• ‘JUKU BOOM’
• 20% of school library budget redirected
• 40 percent of al Yokohama city-run schools will be installed with solar panels this year
• 95% of edu boards opposed to revealing test scores nationwide
• Boredom main reason for pte school exodus
• Bully news: Panel on bullying issues survey results, manual
• Bullying cases come to light due to new definitions of bullying
• Bullying news: 2 students sue classmates, local govt over bullying
• Bullying news: Court rulings used to study bullying
• Bullying news: Government calls school authorities to adopt a “resolute attitude” to putting an end to the bullying
• Bullying news: Govt to boost No. of school counselors
• Bullying news: High school suspends 9 over repeated bullying
• Bullying news: Measures taken by boards of education and schools to combat bullying
• Bullying news: New form of bullying by e-mail on rise
• Bullying news: No. of bullying cases on the rise
• Bullying news: Saga city has an anti-bullying policy
• Bullying news: School bullying cases dip 19% in 2007 school year
• Bullying news: The reality of bullying
• Bullying news: U.K. and Japan share notes on ways to curb bullying
• Bullying Reflects Problems in Adult Society
• Community schools gaining popularity
• Current concerns (1)
• Current concerns (2)
• Current concerns (3)
• Current concerns (4) – Debating patriotism in education
• Current concerns (5)
• Current concerns (6)
• Current concerns (7)
• Current concerns (8)
• Current concerns (9)
  • Current concerns (10)
    • Current concerns (19) Errors in entrance exam marking / School authorities jostle for better rankings in this year’s national achievement tests
    • Current concerns (11): Teachers slip up via Google Map use, school stabbing & cannabis crimes
    • Current concerns (12) Edu ministry proposes cell phone ban
    • Current concerns (13)
    • Current concerns (14) – high school cram-free no more, teachers’ workload to increase
    • Current concerns (15): When juku goes to school; would-be teachers from rural areas courted by metropolitan areas
    • Current concerns (16): The state of English language instruction
    • Current concerns (17)
    • Current concerns (18) Regulations on running pte nurseries to tighten in Tokyo; possible liberalization of nursery system
    • Current concerns (19): Children to receive justice lectures
    • Current Concerns (20): LEC uni, new child-care bill, no. of quake-proof schools up
    • Current Concerns (21): Senior teachers feel the strain
    • Current Concerns (22): The hidden costs of working abroad on returnee education
• Drawing out hikikomori:
• English language education in Japan
  • ‘Our teachers don’t know how to teach’
  • Boosting English education
  • Cash problem hinders English education in Japan, hitting local governments hardest
  • Gorsuch article on influences limiting EFL teachers’ ability to teach English communicative skills / Charles Jannuzi’s rebuttal follows
  • Helene J. Uchida’s comments on quality of Eigo Noto
  • Inability of students to communicate is a common failing of English education in Japan
  • Japan’s universities too diversified, too focused on abstractions … say critics
  • Limitations of English education in elementary schools
  • Most schools starting English – Jun. 30, 2009
  • Nearly half of primary schools in Tokyo area planning to begin English classes from April for 5th & 6th graders
  • Primary schools start move towards English
  • The fundamental flaws of English education in Japanese public schools
  • Triple-team teaching at primary school
• English on the go!
• Entrance exams more competitive this year, more parents want kids to go to better schools amidst economic downturn
• Fewer Japanese studying abroad
• Forestry curriculum for kids by Kochi U. agricultural department
• Gov. and local views on the need for / right to “compulsory education”
• Govts to pay juku tuition for kids in foster care
• Is the private school advantage real?
• Japan’s teaching on war doesn’t deserve bad press
• Japanese higher education now out of reach for kids of single parent households says poll
• Juku news
  • Cram schools forced to change
  • In the news: “Route H” juku course from Benesse Corp.
