12/29/2007

Sixty-one percent of teachers in Japan are mentally ill and the rest are just batshit crazy…

61% of teachers taking sick leave in 2006 suffered mental illness
JapanToday.com – Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 05:00 EST
TOKYO — The education ministry said Friday that 7,655 teachers at public elementary, and junior and senior high schools took sick leave in the 2006 academic year, of whom 4,675, or 61%, suffered mental illness including depression. Both figures are record highs, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology...more…

Why do I say “batshit crazy”?
The average public school class size in Japan is 45 students, teachers have to work from 7am to 7pm, Japanese students cannot be expelled or punished, they have to teach-to-the-test according to an often bogus curriculum that is set on the national level, etc., ad nauseum.
Here’s a conversation from the ultimate must-read book, Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Japan (Chapter 12) talking about Japan’s “juku” scam that requires most students to attend eight to ten extra hours a week of cram school classes (costing parents additional millions of yen).

Alex Kurr– “If Japan’s schools are so very good, why do you have to spend so much money for extra education?”
Education mother*– “The children do not learn what they need to know to pass the exams for university in public schools.”
Alex Kurr– “Well, what are they doing in school, then?”
Ed. mother– “They are learning to be Japanese.”

*Kyoiku Mama (教育ママ)