Panel recommends 'moral education' to counter school bullying, corporal punishment
TOKYO —
An Education Ministry advisory panel has been convened to propose ideas for dealing with bullying and corporal punishment in Japan’s schools.
In response to student suicides caused by bullying and corporal punishment, which hit the headlines recently, the panel on Tuesday submitted education reform proposals to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Among their ideas was the introduction of morality lessons into the standard curriculum to teach children about the importance of life and right and wrong, TBS reported.
The proposal was made to solve the problem that schools and education professionals have “a different idea about the kind of guidance that should be offered to students,” a spokesperson said. Moral education will not be graded as a traditional subject, but will be taught under a new framework.
Other ideas included introducing systems to ensure that teaching staff and parents are aware of the need to immediately report all cases of bullying to the school authorities and appropriate boards of education, TBS reported. The panel also suggested that in serious cases that could not be solved locally, a third party association should be introduced to tackle the issue.
In response to physical assaults carried out by a basketball team coach on a student who later committed suicide, the board suggested a national set of guidelines for club activities. It also suggested that a system whereby students and guardians had easier access to consultations with the school or education board would minimize the danger of similar incidents being overlooked in the future.
Japan Today
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49 Comments
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6
Yubaru
Cripes another case of the blind leading the blind.
5
Yubaru
And this is coming from a government and country that supports and carry's out capital punishment, in the form of hanging no less.
0
kurisupisu
I propose a custodial sentence for causing injury to another.Oh I forgot that is the law.............
-1
Knox Harrington
Well, frack me running, this is just gonna take care of it all. Wonderful idea. Not militaristic at all.
Let me guess: oyaji bureaucrats 45-75 years? All yes-men? No connection to real life in Japan due to having worked in various departments since graduating from Uni?
3
ebisen
Wait, wait, so ya wanna tell me that the freakin' "Moral Education" is not for the teachers??? They are going to teach this to the kids in order to be able to cope with the stress of teachers abusing them? Sounds like a punishment for the children coming out and complaining.
How about teaching the whole bunch of teachers HOW TO ACTUALLY TEACH properly??
2
Frungy
Oh dear, "moral education" in Japan? Considering the current government's nationalist leanings I forsee a very dark path. Lots of nonsense about "Samurai spirit", and "bushido".... which will undoubtedly only reinforce bullying and corporal punishment problems while making victims feel like they deserve it.
2
Yubaru
Moral education has been a part of Japanese compulsory education for decades. The problem NOW is that MEXT want to make it a graded class, like that is going to make any difference.
Moral education should start at home. Trying to get teachers to grade a subject that is based upon individual beliefs is incredibly asinine in my opinion.
What happens when a teacher's beliefs clash with what they are expected to be teaching? How are teachers supposed to keep their own opinions, feelings, thoughts, and or ideas from conflicting with the lesson material? The teachers are no way prepared nor educated for this. Hell it's hard enough for someone with a PhD in psych to get it right let alone a JHS or ES teacher.
Just another finger in the exploding dam experiment that will continue to drag down even further the level of kids "morals" in Japan.
3
Virtuoso
I think the moral thing to do is to cheerfully take bullies behind the shed and beat them to a pulp.
2
hoserfella
"Moral Education" classes were proposed and carried out 15 years ago. . Somehow, it didn't work. 6 or 7 classes to counter the pro-bullying education kids get in Japanese society every single day will do nothing.
This is a clear statement from the Jgov that bullying will continue to go unpunished in the school system.
1
smithinjapan
Is it going to teach them to speak out against the teacher?
1
Yubaru
Moral education classes are held WEEKLY in just about every ES and JHS in Japan TODAY. There are roughly 30 plus hours of "morals" education yearly in public schools NOW. It is typically taught by the homeroom teacher unless a guest speaker or lecturer is called in.
There are notebooks, no textbooks because MEXT can not publish it's own textbooks by law, put out by MEXT as guidelines for the current classes.
2
Baibaikin
@ebisen You've hit the nail on the head.
Bullying is an issue in all walks of life in all countries, but it is exacerbated (institutionalised) in schools and companies as it is viewed as a form of training or discipline. I've heard bullying within companies referred to as 指導shidou, which basically translates as 'coaching'. I've witnessed bullying at work first hand and the emotional distress that it has caused could certainly not be described as such.
