Frustration in the Classroom

I had Class 2A today with Ms. Sasaki, the teacher that has NO control over her classes. Anyway, we walked into class and Shotaro (my new neighbor) was hiding in the back of the room on the floor. Yes, the floor. He just laid on the floor as if he were dead, not willing to move an inch. Shotaro actually belongs to Class 2B, so Ms. Sasaki asked me to take over the class while she DRAGGED Shotaro out of the classroom by his legs. She literally used all her strength and pulled him across the floor and out of the room. He quickly came back in and laid on the floor AGAIN. The students were laughing as Ms. Sasaki continued to drag him out of the classroom. He came back, this time standing outside of the classroom and staring inside while laughing. Ms. Sasaki continued to pay him lots of attention as the other students began the Harry Potter word search handout given to them. He finally left, thank goodness.

When time was up for the handout, Ms. Sasaki asked the students who found 7 or more words to raise their hands so she could give them a sticker. Masaki (the "cool" kid) raised his hand to get a sticker. I knew for a fact he didn't even find one single word on his paper. I asked him why the words weren't circled and he told me it's all in his head. I asked him to circle them and he proceeded to circle random letters. As Ms. Sasaki walked by, I told her that Masaki didn't find any words, even though his hand was raised. She then nodded and walked past his desk. Masaki got upset and ripped his paper in half. Right after he ripped his paper, Ms. Sasaki walked BACK to Masaki's desk and handed him a sticker. WTF???!!!

See why the Japanese school system is frustrating?? The students aren't disciplined AT ALL so they can pretty much do ANYTHING they want and not get in trouble. Students can't be sent to the principal's office or anything during class time b/c EVERY kid is entitled to an education here, meaning they remain in the class even if they are distracting other students AND the teacher from teaching. It makes NO sense. I know all the ALTs here know what I'm talking about. The bad kids run amok in class and the teachers do NOTHING. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!

Right before the annoying 2A class today, Ms. Sasaki told me that the students have a "morals class" once a week. I asked her what they teach the kids in this "morals class." She said they are taught to be kind to the elderly, be honest, honor their school?, etc., etc. I wonder if they can slip in a "DON'T BE AN ASS IN CLASS!" lesson at their next meeting.

Thought of the day:

K, I'd say 99% of foreigners hate natto (fermented soybeans in all its smelliness and gooeyness). Anyway, today for lunch we had natto and tuna w/ mayo. One of my students put a huge glob of natto and tuna w/ mayo and mixed it ALL into his rice. I seriously wanted to vomit. Even if you ARE a natto fan, WHY would you mix natto and tuna w/ mayo TOGETHER??