Covert

Hi all,

Here's a story today from Japan about a public forum that was set up to
discuss the issue of forced volunteering in public schools, as part of
the Japanese prime minister's ongoing "education reform" campaign.


Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
Osaka, Japan

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The Daily Yomiuri - Monday, 16 October 2000

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/1016so08.htm


UNPAID COMMUNITY WORK FOCUS OF EDUCATION FORUM

Yomiuri Shimbun


FUKUOKA -- The advisability of making it compulsory for schoolchildren to
engage in unpaid community work was the focus of attention at the first
public hearing held by an advisory panel to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori
in Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, on Saturday.

The National Commission on Educational Reform held the hearing to discuss
an interim report it submitted to Mori on Sept. 22.

Eight citizens, including six former and current schoolteachers, took
part in the hearing as representatives of the public.

The discussion largely focused on proposals in the report that all
primary, middle and high school students do unpaid work in the community,
and that measures to improve teachers' skills be implemented.

Most participants said community work should not be mandatory and argued
that more emphasis should be placed on students' independence. Some
participants questioned the ability of school principals to objectively
evaluate teachers.

In addition to former Education Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, who is the
prime minister's aide in charge of educational reform, seven panel
members attended the forum, including Keita Asari, head of the Gekidan
Shiki theatrical company, and writer Ayako Sono.

About 330 members of the public listened to the debate between the
commission members and the public representatives.

Of the eight members of the public, five mentioned the proposal in the
interim report that community work be made compulsory for students.

All five called for a cautionary approach to the proposal, but agreed
that community work is important.

A 42-year-old company president, speaking on behalf of students' parents,
said, "It is more effective to nurture a sense of cooperation among
volunteers in times of trouble, as was evident in the volunteer work that
began after the [1995] Great Hanshin Earthquake."

A 57-year-old middle school principal stressed the importance of
students' independence, saying, "Students gain self-confidence through
the experience of helping others if their independence is respected."

In response, Sono asked participants to show understanding for the report
and said, "If we first give students the opportunity to experience
community work, they will come to enjoy it."

Many of the participants drawn from the public had experience as
schoolteachers, and they expressed their opinions specifically on the
issue of improving the teaching skills of teachers.

A 43-year-old high school teacher spoke in favor of a proposal in the
report calling for the introduction of a merit-based evaluation system
for teachers.

"I think an evaluation system is needed in which teachers who strive hard
are rewarded," the teacher said.

However, another panelist questioned the evaluation ability of the
administration side, saying, "I wonder if school administrators,
including principals, are able to evaluate teachers objectively."

There were some reactions to the proposal that teachers who have led
classes without difficulty or devised effective teaching methods be given
special financial allowances.


Copyright 2000 The Yomiuri Shimbun