password here’ in the blank.”
“Schools are trying to control their private lives. Just like Kanagawa trying to limit kids’ time playing games.”
“The only way I can see this being okay is if it’s a trick question, and when the students turn in the leaflets with their passwords on it, the teacher admonishes them, saying, ‘Didn’t we teach you not to tell anyone your password?’ (Obviously not what happened)”
Hopefully no irreparable damage comes from this incident, and the Nerima Ward Board of Education learns from their mistake.
However, considering Nerima was also where ten students fainted from heat stroke during a non-air-conditioned assembly about avoiding scams, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Source: Bengo4.com via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso (1, 2) (Edited by SoraNews24)
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2021/12/04/tokyo-middle-school-leaflet-asks-students-to-write-down-turn-in-their-social-media-passwords/feed/ 0 568067 social media top 14-year-old Japanese girl tosses cart from roof of Don Quijote, arrested for attempted murder https://soranews24.com/2021/11/27/14-year-old-japanese-girl-tosses-cart-from-roof-of-don-quijote-arrested-for-attempted-murder/ https://soranews24.com/2021/11/27/14-year-old-japanese-girl-tosses-cart-from-roof-of-don-quijote-arrested-for-attempted-murder/#comments Sat, 27 Nov 2021 13:00:07 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=567155 
“Horrifying….”
Don Quijote is a chain of department stores throughout Japan, offering a wide variety of discount goods. The buildings for Don Quijote are typically several stories tall, with each floor offering different types of merchandise.
Customers don’t usually go to the roof of the building, since there’s nothing up there and it’s dangerous, so when someone is up there, it’s typically not a good thing.
That’s what happened on the afternoon of November 26, when a 14-year-old middle school girl tossed a shopping cart off the roof of a Don Quijote building in Osaka’s Suminoe Ward.
▼ A photo of the Don Quixote at Suminoe Park.
大阪市の「ドン・キホーテ住之江公園店」の屋上駐車場から買い物用カート１台を落としたとして、中学２年の少女（１４）を殺人未遂容疑で逮捕 「遊び半分でやった。人に当たったら死ぬことは分かっていた」と供述 ＝ネットの反応「オッサン狙って落とすとかやべーな」 https://t.co/n7HxK7iisv
— 拡散新聞 ｜時事ニュースとネットの反応 (@anonymous_post2) November 27, 2021
The girl dropped a shopping cart from the roof of the building into the parking lot 21.5 meters (70.5 feet) below, narrowly missing hitting a 53-year-old man by 2 to 3 meters (6 to 10 feet). He was not injured.
Two 13-year-old female classmates accompanied the girl, and while police have taken them into protective custody and notified the children’s welfare center, the girl herself was arrested on November 27 for attempted murder.
She has admitted to her actions, saying: “I did it mostly for fun. I knew that if I hit someone, they’d die.”
Japanese netizens were shocked by the incident:
“Horrifying….”
“How can you do something like that for fun?”
“Way too far for a prank.”
“That’s a psychopath in the making.”
“I hope she doesn’t get the 100,000 yen for young people.”
“That store needs to make sure this never happens again.”
“I feel like this kind of thing has been happening more among young people.”
While we’re not sure on the data for that last commenter, it’s important to remember that young people are just as often victims of unfortunate crimes too. We’re just glad that this one ended with no one getting hurt.
Source: The Sankei News via My Game News Flash
Top image: Pakutaso
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2021/11/27/14-year-old-japanese-girl-tosses-cart-from-roof-of-don-quijote-arrested-for-attempted-murder/feed/ 0 567155 kazukihiroA65DSCF0104_TP_V Osaka’s new remote-learning policy leaves teachers strained and forces students to go to school https://soranews24.com/2021/05/15/osakas-new-remote-learning-policy-leaves-teachers-strained-and-forces-students-to-go-to-school/ https://soranews24.com/2021/05/15/osakas-new-remote-learning-policy-leaves-teachers-strained-and-forces-students-to-go-to-school/#comments Sat, 15 May 2021 01:00:02 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=542161 
Logistical mishaps and contradicting guidelines hinder what could be one of the best ways to lower COVID-19 community transmission.
