Thanks and a Tribute to Some Japanese Teachers

Today I took over a hundred pictures at my daughter's Nyuenshiki. That's the ceremony for new children entering Japanese pre-schools (or yochiens). It took me a long time to work on the best photos in Photoshop, and there's no time to post them tonight. But they turned out great! Come back tomorrow and see.

I also wanted to say two things.

First, thanks to the folks at The Weblog Review for having very positive words to say about this site. That was encouraging. This is a new site, so if you like what you see, please send others here. I hate the feeling that I'm just writing to myself sometimes. Thanks.

Second, my Japanese tutor pointed out yesterday that about 20 teachers across Tokyo lost their teaching jobs this past month. Why? Because they refused to stand up and sing Japan's national anthem at various school entrance ceremonies. Apparently, about 200 teachers were reprimanded and actually had their salaries cut for doing the same thing last month at graduation ceremonies in Tokyo.

My wife says that the words of the national anthem are written in such ancient Japanese that most people really don't understand it. But singing the anthem is a patriotic act, and buried in there somewhere is basically a pledge of allegience to the emperor. I don't know what exactly the teacher's are protesting, but it's not surprising that some people would resist singing the anthem for one reason or another. What does surprise me is that they are losing their jobs for it.

It's not my place, as a foreigner, to get shocked or upset. I'm obviously not expected to sing the anthem. But it reminds me of something that I read. When the education system was being codified in Japan, there was a debate about the purpose of education. One side argued that the purpose of education was to strengthen the country by producing good citizens and productive workers. Others argued that education should about the pursuit of knowledge and truth. A side debate concerned whether everyone should have equal access to the same quality of education. In the end, Japan developed a system that was designed to produce model citizens and workers. Most would have limited educational opportunities, while a priveleged few would learn in elite educational institutions that would encourage creative, independent thinking and discovery. Entrance to the best universities was not based directly on wealth or connections but on a nationwide system of school entrance examinations. Many things have changed over time, but this way of thinking still guides the system today both in theory and in practice. It's never been a one sided debate. Many people, like these teachers recently and others before them, have paid the price by standing up (or in their case, sitting down) for change.