Teachers, parents, and children discuss problems ranging from school refusal to peace education

Thousands of educators and parents from around the country met in Kochi City in southwestern Japan at the 2002 National Meeting for Educational Study to discuss a wide-ranging problems facing Japanese schools from January 11 to 14.

The meeting was co-sponsored by eight national organizations, including the All Japan Teachers and Staff's Union (Zenkyo).

The annual gathering came at a critical time when the Koizumi Cabinet is trying to gut the democratic principles of education established in the Fundamental Law on Education, and the adversely revised Course of Study is to be introduced in April for all elementary schools and high schools.

Addressing about 2,500 participants in the opening plenary, Zenkyo President Matsumura Tadaomi stressed the importance of a strengthening the unity of all teachers and their unions, including the Japan Teachers' Union (Nikkyoso), to defend the Fundamental Law on Education. It's an integral part of the struggle to defend the Constitution, Matsumura said.

The adopted appeal called for grassroots movements for an educational change to be developed with broader participation and cooperation.

Classroom disruption and chaos, bullying, and school refusals were some of the many themes that were discussed in the four-day group meetings attended by a total of 12,000 people. Participants also included many junior and senior high school students, PTA officials, and local government officers in charge of local educational administration.

At a workshop on "education for peace and international solidarity," a junior high school teacher from Tokyo reported on his experience with a classroom discussion on "terrorist attacks and the war of retaliation" after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

In a workshop on school refusal, an elementary school teacher from Kochi City talked about his experience with an absentee student. He said that after visiting the student every day, he changed his mind to accept the fact that not going to school might be a valid option for some children. But, he added, he didn't feel happy about it because school refusal is like denying his worth as a teacher. (end)