While Japan has kept the number of imported cases of COVID-19 low with restricted borders, the nation is struggling to contain the spread of COVID-19 domestically as larger cities such as Tokyo grapple with a fourth wave of infections. One of the most hard-hit areas in particular has been Osaka, and given the circumstances, closing schools and transitioning to remote learning is one of the most logical things to do. However, attempts by Osaka City’s board of education have been bombarded with logistical hiccups and confusing guidelines which have raised anger among educators.
▼ The skyline of Osaka’s central hub, pre-COVID-19 and pre-pufferfish-exodus.
Osaka is one of the few cities in Japan attempting a transition to remote learning — which is not only important in reducing the local transmission of COVID-19, but an opportunity to set a leading example within a country where constitutional limits forbid nationwide mandates even in a public health crisis — and some schools have been going back and forth between staying closed or resuming lessons as usual.
Unfortunately, the city’s efforts have been bogged down in multiple different ways, and we’ve found three main issues hindering Osaka’s transition to remote learning for elementary as well as junior high school students.
▼ A visual representation of how we imagine Osaka educators to be feeling right now.
The first issue is ensuring student accessibility to remote learning technology. While MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) jumpstarted a program called the GIGA School Initiative to provide Internet-connecting devices, particularly to elementary and junior high school students after the pandemic’s onset, according to a recent study performed by the initiative, the ratio of students to Internet-connecting devices, whether smartphone, tablet or computer, is at one device per five students on both a national level and in Osaka Prefecture.
▼ Of the devices delivered, it seems tablets are the most common, though this is no surprise given their ease of use and similarity to smartphone software.
Of course, simply ensuring everyone has the tech doesn’t mean everything’s ready to go, and this leads to a second hurdle: adapting to remote learning, which has been a struggle for many. From familiarizing themselves with remote-teaching methods, easing students into taking classes online, and the troubleshooting of tech issues, teachers in Osaka have signaled that they are falling behind with little time to spare for catching up. It doesn’t help that Osaka City’s board of education had set a rather strict deadline, announcing its new remote-learning policy for elementary and middle schools on April 22 and calling for schools in the area to begin remote learning on April 25, which only allowed three days for instructors, school staff, students, and parents to prepare for an education style which is still extremely rare in Japan.
▼ No pressure for the local IT staff working at schools!
But what has truly raised the ire of Osaka City educators isn’t the logistical slowdowns nor the lack of time given for the transition, but a guideline directing students to return to school for lunch during the remote-learning period. So far, the guidelines have received considerable blowback from both school staff and Japanese netizens alike:
“Aren’t… aren’t we getting our priorities completely backward if we make the students learn online but still go to school for lunch?”
“And all this time we keep getting told not to dine together.”
“They should consider the school staff more and also not put kids at risk…”
“But isn’t eating when infectious droplets spread the most?”
“If they want to really do this, then they better figure out a way to protect the staff preparing school lunches.”
▼ A picture of the typical lunch provided by schools.
Granted, schools offering lunch is a vital part of the community safety net, especially for students affected by food poverty. However, forcing every student, regardless of their situation, to return to school for lunch seems to contradict the purpose of keeping schools closed in the first place, and with cases rising, the anger expressed by teachers and locals is understandable. At the end of the day, it may seem like common sense to shut down schools, but then again, some pretty wild takes have been given in the past year by local leaders regarding preventative measures against COVID-19.
▼ It takes a village for even one small part of a school’s daily operations, and students as well as staff deserve a safe working environment.
During a time period riddled with anxiety and uncertainty, the last thing teachers, who are viewed but not necessarily treated as one of the backbones of human society, and students need is a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. And while it’s too early to determine how Osaka City’s transition to remote learning will pan out, we sincerely hope policy adjustments are made as it’s believed that vaccine rollout won’t reach the general public until mid-July at the earliest.
