part３

Throughout the day, you'1l see these kids always balancing pep
and high spirits with disciplined respect for their teachers and the
rules. It's a fine line they've been taught to straddle since early
childhood.

The Japanese school year runs eleven months from April to
March. There is also a one-month break in the summer, but it,s
still part of the school year, and students continue to do
homework.


Since their school year is longer than ours by 50 to 60 days-
including half-days on Saturdays-it's no wonder they're far
ahead of American youngsters. In fact, in math and science,
they're consistently first in the world.
Kikuchi.. ...the number of Koreans killed, due to this false
rumor, was more than three thousand.


Moral education-a required subject in Japan since ancient
times. Once, it taught unquestioning obedience to the Emperor;
now, democracy and good citizenship.


Today, Ryo is illustrating the dangers of stereotyping. He
recalls the disastrous earthquake, that levelled Tokyo in 1923,
after which panicky Japanese turned on the minority Korean
population, following rumors that they were lighting fires and
poisoning drinking water.


Kikuchi: The point is: don't reach massive judgments just from
rumors. Even in this classroom, where we're all Japanese, when
you slander others, and poke fun at their faults, it can hurt. You
should try to get to know and understand people who aren't your
best friends. I feel there are walls or barriers between groups
right inside this classroom. And that worries me. I want you
always to bear this lesson in mind.


Tape recorder (in English): Page 25. Some people in Malaysia
and Singapore often eat with their fingers. But don't think that
they are strange. Have you ever eaten with your fingers?
Perhaps you have.
English teacher Hlihara: Perhaps you have good manners.


In the public schools, Japanese children start learning English
in the 7th grade.

Teacher and pupil dialogue in English: How many fingers do you
have?Ten? Fifteen? Twenty?

Our Tsuyoshi may not be strong in English. but this morning,
he's well up in sass.


Oikawa: You have to go abroad first, before you can use this
stuff. What good is it?
Hihara: Maybe you'll be a foreign correspondent, and they'll
make you speak English.
Oi'kawa: Yeah, one of these days, they're gonna send you to
work in the Philippines!


It seems that only one participant is not amused. Lunch is...
eat-ate-eaten right in the classroom-and served by the kids
themselves, a common Japanese practice.

The big, hot lunch is a carry-over from U.S. occupation days,
when many Japanese were going hungry, and the authorities
wanted to be sure school children got at least one good meal
every day.


The normal mealtime tranquility is destroyed when-who else?
-our Tsuyoshi has an accident. He swears he didn't do it just to
get more time on camera.
Next, cleanup. Group responsibility seems to be an almost
inborn instinct in. Japan. Not just keeping a school clean. but
being polite and helpful to each other; and not being disorderly.
Order is very big in Japanese schools. In cleanup as in
chemistry, adults set the example. Here, the principal, no less,
is cleaning out the drainage system.


Finally, classrooms are readied for the afternoon. But there's
still some time left for a universally recognized activity: letting
off steam.


After lunch, Ryo frequently counsels students before his next
classes. Always, the bottom line is: get those grades up, so you
can get into a good high school.


Ki'kuchi: You've got the ability to do it. But your grades aren't
good enough. And frankly, it's because you're lazy. When you
concentrate, you really get involved. You understand,
Tsuyoshi, don't you?


Kikuchi: Look, Akimoto, let's talk grades. This is the passing
line. But you're way down here. If you apply yourself and do
well in the scholastic aptitude test next semester, you can move
up. But from where you are right now, it's gonna be very hard
to get you in a good school,


Kikuchi: Look, when your classmates say good morning to you,
all you have to do is just say good morning to them. That's the
beginning of communication. You're in the drama club; pretend
you're acting. You've got to do it. I'1l ask you about it again, a
month from now, and I don't want to hear that same old refrain:
I haven't done it yet 'cause I didn't feel like it. Okay? You can go
now. See you later. Can't you even say goodbye to me?
Tsunoda: See ya. (mumbles)


Beyond talking about high schools, Ryo and his 9th graders also
visit them-just like American parents take high school seniors
to visit colleges. With them is Matsumoto, another 9th grade
teacher. Like American colleges, some Japanese high schools
are supposed to be better than others. Getting into a good one
helps you get into a good college.And in Japan, getting into a
good college is critical for getting a good job when you get out.