  • Japanese children cram to boost achievement
  • Sapix, Daiichi Seminar and Trygroup tutors despatched to help Osaka schools
• Latest changes in English education
• MEXT worried about non-school attendance of children of foreign nationals
• Moral edn lessons to teach kids to be more law-abiding
• More moms teaching preschoolers: survey
• More universities creating sports-related faculties
• Panel eyes new schools on vocational education
• Public schools seek community support
• Quake preparedness
• Record number of elementary school school violence incidents
• Researchers discover area of brain related to foreign language grammar proficiency
• Schools in Osaka Prefecture take ability-based approach
• Sophia University / Jochi University merger with Seibo in the news
• Special deregulation zones – Tokku Schools
• Students at prefectural Tsuruoka Chuo High School participate and assist in Keio U. lab’s cutting-edge research
• Students of the Kyoto Miyama High School correspondence course in the news
• Teachers learn to make students think
• The poor are always with us … even more so now in our public schools
• When a princess in Japan attends school
• When politics affect the national curriculum

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-- Edu Watch …horned dinosaur fossils found in Hyogo Pref… education budget screening team decides to raise central gov. spending on teachers’ salaries to avoid backlash from Japan Teachers Union??? Edu Watch: News on integrated schools and IT use in schools, the plight of reform schools and returnee education Edu Watch: Govt considering excluding families with relatively high incomes from receiving proposed child-rearing allowance handout … this & other edu-related links Edu Watch: 8 students in Okinawa arrested allegedly for beating classmate to death / Yokohama City U has USBs with vital student and exam data stolen Edu Watch: OECD sec-gen. says J. taxpayer money better spent on preschool edu & childcare; Insights on plights of returnee & English teachers in public primary school; new flu jabs to begin earlier & other news Bilingualism panel discussion & presentations at the JALT conference in Shizuoka on Nov. 21st-23rd Edu Watch: Juntendo U. research team finds cure for Kawasaki disease …Girls discriminated against in college applications …Oxbridge’s new entrance tests in face of rising numbers of straight-A applicants … & other news Edu Watch: babies with involved fathers have fewer accidents according to survey & other news Edu Watch: Primary schools start move towards English; spotlight on Narita Pr. School & other news Edu Watch: Experiential education in Japan and other news Edu Watch: Bulls eye! A teen student of pte high school shoots fellow archery club member between the eyes What are the elements of a “great school”? Edu Watch: English language education, objectivity vs emotional states in J. thinking & other news Multicultural mothering event / YTG’s new acting workshop – scene study class for young people Edu Watch: A peek at International Christian U. and Osaka Jogakuin College Playing an instrument can make your child brainier, boost IQ, audio hearing and motor control … and other news and articles [Education newswatch] Gov. trying to make pte high school education free too Check out our education newswatch links today About Hikikomori – do you have an urban hermit teenager cloistered at home? TOEIC is fast becoming a staple of the university curriculum & JALT conference & other news This week’s links to articles on education New species of Japanese dinosaur featured on this week’s roundup on educational news … Intl school principal arrested over pot and other news Edu Watch: Featuring Hoppen brain-based classes from Gakken … and other news Executive function – is the new buzzword in education, and play may be coming back into fashion Educational newswatch Heavy schoolbags to be banned in the Philippines as detrimental to child’s growth … & other educational news Brain scientists debunk myths and finally tell us what classroom curriculum of the future will feature – based on the “new” brain science of learning The Power of Ritual for developing effective students Concerns and public debate over the new free high school gov. plan … The new gov. changes mind on directly paying families high school fees – it will do so via local governments Japan spends the 2nd least on education & least on higher education among OECD countries … BUT parents have to offset the spending slack In the news … queues to get into daycare grow longer in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Okinawa, Osaka and Saitama Jungle Memory braingame “clinically proven” to improve grades … researcher says improving working memory is the only “great equaliser” and “the best predictor of academic success” Recommended links on educational matters Educational news roundup Akita, Fukui and Toyama prefectures’ students are top again… Schools reopening as new flu epidemic spreads …& other news Rounding up this week’s news on education Who’s getting paid a premium for information on educational matters BOOK REVIEW: WHY THE JAPANESE ARE A SUPERIOR PEOPLE! – The Advantages of Using Both Sides of Your Brain Inequality in Japan’s educational system increasing … says Japan Times report Seeking 12 year old penpals from Japan Izu Peninsula is a fieldtripper’s paradise What’s the big deal with today’s 5:07 am quake? Japan shines at Science Olympiads Roundup on educational news Dinosaurs don’t disappoint kids! Education news roundup URGENT WARNING! CHECK YOUR SOLAR ECLIPSE GLASSES FOR DEFECTS! Watch the July 22 solar eclipse with your children … you may not get another chance! In the news …job scene for foreign students improves for 6th straight year Japan to host international biology Olympiad for 1st time; and other news The intangible curriculum of a Japanese education “Ununbium” – new element 112 has been added to the Periodic Table Singapore maths in the news Yotsuya-otsuka juku offers up new right brained “Little School+Algo Club” programme Cool off this summer in one of Japan’s 16 trick art museums! OECD calls for reforms of Japanese universities — but are they the right reforms? Humble abacus makes the news