Club Activities (Feedback)

I think this is the first entry I have ever done in a coin laundry! I’m back in Sapporo now. I climbed Shari Dake yesterday, stayed at the Michi no eki in Bihoro Toge, and then drove back today. It was over 30 degrees up by Sounkyo. I have never known temperatures like this in Hokkaido in the middle of September.

Anyway, thanks for an interesting and lively discussion this week. I can see why some people are in favour of club activities, but I still think they should be separated in some way from school life so that they are not the responsibility of teachers. I think the situation in the UK is pretty similar to the one Anne’s friend described in the US. Young people do go to sports clubs and join local teams, but they are nothing to do with schools.

Regarding the idea of teaching as a “holy” job, I think it is important to remember that Japanese teachers are among the most poorly trained in the developed world. It is incredibly easy to become a teacher in this country. All students have to do is take a few extra courses at university (which are not at all difficult to pass), do a couple of weeks “practice teaching” in a school, and then they are licensed to become teachers. (In the UK, you have to do an extra year of study after graduating that includes six months of properly supervised training.) I know that if you want to work in a public school, you have to pass the saiyou shiken as well, but from my experience, that is more about old men from the local board of education deciding whether or not your face fits than a true assessment of your potential as a teacher. One of the reasons I was so happy to get my current job is that I hope I will be able to make a small difference to the education of English teachers in Japan.

Anyway, here is some feedback on your comments.

Actually, I didn’t want to join none of them.
Actually, I didn’t want to join any of them. (Native speakers might say “none” in conversation, but it is not good English.)

Japanese children are too busy for bukatsu.
Japanese children are too busy with bukatsu.

I think they should take the balance between them.
I think they should find a balance between them.

A large number of mom friends tell me that they are also taken up their weekends and holidays by children’s bukatsu.
A large number of mom friends tell me that their weekends and holidays are taken up by their children’s bukatsu.

But i think i am good i did Ｂｕｋａｔｕ！＾＾
But I am glad I did bukatsu. (A-Z: glad; think)

I don’t know the situation of bukatsu nowadays much.
I don’t know much about the situation of bukatsu nowadays.

I don’t really mind if he is a good swimmer as many of other mothers do, but how severe school life for children is!!
Indeed! Maybe this is why Japan has one of the highest suicide rates among young people in the world. There is just too much pressure on children in this country.

It’s interesting to know how foreign person think about club activities.
It’s interesting to know what foreign people think about club activities. (A-Z: how)

Do you think parents should help students with club activities as volunteers?
No. I think children should join local clubs outside their schools.

I was in the basket club in junior high, but it’s not obligated, so if you didn’t want to join a club, you wouldn’t have to.
I was in the basketball club in junior high, but it wasn’t compulsory, so if you didn’t want to join a club, you didn’t have to.

I definitely think they should reduce the workloads of teachers and teachers should have less responsibilities.
I agree. If they had more time, teachers would be able to focus more of their effort on professional development and education.

It sounds a good idea, but I’m not sure if schools in Japan have enough budget to hire those teachers or not.
Japan is a country where governments pay to build bridges to nowhere and roads that no one needs. Not to mention the incredible amount of money that is wasted every year on research grants for universities. (That will be the topic of another blog.) Japan has plenty of money; the problem is one of priorities.

I often hear that Japan spends (almost)least expenditure for education among developed countries.
But one of the highest expenditures on construction.

I asked her what time she goes to bed the other day, and she said that she usually goes to bed after midnight. She stays up late using her cell phone or watching videos on her iPad Mini.
Why don’t her parents just take her phone off her at bedtime? Also, if she has an iPad mini, she can make a lot of money! They haven’t been announced yet…

University students are already adults, but school teachers teach children.
I know a lot of university teachers who would disagree with that!

I think teachers and doctors are indispensable jobs: we can’t live without them. So
I heard the other day that doctors in Japan never have to renew their licence and never have to do any professional development. They can stop practicing for ten years, do a completely different job, and then still come back to being a doctor. Is that true?

＞”They are paid.”–”They get paid.” sounds more natural.
Actually, either is fine.

I’m glad that we are on common ground.
Do you know the expression “I’m glad we are on the same page”?

> I know the title of the book.
=> I have heard of the book title.
I’ve heard of it.

That’s it for today. I was planning to take a ferry back from Tomakomai to Tsuruga on Sunday night, but the service isn’t running that day. I could take a ferry from Otaru to Maizuru instead, but it’s a long way from Maizuru to Gifu, so I’m going to take the ferry from Hakodate to Aomori on Sunday night and then drive back on Monday. If I don’t have time to do an entry, I’ll do it on Tuesday instead.

Have a great weekend.