Surely 'overlooked' in this sentence should be replaced with 'ignored'.
-1
Yubaru
By itself this is just one meaning, shidou also means leadership; guidance; as well as coaching, but when used with other words it takes on a plethora of meanings that depending upon the situation changes it greatly.
Sekatsu shidou; educational guidance Kojin shidou; personal guidance or teaching Seito shidou; student guidance or student counselling
There are many meanings and uses for the word which may confuse some people but coaching is typically used for sports, in the private sector it means more of guidance or leadership training or counseling.
3
hoserfella
Yubaru - IF that is the actual case and bullying today is as bad as its ever been in Japan, then obviously the extra "classes" are nothing but a joke. Morals and ethics are taught by parents, not teachers.
1
Yubaru
IF? Call your local ES or JHS. Morals should be taught by parents yes, but since parents here often, typically?, don't teach them, schools do it instead.
Ethics however is a different story, HS's and above typically teach ethics, although the kanji for ethics has a double meaning which means both ethics and morals 倫理, りんり. it's called rinri, and means both ethics and morals;
-2
tmarie
Morals and ethics are taught by parents, not teachers.
I wish I could agree with you but feel that it is the teachers these days are are left to teach them morals. Not just a problem here but in many countries. You'd think in a nation with one parent home but nope, schools.
1
cubic
Yubaru
Then wouldn't urging parents to teach kids about morals and ethics be better stance for this panel to take? The schools here are so ridiculously weak, parents end up blaming everything on the school, when most of the time it is they as parents who are neglecting what needs to be taught in the home. Schools and teachers need to stand up to parents for any of this to change. Moral classes will be treated as a joke by most kids, especially the potential bullies (think back to the bullies from your school days and imagine them being taught about morality by teachers...it wouldn't make a shred of difference would it?).
1
slumdog
Actually, in class I hear many are quite well versed in this depending on who the teacher is. If you mean against bullying teachers/coaches, I doubt it.
Perhaps they should start by teaching morals to the sports coaches that still believe that hitting is a form of guidance. Then, they should arrest the ones that hit the students. I think that would do wonders for the problem.
0
tmarie
**What happens when a teacher's beliefs clash with what they are expected to be teaching? **
Then they are supposed to forget them, stand up and sing kimigayo unless they want to be fired. Of course!
2
Yubaru
The bigger problem is that compulsory education HAS to be redefined to make students responsible and not just schools. Schools have no choice in reality and teachers have little if any power to actually enforce any rules beyond talking with students.
-1
Magnet
Most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. How about corporal punishment to their parents too, since they're more than often the ones to blame for their children's behavior.
1
tmarie
Yubaru, you're also forgetting that it was the government who took the power away from the teachers... Lovely how top down things go in this country. Parents don't want to do it but scream when the teachers do it, the government now wants the teachers to do it but certainly won't protect them from the parents... Why anyone wants to teach at the ele-HS level in this country is beyond me.
0
ChibaChick
I wish I could agree that morals should be taught by parents but given some of the shocking examples of parental lack of guidance I see here on a daily basis - perhaps it is best in the hands of the schools. SOMEONE has to do it! Personally I would like to see Virtuoso do it (see above) but its just not reasonable to expect him to get round every school every week.
1
Yubaru
But then there wouldnt be anyone left to teach morals now would there?
0
BertieWooster
All part of the great Abe plan:
http://www.japanfocus.org/events/view/170
2
BertieWooster
Hoserfella,
Hmmm.
In reality, morals and ethics are taught by Japanese TV.
What a role model!
0
blendover
To be fair, a number of the other suggested ideas seem OK ish. It's the one about morals education that people are objecting to the most. It's a very old fashioned term and conjures up images of someone standing up and sermonising to a bunch of uninterested, cynical youngsters.
Morals education, if you have to call it that, should be happening in situ, more than as a separate course. That is, the teaching of good social attitudes has to be built into the curriculae of other disciplines, such as sports, social studies and so on, as well as practiced by the teachers in all areas and enunciated on public occasions, in assemblies and so on. It's about building a culture of mutual respect - something that would take a rather more comprehensive approach than simply bunging in a few lectures on morality.
