25% of J-kids depressed, the rest are just plain crazy

[Taro Toporific]

[floatr][/floatr]
25 percent of students at junior high school claim to suffer from depression
MSN-Mainichi / May 10, 2007
A Health Ministry survey has found that one in four junior high school students suffer from depression, although the number that require medical treatment remains unknown, officials said...more...

[martindesu]

"Does life have no meaning for you"

Hmmm... no. It doesn't mean I am depressed.

[Big Booger]

I can guarantee for the 50 minute classes that I entertain/teach in, there's no depression... I give them an escape and I get one too...

Hell I think I even jazz up teachers a bit with my crazy ass antics and foolish use of Japanese and English and fucking Japenglish.. I use a shitload of air guitar time and all kinds of fuckin' crazy methods to keep kids interested in what we are doing. If not I'd fucking end it in a heartbeat. In fact, going to class and teaching is what allows me to continue living here.

Junior high kids are trip... I have found that city kids are more depressed than those living out in the boonies... and I don't really understand that.. as bumpkin children tend to be less wealthy, less "worldly" and have far fewer means of entertainment compared to their "hoodrat" metorpolitan counterparts.

Girls tend to be more wacked out that boys but then I could just be overlooking a lot of shit.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I can guarantee for the 50 minute classes that I entertain/teach in, there's no depression... I give them an escape and I get one too...

Hell I think I even jazz up teachers a bit with my crazy ass antics and foolish use of Japanese and English and fucking Japenglish.. I use a shitload of air guitar time and all kinds of fuckin' crazy methods to keep kids interested in what we are doing. If not I'd fucking end it in a heartbeat. In fact, going to class and teaching is what allows me to continue living here.

Junior high kids are trip... I have found that city kids are more depressed than those living out in the boonies... and I don't really understand that.. as bumpkin children tend to be less wealthy, less "worldly" and have far fewer means of entertainment compared to their "hoodrat" metorpolitan counterparts.

Girls tend to be more wacked out that boys but then I could just be overlooking a lot of shit.

The gaijin clown. Your class sound like a minstrel show.

[succubusqueen]

That's what I call a great Avatar....Taro!!!

[AssKissinger]

The gaijin clown. Your class sound like a minstrel show.

SJ, I think that's an uncalled for criticism of Boogie's work. Japanese schools are fucking drab compared to American schools so he wants to bring a little color into their day. I know you were on JET so I can relate to how you feel but (and I don't mean you personally here) it bothered me what I bunch of uptight wankers a lot of JETs were. Boogie's no clown, he just likes to clown around and have fun and most importantly he likes to be a good teacher. There's no shame in making your lessons enjoyable.

Good on ya Boogie for not being an overly proud ALT asshole.

[Big Booger]

I am sure that many people might classify my antics as clownish, childish or whatever, but the reality is I can hold their attention for the full 50 minutes, get them to stand up, repeat, act out, and perform far above the level that I have gotten when I tried to do it straight laced and rigid like other Japanese teachers. And they do it with enthusiasm, excitement, and fervor that surprises a lot of teachers.

When I came to this country moons ago, I initially tried to fit in for the first few weeks by modeling after the Japanese teacher that I was team teaching with.. but that tanked horribly... and when I mean tanked, I mean that the students fell asleep, some even drooled.., they were chatting with themselves in the back of the room, talking over myself as well as the Japanese English teacher, and so on...

So I decided to go with a more upbeat lesson that still focused on the core of language acquisition. If you've ever seen School of Rock (a movie I like), then you'll have a pretty damn good idea of how I act in the classroom.

Just last week I taught all 700 or so students the phrase, "I'm peachy." So now whenever I ask them "How are you today?" They'll break out with the peachy reply. It sure beats the hell out of "I'm fine thank you, and you?"

I say, use what you got as long as it works to get the kids to speak, read, or write English. But what I have found is that kids come up to me constantly wanting to talk because they feel that I am friendly, easygoing, and someone who cares about them. And it's not just in the classroom either. The majority of the time they are chasing me down the hallways trying to chat it up and use the English that I taught them for the day. That, to me, confirms that I have had a positive and productive impact and I am satisified with that.

And how this relates to the original topic is that I don't see many sad children in my lessons, at least for the time that I see them throughout the week. It's grins from ear to ear through and through. It's like for that short time their eyes sparkle up and blaze compared to the glossed over dullard look I see from kids too mummified to think because of all the shit that they have to cram into their short-term memories... No wonder that 25% of JHS kids are deemed depressed. I totally see how that can happen in this country.

[Samurai_Jerk]

AK & BB,

I can't really criticize fairly without having seen one of BB's classes. And "School of Rock" was exaclty what came to mind when I read the description. However, I guess it bothers me when I hear that kind of shit because I did get tired of the gaijin clown image that a lot of JTEs had when I was teaching on JET. Mainly because that's not the kind of person I am. I was a pretty shit teacher though. I had no idea what I was doing and no desire to learn how to do it.

The kids did like me though and a lot of them did see some big improvements in their English. That was probably largely helped by having a group of JTEs that could actually speak English.

I've met quite a few former students over the years and most of them actually spoke English better when they were in my class. Even those that went on to major in English.

[Samurai_Jerk]

HAHAHAHAHA!!! A GAIJIN clown in Japan?!?! Oh, that's just crazy and stoopid. You're wasting your time. You'll never get anywhere.

I think you do us all a disservice you piece of shit Uncle Tom.








Just kidding.

[emperor]

Magnetic brain stimulator touted as treatment for depression

looks like something a Japanese pseudo-scientist or maybe a scientologist would come up with

[maninjapan]

25%!?

what the hell have they got to be depressed about?

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]
25 percent of students at junior high school claim to suffer from depression
MSN-Mainichi / May 10, 2007
A Health Ministry survey has found that one in four junior high school students suffer from depression, although the number that require medical treatment remains unknown, officials said...more...

AFP: One in 10 Japanese teens depressed

More than one in 10 Japanese in their early teens suffers depression, according to a survey conducted amid growing concerns about the recent spate of youth suicides. Some 10.7 percent of students in the first year of junior high school, when they are aged 12 or 13, have depression or manic depression, Kyodo News said Monday, citing a survey by researchers at Hokkaido University. "It is surprising that the prevalence rate is that high," said Kenzo Denda, a professor who led the research team. "Cases of depression among children have been overlooked until now. But we should consider measures seriously in view of the fact that such depression has a causal relationship with suicides," he said. A recent series of child suicides has largely been attributed to bullying at school. The survey gathered data on students' personal habits -- including how much time they spend outdoors, whether they eat breakfast, and play video-games -- but found no link between lifestyle and mental illness. The survey was billed as the first of students in their early teens using face-to-face interviews rather than questionnaires. It found that 4.2 percent of children aged 9-13 suffered depression, with the rate increasing as children got older.

[Mike Oxlong]

A lot of kids at JHS talk about how they wish the school nurse would dish out more anteizai when they ask for it. The kids know all about yer Xanax and they wants it now!