today Movie on Hachiko starring Richard Gere to be released in August …plus movie-and-books-review links F is for firefly fun Is your kid thinking of a career in anime/manga? Update: New flu scare – outbreak at Tokyo school How public schools in Japan need to implement real change …where it can Manchester United Soccer School in the UK seeking participants for its summer soccer-English camp! The Genius Cube is the “In” thing New! National Geographic’s summer expedition programs New flu virus continues to spread New flu to be regarded as seasonal flu in Japan The new flu virus makes its entrance into Tokyo Q&A: Getting into baseball high schools New flu cases on the rise … spread possibly at high school volleyball match Schools in Osaka, Kobe and nearby Ashiya city shut down as high school students are found to have new flu. KICS: A new church-international school which burns with an old missionary spirit Japan now boasts of its first and only school for the gifted: Tokyo Children’s Academy (a.k.a. Tokyo Gifted Academy) Upcoming SWET Reading and Panel Discussion Help on the way for students under ‘new flu’ quarantine to catch up with studies Japan gets fourth flu case Are we spoiling our kids with too many college options? Nobel laureate says we should put physics first Rational thinking more important than intelligence: IQ tests miss predicting rational thinking ability for the most part Suspected swine flu case turns out to be NOT swine flu but Influenza A Secure your job prospects by targeting your studies in one of the recession-proof fields 17 year old high school student suspected to have contracted swine flu after trip to Canada Green surroundings improve your child’s concentration at studies … say several studies “Future School”: 2 experts Alvin Toffler and Sir Ken Robinson suggest reforming the public school system from scratch and rethinking educational fundamentals Sweden’s school system going the way of Japan’s? DaVinci Method: Treat ADD/DaVinci personality not as a medical disorder but a genetic personality strength Raising literate kids the kamishibai way Let the Miraikan educate your little humans about robotoids, humanoids and robots! Upcoming national achievement tests / marking errors of high school entrance exam papers Have you heard of the “spaced learning” concept? It’s that time of the year … New supplementary textbooks issued to students due to the increased content for learning in the new school year Marsha Rosenberg’s presentation “Raising Bilingual Children” (TELL workshop) Learning Intervention Center NPO Skill Camp The Mindset of Monozukuri: From mechanical dolls to vending machines and house-bots Professor Tago Akira? Who’s that? Ban on riding bicycles with two kids to lift … but with provisos Are you a strict parent? Comparing US, UK and Japanese parenting standards Japan is light-years behind Asia in nurturing English education in its schools Yokohama Science Frontier High School public high school, freshly inaugurated today, is this year’s most competitive high school Support Group of Children with Learning Differences / CPR and 1st aid in English / New outdoor programs Springtime in the satoyama Fujitsu’s FLEPia trumps Kindle (or Kindle2) e-reader Will possessing the Nspire necessarily boost math scores? New study says doing a crossword or playing Tetris has same effects as expensive “brain trainers” games A letter to Microsoft: Can we return the world of computers back to education? Tama Tech’s Motopia to close in September Kindle2: some bookworms will like the coolest digital book ever, but will you cuddle up with a Kindle? MPIJ – The new school in town What’s wrong with the way English is taught in Japan? Life after Harry Potter … the 39 Clues series by Scholastics Yes, there’s a whole new world after Harry Potter In the face of entrance exam heat, energize your way with lucky charm snacks! DO YOU HAVE CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS? IF SO READ ON … The latest in edu news Young Astronomer’s Club Neuroscience and “Train Your Brain” by Dr Kawashima Skating enthusiasts take note! Edu news: College entrance exams begin; Cannabis use spreading among highschoolers A Happy New Year to all our readers … Government panel is proposing that the number of school textbook pages be doubled Japan receives highest score for education, nutrition and child health: Save the Children survey on child development Audition for “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten musical” ALTS SnowPark & Resort opens in Fukushima on 19th Dec 2008! Japan’s rankings in TIMSS math and science tests improve Current concerns (12): Subcommittee of exernal experts to be allowed to advise textbook screening panel Record number of incidents of school violence in 2007, particularly in elementary schools Osaka Prefecture bans use of cell phones in schools Tokyo Mineral Show YTG is holding Richard III auditions for children’s roles In the news!!! Ijime Zero campaign: new antibullying forum for foreign children Shinkenzemi JHS Course+i: New home-based learning online course from Benesse Coming up: DISCOVER JAPAN Winter Ski Camps What’s new…the trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince The Truth About College Admissions New feature out: Ichi-ryu daigaku: Top Rankings of Universities in Japan History behind the X’mas gift-giving tradition in Japan English Adventure holds Fall Foliage Walk & Winter Ski Camp in Nasu-kogen Stanford U best classroom experience; American U most political, beautiful campus … surveyed by Princeton Review Tough times ahead for this year’s graduates, parents of private school students Christmas traditions Powder snow, snow camps & other snow-filled thoughts Let’s go acorn hunting! What do you mean there isn’t a youth drug problem in Japan? The Great Books Program: great books …great ideas … great minds Tainted Lotte Koala biscuits and Nissin cup noodles in the news Health advisory: Japan digs in its heels for virulent flu outbreak this winter season Health advisory: Strep infections hitting Japan Back to the books HALLOWEEN IN JAPAN Students’ tiny satellite project set to take off Enrolment in private kindergartens open now! Welcome to the Education in Japan Community Blog!