Tuesday, October 28, 2008

School Explodes

Another day at school and I was bleeding by the time 2nd period started. The bleeding, actually, is my fault. I was chasing down fat, stupid, Nishiguchi when I jumped a concrete barrier and ate it. My hand and my leg got cut up, but my pride didn't hurt so much. Nishiguchi, who is fat and stupid, is the worst 1st year student. He also comes to kick-boxing on Friday's where he is invariably polite and always wants to hit the mitts with me. When we spar he begs me to go easy on him. In front of his friends at school he says things like, "Hey mother-fucker, why don't you come here and fight me!!??!" And then spits on the ground in my direction. He takes all the brooms out of the closet, throws them on the ground and then, when I come to yell at him, locks the door and flicks me off. Lately he is enjoying very much calling me "gaijin." He got away this time by jumping out of the window during class while being fat and stupid.

I don't have to chase him though. I just went to his 2nd period class and waited. When he was finally rounded up and forced to come to class, along with his trusty side-kick Makino, he noticed me and tried to back out. Inoue sensei told him to apologize but he insisted it had nothing to do with him and he had never done anything bad in his life. In response, Inoue sensei grabbed him by the collar and kneed him in the stomach. When he crawled to the corner crying, Inoue sense proceeded to slap the shit out of him. I applaud the decision. Nishiguchi got up and threw his chair. He tried to throw his desk but I grabbed him as Inoue sensei had already returned to the front of the class. He was crying and I told him that I already new what a weakling he was but that if he really wanted to fight me, like he said, I was standing in front of him. He ran out.

Makino then started popping off, while chewing gum. Inoue sensei threw him on the floor and he left. Kubota, the odd child who pulled the knife on me earlier in the year said to me, "Why are you here? This isn't your class. Leave." Whatever he says though he mutters under his breath so you can't really tell if he means it or he is just thinking it out loud. I grabbed him and told him to stand up and say what he had to say if he meant it. "I don't know what you are talking about. Leave." At this point the three softball girls, lead by Chiho, who always freaks out and never makes any sense, start yelling about how everything is the teachers fault and they are being persecuted. They then begin laughing at nothing in particular. Inoue ends up slapping Kubota for not sitting up and facing the front while Kubota mutters under his breath. Chiho reminds me that I am a gaijin and should go home as I have no business being here. I tell her that since I pay Japanese taxes, have a Japanese address, am employed in Japan and have my residency here, that her statement really makes no sense. She yells, "I thought you went back to Gaikoku everyday." And starts laughing. I can't tell if she is joking. If she was a boy I would beat her senseless. Then again, she is already there. She is the worst of the 1st years. Anything that happens she explodes in a rage and then makes the entire discussion about her and how put upon she is. I told the whole class that everyone was tired of them and that I was concerned for their futures. I told Chiho that she was acting like a child and was embarrassing. "I am a child!" Well, that settles that then. She then tried the new favorite tact of assuring me that she couldn't understand a word that I said.

Apparently after Nishiguchi and Makino left they attacked the science teacher and punched and kicked him. Of course, at my school, that kind of violence demands a sharp reaction. Said sharp reaction? Letting both of them back into school and having a rudderless meeting about what to do with the two of them today. Whether they would go back to class or hang out in another room. With those kind of consequences....boy howdy.

Inoue sensei and I have a new greeting, "I think we're going to be fired....please!"

update: I meant to explain why I feel all of this is okay. My conduct and Inoue's. It is very hard to explain the atmosphere of this school and what is wrong with it. The 3rd year boys are spoiled and have become rotten. Although they have improved lately, they have set a terrible example. Nishiguchi is dumb and has very little going for him, besides being rich. He is also very big for his age. He discovered a month or so into the school year that by acting like a moron he could stand out. Of course, he learned this by watching the 3rd years and thinking their were no consequences for his actions. He wanders around most of the time disrupting classes, breaking things and picking on anyone who is smaller or weaker than him, including teachers. He is frightened of both Inoue sensei and me but he cares more about what his peers think of him. To this end he takes every opportunity to act out in front of everyone and tries to make teachers the butt of his actions believing there will be no repercussions. I think that it is very important to have very swift and embarrassing repercussions inflicted in front of his target audience. I know, through sparring with him, that, while being big and strong for his age, he is a terrible weakling and can't stand being hurt. He will also take no responsibility for his action and tries to act like it was ll in fun when it is over. He can't talk about anything seriously. His first reaction to being warned about something is to act like he is going to hit you. If there was a way to suspend him or give him detention, I would support that. If there was a way to extract him from class and put him into counseling, I would support that. If we could call his parents and get them down to the school, I would support that. A note on the parents. His father is a company president and apparently they are well off. His father is tried of dealing with him so he has decided not to. When Nishiguchi shoved a female teacher into a wall, sending her to the hospital, his father told the school that that was acceptable because the teacher had put her hands on his shoulders and asked him to go to his seat. What I want him to understand, and what I wanted to talk to him about today is that, in the real world, when you walk around acting like you are going to fight people, there are many out there who will take you up on your offer. It is best to learn that now.

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attempting to silence the voices in my head.