You thought the American Public School System was bad? Check out Japan....

[ShaneGR]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/06/21/japan.blood.reut/index.html

(snip)
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- A Japanese teenager was forced by his teacher to write an apology in blood after dozing in the classroom, the school's principal said on Monday.

The teacher later went to high school principal Hiroaki Dan and confessed what he had done, Dan told Reuters.

The teacher had apologized to the 17-year-old boy and his parents, Dan said, confirming a local media report of the incident, which happened last Thursday.

He said the boy was taken to the staff room of the school in Fukuoka City, southern Japan, after being caught asleep during a lesson. The 40-year-old male teacher handed the boy a box-cutter and paper and told him to write an apology in blood.

The teacher left the student, who then cut his finger and began to write an apology using his own blood.





BTW: He was suspended for two days.... where's Donald Trump when you need him?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. There are certainly some tyrannical teachers in Japan, but on the whole

the teachers are professional, well-paid, and respected in the community. Japan achieves a higher literacy rate than the U.S. with a much more difficult written language, and you will find better general knowledge among the Japanese public than among the American public.

Back in Oregon I knew a woman whose husband was Japanese (they met when she was an exchange student over there), and she pointed out that the American media rarely carried stories from Japan unless it was something freaky like that.

Sure, there's freaky stuff in Japan, and I could tell you stories about it, but it's not the whole picture. I wouldn't have lived there and gone back eight times to visit if that were the case.

[ShaneGR]

2. Fair enough....

I guess what freaked me out was that they didn't fire this teacher. But I understand what you're saying.

[NewJeffCT]

6. and I'm guessing

I am also guessing, but I bet they start early teaching the students English as a Second Language - maybe not just English, but a second language.

[Ernesto]

3. I don't think our public shools are bad.

Thank you very much.

[Cleamatra]

4. I'm currently working

in the Japanese school system. Overall, I am quite impressed by the school system and the quality of students they produce. However, on the downside, Japan does a horrible job in teaching critical thinking. Recently, in the Prefecture that I live in (Aomori) a high school teacher was fired because he could no longer do the math that he was supposed to teach. Students complained about him for over 10 years before the Prefectural Board chose to investigate and asked him to take the High school entrance exam for math. He failed miserably.
On the plus side, they do a wonderful job teaching ethics, respect, and producing ethically-conscious, respectful, hard working young adults. This helps to explain the low crime rate and the high productivity that they maintain. One has to wonder how Japanese companies can remain competitive without mass layoffs (company big shots feel an obligation to keep their employees working; not too long ago, the CEO of Sony went on national TV to announce lay offs and was in tears).
There's lots of things Americans could learn from Japanese society and business practices.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. Welcome to DU!

Are you on the JET program?

[pansypoo53219]

7. when did they start

teaching critical thinking in america?

[Ernesto]

8. When ever parents take an active role in their children's education.

School ain't day-care unless you treat it as such.