Related: MEXT Giga School Initiative
Source: Yahoo News! via Hachima Kiko, Sankei News
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2, 3, 4), Photo AC, Wikimedia/Osamu Iwasaki
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2021/05/15/osakas-new-remote-learning-policy-leaves-teachers-strained-and-forces-students-to-go-to-school/feed/ 0 542161 fujiko191209_0662_TP_V “Students are only allowed three sneezes in class” Japanese people share their worst school rules https://soranews24.com/2019/04/22/students-are-only-allowed-three-sneezes-in-class-japanese-people-share-their-worst-school-rules/ https://soranews24.com/2019/04/22/students-are-only-allowed-three-sneezes-in-class-japanese-people-share-their-worst-school-rules/#comments Sun, 21 Apr 2019 15:00:03 +0000 http://soranews24.com/?p=449897 
Things are so bad, an organization was formed to investigate these ridiculous rules.
We’ve seen a lot of bizarre rules in Japanese schools, everything from students being forced to bow and kneel to their teachers in a cult-like ceremony, to a girl with naturally-brown hair having to dye her hair black… ironically to enforce the school’s “no dyed hair” policy.
In fact, it was after that dyed hair event that the NPO Burakku Kosoku wo Nakuso! (Let’s Eliminate “Black” School Rules!) was established. Here the “black” is the same as in “black companies,” organizations that have no concern for the well-being of their workers—or in this case, students.
After running a survey last March, they found that two-thirds of middle schoolers and one-half of high schoolers have experienced some form of “black” school rules. Here’s some of the examples that were given:
“Students can only wear certain colors of underwear.”
“Students are not allowed to have ponytails.”
“Students are only allowed three sneezes in class.”
“Students must get permission from a teacher to cut their hair over summer vacation.”
“Male and female students must have two meters (6.5 feet) of distance between them.”
“Students are not allowed to wear scarves during exams.”
▼ Okay, the other rules were whatever,
but scarves is clearly where we must draw the line!
Additionally, thesese aren’t just isolated cases in one or two schools. the survey also found that twenty percent of high school students with naturally-brown hair were forced to dye it black at some point, and that one out of every six middle school students had an official school rule regarding the color of their underwear.
Here’s how Japanese netizens responded to the ridiculous rules:
“That’s just school faculty being stupid.”
“If there are too many strict rules, that will just result in less of them being followed.”
“When I was on my period during school, they wouldn’t let me take a break during gym class and forced me to run around campus.”
“We had fingernail inspections and made us cut off any white sections.”
“Coats and were forbidden at my school, even on days so cold the trains stopped.”
“For the sneezing thing, I guess you could just hold them all in for one giant sneeze?”
“I’ve sneezed 10 times in one minute before. I’d get in so much trouble.”
Sneezing strategies aside, it’d be one thing if these school rules were just relics of the past that weren’t actually enforced. But the fact that so many students have had negative experiences with them shows that they may be reaching a breaking point.
Perhaps Japan could take a page out of Finland’s school system, where the students are not only the best educated in the world, but also have the most freedom. Not only can they lie down in class, study what they like, and have almost no homework, but they can even sneeze whenever they want! Imagine that.
Source: Yahoo! News Japan via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: GAHAG
]]> https://soranews24.com/2019/04/22/students-are-only-allowed-three-sneezes-in-class-japanese-people-share-their-worst-school-rules/feed/ 0 449897 gahag-0093694877-1 Japanese middle school student drives cram school teacher nuts with delusional rantings https://soranews24.com/2017/08/14/japanese-middle-school-student-drives-cram-school-teacher-nuts-with-delusional-rantings/ https://soranews24.com/2017/08/14/japanese-middle-school-student-drives-cram-school-teacher-nuts-with-delusional-rantings/#comments Mon, 14 Aug 2017 01:00:11 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=386253 
How do you teach those who don’t want to be taught?
