The 1st year teachers (Meaning the teachers who teach the 1st year students, which is also the group I caucus with) decided that we should make our long, hard, week that much longer by going out and getting drunk last night. A Thursday. A Thursday on a week where we have parent's day coming up on Saturday. I am tired, but it was probably worth it.
In Japan, and it has been said many times before, you have to go out drinking to actually talk about work. I think the group from last night are a good group of teachers who are trying very hard. I was surprised, but kind of happy, to hear that they hold the same opinion of the head 1st year teacher, Sugimoto (not Daichi's homeroom teacher), that I do. In short, that he is not a bad teacher or a bad person, but that he is terribly ineffective. Yesterday, when we were trying to stem all of the problems going on on the first floor, he was there, but didn't really take any action. The weird thing is that he looks the part of the older, scary, Japanese P.E. teacher. He just doesn't play it. I found out that most people like the principal. They just think he is too honest sometimes. There are mixed opinions on the vice-principal. They feel he is a good person but, since he used to be a math teacher, he doesn't act unless he can find the right equation.
I also heard a story I hadn't heard until now which will tell you a lot about parents. At school there is, of course, a rule against cell-phones (keitai). We have one 1st year student, Kozasa, who is a very sweet, cute and kind girl. She has a talent for graffiti style drawing and is always pleasant to talk to. She is also being heavily recruited by the rotten 2nd year girls. Apparently her homeroom teacher, Minoda, found her with a keitai and took it away. Her angry father showed up at the school screaming, "Where is this Minoda!!" "This Minoda." Is a very nice Japanese teacher who is a year younger than me, coaches the boy’s tennis team and looks a lot like Strawberry Shortcake. She is a very nice person and wears long skirts. Apparently the father was enraged that anyone would confiscate his daughter’s keitai. The vice-principal and Minoda Sensei, met with the father at length and he insisted that his daughter be able to have and use her keitai whenever she wanted to. That she was free to use it all the time and sometimes had a $500 bill. The family isn't rich though and the father never went to high school. What could motivate this behavior? I really can't comprehend it. Why would you insist that your daughter be able to violate a rule? I understand there is a cell phone controversy in New York. I can understand that in some respects because kids travel all over the city to get to school. Here, they are never farther than down the street. I think the farthest house is probably a 20 minute walk. Is there any rationality in the father's behavior? I must have been gone that day. I would have surely remembered.
Also yesterday, Ozaki Sensei beat the shit out of my old dance partner, Okada. As usual Okada was causing a disruption and wandering around. As usual, he wouldn't listen to anyone who told him not to. He picked the wrong Asian to fuck with and Ozaki smacked him around. In the process his necklace was broken and he went apeshit. All of the 3rd years said that it was so sad for Okada and that it wasn't his fault. They really don't connect their actions and the results at all. It is really immature compared to any other kids I have worked with this age. I would expect that from some elementary students but... Okada's mom was called. Okada tried to run away from the school but ended up staying. He's a real ass.
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