Move Along

Today, I learned an interesting thing about the Japanese school system.

At my small school (where five of the nine grades only have one student), there is a girl who barely ever comes to school; she is the only one in her class as well. This week alone, she was present for about 6 of the total 28 periods held. It doesn't really affect me, but I noticed it when the three English classes we had scheduled were canceled due to her absence (I just end up studying when this happens).

So I asked my Japanese Teacher of English (JTE), "what's going on with K-chan?" My JTE explained that K-chan often doesn't come to school because she isn't feeling well. What kind of illness? Headaches (which I confer, given sufficient intensity, can be debilitating), stemming from what my JTE thinks is a psychological/emotional disorder. My JTE is not a professional psychologist, but I think after working with kids for long enough, one is able to obtain an idea of the problems some children might face. So I trust her words.

"So JTE-sensei, how many classes is a student allowed to miss before having to retake a school year?" The surprising answer: they won't have to [retake the school year].

My JTE told me that, at least through the end of junior high school (that's 9th grade here in Japan), students are invariably advanced despite any lackings in their performance, attendance, behavior, etc. I was a little shocked. Why not really shocked? Because like I said, it doesn't really affect me as I have no vested, long-term interest in Japan's school system (if I start raising a family here, I'll change my view). I'm just amazed that a national school system would push kids through the educational system they're required to participate in, bringing them to the ripe old age of 15, where they, not having been fully educated because of their frequent absence from school, are no longer required to attend school.

The case of K-chan is particularly worrying, however, because of her apparent dislike and problems with the Japanese writing system. Consisting mainly of a character system with around 2,000 characters in "general use" (meaning most used in daily life), I can't help but think this girl is going to grow up illiterate in her own country. Imagine, that you only learn 2 letters of the English alphabet a year, starting in first grade (kindergarten would make the math work better, but just pretend) with the most used letters coming first. But somewhere along the way, you stop studying, stop caring, and then you stop going to school after only having the chance to learn 20 of them. What about the other 6 that you never learned? And what about the last few years where you didn't really want to learn new letters anyway? Imagine just not knowing.

So I'm reminded of a line from the original Star Wars, you know, the good one, where Obi-wan Kenobi convinces the Stormtroopers to let them pass without consequence, the final lines of the sequence being, "Move along. Move along."

High school, says my JTE, is another story. They'll boot you out in no time.

PS - and for the nerd in all of us, this is just awesome.