0
Laguna
Zero tolerance for either.
This is not rocket science. Vacuous terms such as "moral educations" are exactly those lost on those who abuse these standards.
A three-strike law is required here for bullies on both sides: Once, required intervention; twice, the former plus suspension; thrice, expulsion or termination.
Fear is a great motivator for such people.
1
ChibaChick
Yubaru - har har har! Good one!
-3
Kimokekahuna Hawaii
Bullies exist at all levels of society. I see older women at the tea shop and men at work still bullied .. intimidated.. subjected to dominating behavior of others who have practiced this behavior since youth.. there needs to be more than education.. make movies.. make a movie that is Academy Award winning documentary.. about kids who commit suicide, jump in front of trains.. you have so many needless deaths of young people and even elders who lay on the tracks because some punk Yakuza blackmailed them.. people say they feel bad.. but everyone accepts it... something is really messed up in society when suicide because of other people's arrogance and ego.. is commonplace, accepted or just ignored. This is the suicide of a culture.
1
Kent Mcgraw
I do not know much about bullying here in Japan. I do know that I do not like the sports system here where the coach thinks he is god and the mothers must bring him lunch or the children will not play. In fact I do not like the way men treat women in Japan. That is another story. As far as bullying, we all were bullied at some time and bullying is a way of life for some and especially for governments and all in power. The best thing is to not baby your children as many do here in Japan and teach them to stand up for themselves. I think Japan is raising a bunch of babies. The best way to deal with a bully is to stand up and make the bully fight, not popular among women but men know this. Face him or you will run the rest of your life..
0
Kent Mcgraw
To add more, teach the children that they are good no matter what others think and stop relying on what others think for self worth. That will end the suicide. You have worth more than what others think of you. You are a special human created in the image of God. If no one likes it that is tough for them, you are a unique person. If children were taught that at home there would be no suicide because of bullying.
2
BertieWooster
It all depends on what morality is being taught.
On how they define "right" and "wrong," and what is important in life.
The ministry of education can't even organise an education system. Most Japanese kids go to juku - OUTSIDE the education system. If the Japanese education system were effective, they wouldn't need to do this.
The Japanese education system cannot even teach Japanese kids English. Many of us foreigners (wareware gaijin) make a good living in Japan as a result. The Philippines manages to do it on a MUCH lower budget, in far less time and without AETs, fancy teaching aids or English conversation schools.
And Abe's ideas of "right" and "wrong" include "stout denial is a good escape."
I don't have good hopes for the future of this country.
-2
avigator
My math teacher had a rule: fall every multiplication facts you did not recited correctly, you either get the yard stick or the belt. Boy, did I learn those facts in less the time a rooster crows in the morning, (in a heartbeat). His was out of love. Some might do it out of hate.
3
Fadamor
I've said it before and I'll say it again. State-conducted "moral education" is what got Japan into trouble during the 1930's and 1940's. Back then it was "Give your all for the Emperor, give your all for Nippon, THEN give what ever is left to your family and life!" Morals are taught by the parents when the child is young. Trying to teach them to middle and high school students is too late.
1
pointofview
Yubaru,
The moral classes at JHS in Japan consist of learning how deep to bow and how to wear uniforms properly. In fact countless moral classes usually get cancelled for chorus and sports day practices. Sorry, but it just isn
t taken seriously. They dont even learn to keep their sleepy heads off their desks.0
Simona Stanzani
I think that an older brother/sister-like young counselor with some psychology background but mostly decent communication skills and emotional intelligence working as a bridge between the kids world and the adults world would probably work. I'm actually talking about it here and there, if I manage to make it get trough to the executive level I'll let you know. [it's probably gonna be a bit of a long way, bear with me].
2
Thunderbird2
Moral education? Which morals are they? The moral codes of the Edo Period? Until they clamp down on this macho "toughen up" BS then bullying by sports coaches and PE teachers in schools will continue. They need to allow the kids to embrace their feelings, and not hide behind a mask of indifference to their own suffering.
Been there, done that... had the nervous breakdown after years of high school bullying. Kids need to be able to turn to someone for help... and they need to know that looking for help isn't a weakness, or something unmanly.
