To make children happy, I want to create a society where every teacher can face their students, provide high-quality education, and be free from the worries of life. I want to realize a policy that makes all non-regular employment teachers regular employment teachers.
I used to engage in education as an English teacher at public high schools in Chiba prefecture.
I often felt sorry for my students at high schools. At a high school, many families received welfare protection. It was almost impossible to provide basic education to their children because their parents tend not able to care for their children. As a result, many students lacked basic knowledge and skills. For example, students don’t know how to calculate fractions at the elementary school level, how to write the alphabet in English, and don’t know which direction is the north, south, east, and west.
What is worse, some students did not eat healthy meals at all at home. The number of attendees in the first class was only 30 in the 40-person class, and the number of students decreased to 30 within a year after entering high school because of a series of dropouts. The situations at school are terrible.
"I thought I would be homeless after graduating," said a student of mine. Certainly, students at such high schools are likely to be unable to get regular jobs or fall into poverty after graduation.
Teachers play a major role in assisting these students, and they have a lot of things to do.
First, the lessons must be fun and interesting to the students. Poor quality lessons make students hate learning and schools. In addition, teachers must be patient with guidance on their lifestyle-related improvements and their lack of sociality. Though parents who have a certain amount of money and are interested in education send their children to cram schools, preparatory schools, and private schools to provide and prepare for excellent colleges, children in poor families don’t afford to get a basic education. There is no one to look after them, except teachers in public schools.
However, in recent years, the government has not spent enough money on education. As a result, many teachers are in non-regular employment.
I have been a part-time teacher for eight years, and my annual income is about 160,000 yen at most or less than 100,000 yen. I had to earn living expenses at prep schools, cram schools, and an English conversation school to raise my children. Because I had to had side jobs, I was working at the limit of my mental and physical strength. Also, I was on one-year contract employment, and the school at which I worked changed every year. Therefore, it was difficult for me to get deeply involved with my students
I suspect that these working conditions violate the basic sprits of the Fundamental Law of Education. Article 9 of the law says that “in consideration of the importance of the calling and the duties of the teachers referred to in the preceding paragraph, the status of teachers must be respected, their fair and appropriate treatment ensured, and measures must be taken to improve their education and training”.
These problematic situations are rarely reported in the media. Also, most politicians show no interest. Originally, it is problems that should be solved by organizations that are close to teachers, such as the teachers' union and the Constitutional Democratic Party, but I cannot say they are seriously trying to solve them.
I will try to solve these problems and give good education to all Japanese children.
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