So here, Ryo and Matsumoto are guiding two of their charges up
an early step on a long ladder. And this trip may well determine
their very status in adult life.


Back at Okudo Junior High, classes continue into the afternoon.
Every Japanese student is taught to read music-and to play two
instruments, one keyboard, one wind.

Nor are the visual arts neglected. Here, the kids are designing
record jackets.


Tsuyoshi, it seems, is into hard rock. Tomoko, on the other
hand, shows a gentler, more poetic disposition inside that
expressionless, exterior shell.


And athletics. Matsumoto coaches both swimming and track and
field. It's only natural that Tsuyoshi helps him run things.


And run things down.


Nominally. the school day is now over. But only a handful of
kids actually leave. After school activities are as big in Japan as
in the U.S. Remedial work, for one thing.


Japanese teachers reward good learning habits and concerted
effort more than raw smarts and individual brightness. The
whole group is what counts. The entire class is supposed to
excel. And the brighter pupils are expected to help the slower
ones to make that happen. One of Tsuyoshi's best fri'ends has
stayed around, to coach him in math.


Kikuchi: How's it going? You getting it?
Oikawa: Yeah, this is easy. I can do square root. 1've got 'em all.


In drama club, Tomoko reveals she does have a voice-a voice
capable, even, of expressing emotion.


Maybe you've been wondering why Ryo always carries drum
sticks with him. In class, they're handy as pointers. But
actually, he simply loves to play drums. He started this drum
club for wayward girls, to get them involved in something
besides their own problems.


As if there weren't enough to do. Ryo and Matsumoto also patrol
the neighborhood-looking for any deviation from the straight
and narrow-like hanging out.

Matsumoto.. That,s dangerous. You'll drown if you fall in. Get
away from there!
Kikuchi: Come back here-it's dangerous over there.

Into the very sinkholes of iniquity-ever on the alert for idle kids
who could be home studying. From years of experience, these
two public guardians well know the strength of temptation. Let
your guard down just for an instant, and it can ensnare anyone.

Kids at home are on Ryo's evening itinerary, as well as kids on
the street. It,s a normal part of his job to intervene in their
personal lives. At Tsuyoshi,s, a pleasant surprise: Ryo's reform
campaign has begun to pay off.

Kikuchi: How's he been doing at home these days?
Mother Oikawa: He's changed quite a bit. He's getting better.
He's not so hostile to his father and me any more.
Kikuchi: You used to say, "Shut your bloody mouth, you old
lady," and things like that, didn't you?
Oikawa: Yes.
Kikuchi: You don,t hear swearing like that any more, Mrs.
Oikawa?
At Tomoko's another surprise: she has been creating on her own
time.


Mother Tsunoda: You get different pictures as you unfold it.
Kikuchi.. This is really good. She must have a cheerful, happy
world in her heart.
Mother Tsunoda.. When she was younger , she used to draw faces
without eyes. A psychologist told me it was because she didn't
want to be seen by people. But the faces she draws these days do
have eyes.
Kikuchi: I'm very glad you showed it to me.


There are some people in Japan who fear teachers like Ryo go
too far, taking responsibilities away from the parents and the
kids themselves. Be that as it may when Ryo Kikuchi finally
starts home at the end of a very long day, he knows he's giving
his students all the help he can provide.


As they take their exams with their futures hanging in the
balance, Ryo can watch them with a feeling of deep satisfaction.
The satisfaction a good teacher gets anywhere in the world when
he has made a difference.


( CHIME )


Oikawa: llow did you do on the test,Tomoko? Not so good?
Look at her. She can't even keep a straight face. Come on,
how'd you do? I've known her since the 7th grade. She always
acts like she's flunked then she'll study for weeks and get a 90.
Smile if it's true, Tomoko.