0
AkariYoshida
If you start young and keep teaching kids morals as they get older, the more aware they will become of their actions against others and what exactly they are doing to someone else. Plus, this may help someone, if they get bullied in the future, know what to do and who to inform.
2
Kabukilover
I love this: "In response to physical assaults carried out by a basketball team coach on a student who later committed suicide, the board suggested a national set of guidelines for club activities." How about just enforcing the law? Corporal punishment is illegal. Period.
Any people who can come up with pap like this have nothing to say about moral education.
Anyway, moral education per se does not make moral people. Japan has had some sort of "moral education" since the Meiji Era and you can see what good it has done.
Before talking about moral education enforce existing laws.
0
winnie4
Very positive idea. Daily reminders about doing the right thing as human beings is a smart angle and better than doing nothing.
2
Moonraker
The reason why nothing will improve is that fundamentally the Ministry of Education does not really like kids. Bullying in school - by teachers, sempai and other students - has a long history but it is conveniently being used now as an excuse to bring in moral education, which ultimately has the aim of creating even more standardised and nationalistic citizens for the greater good of the country and its elite.
0
BertieWooster
Moonraker,
True.
But I'd go further than that.
The reason why nothing will improve is that fundamentally the Ministry of Education does not really like people.
I can see that with their "moral education" in place, bullying will increase but it will be officially sanctioned. It's perfectly OK for senpai to bully kohai - actually, it's not really bullying, is it, they are just being "cruel to be kind."
0
Ichiro20
Isn't this a long overdue?
I support this cause.
Let the children realize how important life is - let them feel they are lucky to have been born with 2 hands and 2 legs. Because some people there were not as lucky as to have been born with a complete body - but they never give up - you can many things so long as you are alive - if you are dead there is nothing left for you.
1
warnerbro
Nothing will change as long as teachers themselves are free to beat and humiliate children, and as long as the airwaves are filled every night with so-called "talents" enduring and providing humiliation and physical abuse in the name of "humour."
-2
Disillusioned
I have visions of someone like Sergeant Shultz screaming, "You must be good! You must not bully!"
More seriously though, the problem does not lay in 'morality classes'. The problem comes from kids having no consequences for misbehaving. the teachers cannot remove unruly students from classrooms nor can they stop them attending club activities or school excursions. One of the private schools I worked in had a detention system, but the detention was during class time and kids were still allowed to attend club activities and spend their lunch times in general population, which is totally ass-backwards for a disciplinary action. When the school system changed in the early 90's they went from over-control to no-control. The only disciplinary actions teachers have at their disposal are humiliation and intimidation. Perfect if you are in the military. And, make no mistake, monster parents are real and by the sound of this new policy they are gonna make it even easier for monster parents to influence how their kids are treated within the school. There will be more requests for easier test so little Naoki Average who spends 8 hours a day on his PSP can get into the university of his choice for more PSP action!
0
buggerlugs
Lol. Moral education based on what morals?? The traditional Japanese ones where if you screw up you commit seppuku? Ones where a sword is tested on criminals? Ones where those in power and authority commit crimes receiving only suspended or zero sentences while a commoner is sentenced to a year in jail for taking 10¥ from a shrine?
0
Yunita
Could anyone explain to me the BEST way to stop bullying? or to punish the bully so that they would stop? What should the teachers and the parents do? Because from my own personal experience as a (short term) bully at elementary school, the girl I was bullying at the time has the courage to report me to our home room teacher and he called me and in a nice way told me to stop what I was doing to my friend and to go outside play along nicely with each other. No punishment whatsoever. After that I just lost interest in continue the bullying. Imagine if the bully weren't so nice like me. After the victim reports them to a figure of authority the bullying just escalates even more.
From another personal experience as a bully victim by my brother at home. it happened whenever no authority figures ( parents, uncle, aunt, grandparents) on sight. He did that to our cousins too, to any kid younger than him. He respected my mother so much, he was mom's little angel in front of her. So, I never had any proof to tell mom what he has done. I grew up distancing myself from him. Mom finally noticed that there was something going on in the past but still she repeatedly told me to just let it go, it happened in the past, don't held grudge, just get along with each other, siblings do that all the time it's not a big deal, once I'm gone you only have your brother kind of speech. So, I guess my decision not to tell her about what happened in the past were right. There's nothing she could do anyway.
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