I heard there was something to submit today, but my mom didn't give me such a letter. But in the end, it's unfair that the teacher gets angry to me that I've forgotten.
TodayWhat is the current situation today?
- I don't understand the content of the letter from the school and cannot submit what I need. As a result, the child has forgotten something and is mistakenly recognized as a "problem child" in school.
- When the child is absent, parents don't know how to contact the school, and the teachers think the student took a rest without permission.
-
Children who had to come to Japan with their parents said,
"I could have lived better in my country of origin
(the Japanese residence is often narrower than before coming to Japan.) "
" I didn't feel inconvenienced in words if I was in my country of origin. "
I was wondering "Why did I have to come to Japan?" And they weren't solved well.
They tend to collide with my parents.
I want to stay in the Philippines all the time. I'm laughing now that my dad cheated on me and came to Japan. I really hated leaving my grandma. I loved grandpa and grandma. (Quoted from Takami Yamoto (2018) “Difficulties of Children with Roots in the Philippines-Focusing on Children Studying in Japanese Schools” p.7（Miyagi Gakuin Women's University Repository））
- Due to the large number of double-income families, especially at night and early in the morning, children and parents spend a limited amount of time together.
- Compared to parents who do not have many opportunities to study Japanese, their children’s Japanese skills improve in their school life. On the other hand, there are many cases where their first language won't improve and communication between parents and children becomes difficult.
SolutionWhat kind of solutions do we have?
Prepare letters in multiple languages using a dedicated site, etc.
For parents who do not understand Japanese, there are sites that provide letters written in multiple languages.
In the
"Elementary School Guidebook" of "Aichi University of Education Foreign Children Support Resource Room",
5 languages of Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, and English are available.
There is also a PDF version and an electronic book version.
However, even if such useful information is available on the Internet,
it is often difficult for parents who do not understand Japanese to search in a foreign language.
Therefore, it is necessary for someone who understands the Japanese surrounding to find
the information and deliver it to the foreigners who need it.
（Quoted from
Iki Tanaka "Expanding school life with a smile to foreign first graders and their parents-pre-enrollment support and what Japanese parents can do" From Yahoo! News, 2.17.2017
)
Have them experience school life rhythms and rules before enrolling
In particular, support for the first grade of elementary school, which is often done by parents to prepare for admission, is needed.
In fact, based on the model project "Preschool
(early Japanese language instruction and school life instruction for preschool foreign children)"
implemented by Aichi Prefecture in 2006,in 2009, the results of the model project were summarized as the
"Preschool Implementation Manual".
OpinionOur opinion
Children who don't understand the meaning of coming to Japan may change their minds if they have the opportunity to listen to people who have similar experiences. I also think parental care is also important. I wish there was a place to consult.
I think teachers should manage such things thoroughly. I think it's rude to give letters in a different language which they don't understand at all and because of that they have to translate them. I experienced exactly the same thing now, and the letters are all in Croatian instead of English, which makes me very hard to understand, and I feel sad because I don't understand enough..
Unless parents and children, parents and schools communicate, I think that these problems will be endless. Many families have their parents working late at night, and I don't think they can adapt immediately even if things are suddenly done under the Japanese school system. Therefore, if there is a meeting to gather foreign parents and explain the school system, it will be reassuring to meet people in the same situation, and communication with the school will be smooth.
I think it depends on the school, but I remember that the overseas schools which I attended didn't have the habit of writing letters or contact books like in Japan. So I think moving to a Japanese school would be more confusing. I thought it would be good to use a school website to minimize confusion, but how can we inform the parties about the existence of that site?
I was surprised not only by the problem of not being able to read the letter, but also by the mental problem of having a tendency to collide with my parents because they did not come to Japan voluntarily. It's sad that if you feel uncomfortable at school, your relationship with your parents will also deteriorate.
Back
I recently wondered why I came to Japan. Even though I didn't come by my own will, but by feeling painful, I would hate my parents.