With long work hours and a never ending list of responsibilities, Japanese teachers have it rough. And since their job is largely affected by the students they’re teaching, a bunch of rebellious children can test the patience of even the gentlest of teachers.
One cram school tutor took to Twitter to air his experiences with a problematic second year middle school student he recently encountered. It was the student’s first time at cram school, and instead of focusing on his studies, he adopted a know-it-all attitude that grated his tutor to no end: (translations below)
今日初授業の中学二年生の生徒がこの60分だけで「将来は株で稼ぐから勉強する必要ない」とか「今でもネトゲで本気出せば月に2000万稼げる」とか「努力なんて言葉俺に似合わねえ」とか「あー、全てを焼き尽してえ」とか名言連発してきてつらかった
— Motoori
(@Toori_mo) August 4, 2017
自称ネトゲでの今の月収20万らしい。本気出すと今の生活が出来なくなるから現金に換算したりはしないらしい。間違った問題の指摘すると「だと思ったんですけどねえ…」とか「こんなの俺に必要ねえ」とか、わざとらしくアクビして「寝ようかなあ…」とか言ってくるし、マジで来週から相手したくねえ
— Motoori
“Today I had a first-time student in my cram class who rambled about things for the full hour like, ‘My future earnings will come from stocks, so I don’t see the need for me to study,’ or ‘If I seriously went all out playing Internet games, I can easily earn 20 million yen (US$183,250) per month,’ or ‘Effort is a word that doesn’t suit me,’ or even ‘Ah, just incinerate everything.’ “
“The student apparently claims that he earns 200,000 yen ($1,832) per month with gaming, but he won’t go all out since he wouldn’t be able to continue with his student life if he did. When I pointed out his mistakes (on the answer sheet), he replied with ‘Yeah, I was gonna say that,’ or ‘I don’t need to learn this,’ going as far as yawning in my face and saying ‘I should take a nap.’ I don’t want to have him again next week.”
Of course it should be noted right off the bat that the student is almost assuredly lying about his “gaming income.” If he was actually making that much money each month, then not only would he have a substantial following online — so much so that at least some of his classmates would probably know who he is — but he also wouldn’t be attending cram school in the first place. It’s just a classic case of a middle schooler trying to be cool by garnering attention with an obvious lie.
Japanese netizens’ comments were a mix of amusement and concern:
“Parents send their children to cram school to force them to study, which can be quite taxing on the teachers. If the students themselves wish to improve, you wouldn’t see people like these.”
“He sounds like a friend of mine back in middle school. Back then, he proudly declared to the teacher that he would become a host (in a host club), so there was no need for him to study.”
“Those are just fantasies of a middle school student, so just laugh along. Honestly, I like these kinds of children.”
Teachers play an important role in shaping the younger generation, and while we understand students at that age can be quite a handful, taking their complaints in stride and doing your best to guide them is still important.
Although the tutor could have handled it a little more gracefully instead of complaining on Twitter, at least he didn’t slam his pupil against a wall like one guy did.
Source: Twitter/@Sn_nq via My Game News Flash
Top image: Pakutaso
]]> https://soranews24.com/2017/08/14/japanese-middle-school-student-drives-cram-school-teacher-nuts-with-delusional-rantings/feed/ 0 386253 PAK105214618_TP_V Little brother’s observations of older brother “studying” cracks up Japanese Twitter https://soranews24.com/2016/08/31/little-brothers-observations-of-older-brother-studying-cracks-up-japanese-twitter/ https://soranews24.com/2016/08/31/little-brothers-observations-of-older-brother-studying-cracks-up-japanese-twitter/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2016 03:00:28 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=341881 
Day 1: The high school-bound specimen is not well adapted to its “natural habitat.”
In Japan, middle school students in their third and final year are known as jukensei – “test takers.” That’s because in Japan, the land of never-ending tests, those middle schoolers will be taking high school entrance exams in the last months of the school year to determine which high school they go on to.
