Japanese story on new school
Covert
Hi again all,
Here is a follow-up to a news story I posted sometime back about a local
mayor in Japan, who had threatened to dismiss public school teachers if
they did not force their students to sing the Japanese national anthem
and recognize the national flag.
That mayor is back in the news, with plans to open a *new* school where
ostensibly he will have no such opposition to worry about -- and all
under the guise of "more choices in education."
Homelearners the world over are talking of "more choices in education" as
a reason for devoting ourselves to true learning without state
intervention. In Japan, that same concept is now being used as cover by
public officials to once again brainwash schoolchildren into believing
that the (mostly symbolic) Japanese emperor is an all-powerful Shinto god
who stands in human form....and will stand so forever.
Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
in Osaka, Japan
-----------------------
[Mainichi Daily News - Saturday, 3 June 2000]
DEBATE OVER KIMIGAYO LEADS MAYOR TO OPEN NEW SCHOOL
By Masahiko Okamura and Mashio Morita
Mainichi Shimbun
YASUURA, Hiroshima -- Taking great pains to have the Kimigayo national
anthem sung at school ceremonies, the town mayor here plans to open a
private elementary school funded by the municipal government to ensure
the song is sung, it was revealed on Friday.
Mayor Norihiko Okita of Yasuura, Hiroshima Prefecture, made headlines
recently when he sent scathing letters to teachers at the town's
elementary and junior high schools, urging them to sing Kimigayo during
graduation and entrance ceremonies. He had also sent similar letters to
students at the town's junior high schools.
Okita, 54, said that the hoisting of the Hinomaru national flag and the
singing of Kimigayo at school ceremonies will be strictly observed in the
proposed new school, which will conduct education in compliance with
Ministry of Education guidelines, local sources said.
He also said that the new school will offer the town residents more
choices in education.
Under the plan, an educational foundation will soon be established by
several promoters, including a former principal of a prefectural senior
high school. The foundation will then collect contributions from those
who endorse the planned school, which is expected to open in April next
year admitting 30 pupils in the first grade.
The town government is expected to repair an abandoned municipal
elementary school for its new venture.
Annual operating costs of about 50 million yen will also be subsidized by
the municipality. Children of town residents will be exempted from paying
the admission fee of about 50,000 yen and monthly tuition of about 18,000
yen, granting them the same conditions as those who attend public schools.
[copyright 2000 - The Mainichi Newspapers Co.]
Here is a follow-up to a news story I posted sometime back about a local
mayor in Japan, who had threatened to dismiss public school teachers if
they did not force their students to sing the Japanese national anthem
and recognize the national flag.
That mayor is back in the news, with plans to open a *new* school where
ostensibly he will have no such opposition to worry about -- and all
under the guise of "more choices in education."
Homelearners the world over are talking of "more choices in education" as
a reason for devoting ourselves to true learning without state
intervention. In Japan, that same concept is now being used as cover by
public officials to once again brainwash schoolchildren into believing
that the (mostly symbolic) Japanese emperor is an all-powerful Shinto god
who stands in human form....and will stand so forever.
Brian Covert
(KnoK NEWS)
in Osaka, Japan
-----------------------
[Mainichi Daily News - Saturday, 3 June 2000]
DEBATE OVER KIMIGAYO LEADS MAYOR TO OPEN NEW SCHOOL
By Masahiko Okamura and Mashio Morita
Mainichi Shimbun
YASUURA, Hiroshima -- Taking great pains to have the Kimigayo national
anthem sung at school ceremonies, the town mayor here plans to open a
private elementary school funded by the municipal government to ensure
the song is sung, it was revealed on Friday.
Mayor Norihiko Okita of Yasuura, Hiroshima Prefecture, made headlines
recently when he sent scathing letters to teachers at the town's
elementary and junior high schools, urging them to sing Kimigayo during
graduation and entrance ceremonies. He had also sent similar letters to
students at the town's junior high schools.
Okita, 54, said that the hoisting of the Hinomaru national flag and the
singing of Kimigayo at school ceremonies will be strictly observed in the
proposed new school, which will conduct education in compliance with
Ministry of Education guidelines, local sources said.
He also said that the new school will offer the town residents more
choices in education.
Under the plan, an educational foundation will soon be established by
several promoters, including a former principal of a prefectural senior
high school. The foundation will then collect contributions from those
who endorse the planned school, which is expected to open in April next
year admitting 30 pupils in the first grade.
The town government is expected to repair an abandoned municipal
elementary school for its new venture.
Annual operating costs of about 50 million yen will also be subsidized by
the municipality. Children of town residents will be exempted from paying
the admission fee of about 50,000 yen and monthly tuition of about 18,000
yen, granting them the same conditions as those who attend public schools.
[copyright 2000 - The Mainichi Newspapers Co.]