A teacher boasting to local rags about his class nearing a “record” 3 years of perfect attendance, without so much as a single student taking a day off, is being accused of human rights abuses and endangering the health of his pupils for the sake of self-aggrandisement.
Class A of Nagano prefecture’s Sonan High School reportedly has only 17 days to graduation and boasts perfect attendance for all 23 pupils, for the past 3 years.
The class itself comprises 12 boys and 11 girls, none of whom managed perfect attendance records in their previous middle schools.
Their creepy teacher, a 36-year-old man, claims their perfect attendance is to be a new record and stresses the importance of never taking time off:
“Not taking time off is the basis of being a fully fledged member of society. It’s something I want the students to learn.”
A few suspect quotes from students are trotted out – one 18-year-old hints at the real reason behind the record:
“The teacher really encouraged us so I gave my best. I didn’t take time off even when I was sick.”
The school:
2ch is unenthused:
“Slave training.”
“They come in when they are ill – just wait until someone dies.”
“It’s just that bastard teacher making them do it. Do it yourself!”
“This is horrible. In this atmosphere you wouldn’t be able to take a day off even if you were seriously ill.”
“They’d probably ostracise anyone who took a day off and ruined their record.”
“They’d surely be bullied.”
“Collectivism like this is disgusting. At this level anyone who falls ill would be bullied and hounded to death.”
“This is totalitarianism. Stuff like this is what allows businesses to force their employees to give them ‘service’ [unpaid] overtime.”
“Presenting this as a nice story is pretty messed up.”
“The peer pressure must be incredible.”
“What kind of backwater is this place in? Acting like that in this day and age…”
“This is scary, it’s like some religion or something.”
“At 23 the class is too small, maybe that’s why?”
“It probably got that way gradually. The people who took days off got expelled.”
“Like this:
‘Teacher, ****-kun isn’t he-‘
‘We have no pupil called **** here. He was never here, OK?'”
“I’d like to know what the pupils think of this.”
“The kids are probably desperate because they know the first person to take a day off is going to be bullied to death.”
“This is a very Japanese type of inefficiency, isn’t it? Having sick people attend is nothing more than a nuisance. They somehow turn it into an issue of guts and discipline instead.”
“They probably cheat and have sick people show their faces at school only to be sent home afterwards. They should really stop making a big deal out of perfect attendance. Adults should take days off when they need to. Brainwashing those kids like this is pitiful.”
“This is probably a human rights violation.”
“It’s really scary isn’t it? There’s no way this is praiseworthy in the slightest. An environment where you can’t rest even if you are ill is pretty frightening.”
“A year of this might be chance. Two or three is assuredly the result of intense pressure.”
“Why are you guys so negative? It’s a nice story, the kids concerned are convinced it’s worth it and you outsiders have no right to criticise them.”
“Because they aren’t doing on their own accord. They’ve just been forced to do this by their teacher.”
“I hate this stuff. Pupils have a right to take days off you stupid teacher!”
“The idea of perfect attendance is so Japanese. It should really be about results – take as many days off as you like if you keep up your grades.”
“This whole thing is just so sick. Is it that wrong to take a day off?”
“Totalitarianism? Socialism? They’re both failures so quit it already.”
“The most extreme group discipline. Japan in miniature.”
“How nice of them to instil the proper guts in these corporate slaves.”
“If this was a CEO bragging about his employees, what would you think of his company?”
[A poster presents educational statistics showing the school is only ranked 2643 of 3582 nationally and 74 of 118 in Nagano prefecture.]
“This stuff belongs in North Korea, nobody should be pleased by it.”
“If I were in that class, I’d take the last day off.”
in nearly 20 years of schooling I was absent only 2 or 3 times because of major injury/illness. Shame on easy going parents who accept their childrens bulshit excuse for not going to school, just go and sit your lazy ass in class…I’m about to be a teacher myself and its a piss off having always the same kids not attending on a regular basis cause it slows down the rest of the group when you have to repeat stuff!!!
80-90% of student never miss a day, it just happens that this class in particular was a good strain I guess
WTFFFF!?
Does anyone have the picture of the class in higher rez!??? I think it’s the class I went to when I was an exchange student!!! o.0;
the teacher allowed class orgy so they always attend school 😀
It would be absolutely hilarious if someone bailed one day before graduation. I’d like to say I’d be that person but I wouldn’t have a reason to.
They left out an important detail it should be out of all the students left alive had perfect attendance.