And these tests are not easy. Even just getting into your local public high school often requires extra time spent studying at juku (“cram school” or “after-school school”), and getting into the most prestigious high schools is just as hard as the most prestigious colleges.
However not all jukensei are as studious as others. One Japanese little brother carefully observed his older brother (a jukensei) in his “natural habitat,” to see what an average day in the life of a “wild” high school-bound student is like.
Here are his notes: (translation below)
弟の自由研究ぶっ飛ばすぞWW pic.twitter.com/YaI0b7fDJK
— どいちゃん
(@do1y4_pad) August 29, 2016
Observations of a Wild Jukensei
Day 1
12:00 – The specimen wakes up
1:00 – He begins studying after much whining and complaining, puts strange sound-producing devices into ears
3:00 – Begins falling into brief states of unconsciousness
4:00 – Falls asleep after muttering words which sounded like “Wake me up in an hour”
6:30 – Wakes up, consumes dinner
9:00 – Begins studying while whining and complaining (has only managed to review one subject: Japanese history)
12:00 – Entranced by variety TV, whining and complaining while soaking in the radiation from the screen
3:00 – Goes to sleepConclusion: There is no way this specimen will pass his entrance exams.
For those wondering, the observing little brother is a second-year middle school student himself, so it won’t be much longer before he has to endure the tough life of a jukensei as well… spending his days whining and complaining in front of the TV.
Here’s how Japanese commenters reacted:
“There’s no sugar-coating on those observations lol.”
“Better than my son! He skipped juku and didn’t study for even a minute.”
“Ah, the bond between siblings.”
“Oh man, whining and complaining is the best.”
“Staying up to 3:00 a.m. just to observe… that’s dedication.”
We have to say, at least the older brother spent some time studying. It could be so much worse: he could’ve been using that time to post immature jokes about “balls” or to cosplay as an old Japanese man.
Source: Twitter/@cosmolibra via My Game News Flash
Featured image: GAHAG
]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/08/31/little-brothers-observations-of-older-brother-studying-cracks-up-japanese-twitter/feed/ 0 341881 juksensei top juksensei top Middle School Students Forced to Drink Acid as Punishment https://soranews24.com/2013/01/22/middle-school-students-forced-to-drink-acid-as-punishment/ https://soranews24.com/2013/01/22/middle-school-students-forced-to-drink-acid-as-punishment/#comments Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:00:31 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=36217 It made the news over the weekend in Japan that middle schoolers in Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture were forced to drink diluted hydrochloric acid as punishment for failing to perform a lab experiment correctly.
According to the local board of education, on January 18, a male science teacher assigned his class an experiment using magnets and iron filings. He told the class that anyone failing to get the correct result would be forced to drink hydrochloric acid. When two students didn’t get a successful result, the teacher handed each of them a beaker after tasting a bit of it himself.
One student took a sip and immediately spat it out. The other drank all of his, later telling school investigators that it tasted like drinking lemon juice. The incident came to light after another student related the incident to his parents.
The Gamagori Board of Education reported that the teacher explained that the acid was highly diluted and therefore posed no heath risk to the children. The Board itself issued a statement saying, “As this incident posed a risk to the life and health of students, it was a grave failure of leadership, and we can only apologize to students and their families. We are currently deciding on disciplinary measures for the teacher involved.”
The school administrators also visited the two students at their homes and formally apologized.
Coming on the heels of another incident when a student committed suicide after being repeatedly hit by his basketball coach, the story sparked outrage online, with many commenters baying for blood.
“The teacher should be forced to drink acid too, and not diluted!”
“He’s not a teacher, he’s a mad scientist.”
“Maybe that jerk would like to try eating some shit.”
However, others pointed out that at the concentration the teacher prepared, there was no risk of health problems, even if it scared the kids.
Either way, I’m suddenly thinking my chemistry teacher wasn’t so strict after all…
Source: Nikkei Shimbun, Livedoor
]]> https://soranews24.com/2013/01/22/middle-school-students-forced-to-drink-acid-as-punishment/feed/ 0 36217