Today is Saturday, but again we had school. (Yesterday was a holiday, however, so we had the day off.) We always have school on the Saturday before Golden Week, because it's the day when the students go home for about a week of vacation. Since the parents (or guardians) have come to get their children, the school takes advantage of the situation to have a PTA day.
As you probably guessed, I had nothing to do today, but I still went to school. I actually didn't mind going to school, however, because I had a chance, as usual, to chat with some of the kids, which I really enjoy.
I even talked to a few parents for a few minutes, but I didn't meet some of the parents I was hoping to see. Some of the teachers refer to the parents as "monsters," which is semi-understandable, since here in Japan, in general, teachers have much more responsibility toward students than they do in America or Europe (in most cases). If you're a good teacher, though, I don't really think the parents will act like monsters. Maybe that's why I have a good relationship with some of the parents. :-)
Anyway, today two of the students who just graduated in March were at school. One came to pick up his little brother, while the other came to talk to some teachers. The one who came to pick up his brother is one of the two students from the Class of 2011 who did not get accepted to a university. I talked to him about that a little bit and heard some interesting stuff.
Since he didn't get accepted to a university, about the only way for him to do so is to try again next year, by taking the National Center Test again next January. To prepare for that, he is taking classes at a high school. From Monday to Friday, he commutes to the high school by train. It takes him about 1.5 hours each way. He is the only student in the classes, he pays for the classes, and he has to wear his school uniform.
As far as I know, the guy has several options with regard to getting tutored in whatever subjects he needs to improve in, but he has decided to do what he's doing because it's the cheapest option.
I certainly applaud him for going to all the trouble to get into a university next year, but I also feel sorry for him, mostly because he has to wear his school uniform. Basically, he's a fourth-grade student at a school with three grades, and that has to be embarrassing.
I think he'd be a bit happier if he could have transferred to another high school and simply started as a senior, so that no one would necessarily know what boat he was in.
I imagine the guy must feel like a loser at times, given his situation, but he really shouldn't. He has to be at least partially responsible for not making it into a university, but I also believe he was a victim of the system. The teachers simply don't do enough teaching and place the learning burden on the shoulders of the students, which just isn't fair.
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The students went home today and don't come back to school until Thursday night. Why? Well, since we had to come to school today, we get Monday, May 2, off, and since Golden Week (not really a week!) is from May 3-5, a string of three holidays in a row, we don't have school again until Friday, May 6.
I don't understand why we can't have next Friday off and just add on an extra day of school at some other point later in the year to make up for it, but that's the way it seems to always go with school systems, especially in a workaholic-filled country like Japan.
As for me, well, I'm taking Friday off so I can have a nice little vacation. On Monday, I'm heading to Okinawa for the first time, and I don't come back until Sunday.
I'm not Japanese. I'm American. I believe in the importance of vacation!
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