Japanese Public School Teachers
Listen to this! One of my students is a teacher at a public high school here and she told me something today I cannot convince myself is true. Summer vacation in this country starts on July 20 and goes on to the end of August. During that time, of course, no children go to school. But teachers have to show up at the school for the entire summer. They get exactly 20 paid days off in the entire year (besides Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays). The rest of the year, they have to show up for “work” at 8:25 am and stay until 5:10 pm … even when there is nobody to teach!!!!! I asked her what they do during the spring, summer, and winter vacations. She says the teachers sit around in the teachers’ room all day, reading, chatting, sleeping, whatever. They have a 50-minute lunch break, during which time they are allowed to leave the school. They’re bureaucrats. They have to show up for “work” all year ’round. And so we have to pay them for sitting around and wasting their time. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! It’s utterly crazy.
emethhesed
emeth.hesed
