If we let WaiWai handle the headlines...

[cstaylor]

...that'd be "Three Cheers for Salaryman Principals Principles"?

[Crispy]

I don't see how that is much different from the way I had it in HS. I mean, I guess parents or administrators could have observed our classes, but that rarely happened. I had one teacher who was clearly senile and would occasionally hide under her desk and make duck calls, and another who did not know one iota of the US history he was supposedly teaching, but they both had tenure and were untouchable.

[kamome]

Teachers are often criticized for "lacking common sense" or "being unsociable."

Anyone who has actually taught in a Japanese high school like I have will know that this is the understatement of the year. I worked with teachers who were so unsociable, the faculty lounge felt like a funeral parlor on a daily basis. As the gaijin, of course I got the seat next to the certifiable psycho bitch teacher from hell--her English was good, but she was totally mental (wild mood swings, major chip on her shoulder about everything, shouting at students, etc.). We had teachers who hit their students, too.

Not surprisingly, some of the guys in one class I taught used their graduation ceremony as the opportunity to rebel against the Japanese homeroom teacher they hated. Right after the diplomas were awarded, several of them lit smoke bombs and firecrackers, producing a big cloud of smoke in the gym. I thought it was hilarious, but the faculty were not so amused.

[cstaylor]

but they both had tenure and were untouchable

High School teachers with tenure is a false statement. Tenure is meant to protect college professors from the public consequences of controversial research, not as inviolable job protection for senile high school teachers.

You can read more about it at the NEA site.