Monster Parents @ Japan

Teachers driven to brink by 'monster parents'

06/07/2007

When he was a young man, novelist Shuhei Fujisawa (1927-1997) was a junior high school teacher in his hometown in Yamagata Prefecture. He wrote in his memoir that in the days soon after World War II, a teacher was either "unconditionally respected, or shunned" in that community.

He says it was quite unheard of for a teacher to be exposed to any kind of voices and opinions from outside the school.

In contrast, I hear that teachers today are often persecuted by some parents who come up with unreasonable requests. Of course, it is important for parents to be able to speak freely to teachers. But when hearing about the many actual cases--including one in which a parent spent 90 minutes on the phone to force a teacher every night to give a report on the child's school life--then it is as if I can hear the teachers crying out in distress.

"Monster parents"--that is what these parents are secretly called by the school staff. The parents make unreasonable demands of the schools: Change this and that teacher because of a lack of ability; wash sports uniforms worn during school club activities; make my child a regular player on the school team. Teachers can't be expected to put up with the strain of facing these kinds of constant demands.

Regional education boards have begun taking measures against monster parents. Iwate Prefecture's education board has put together a manual for teachers, categorizing demanding parents into 10 types, including "doting," "proud and narcissistic," "practical joker," and explaining how to deal with each type. It advises teachers to be courteous and never to aggravate parents. The manual is very detailed, like a customer service manual. That authorities have had to go to such lengths highlights how serious the situation is.

Novelist Kaoru Takamura wrote in another newspaper, "Schools are where we learn for the very first time that we are one-fortieth (of a class)." Schools are important public spaces where everyone can grow as a group. It is necessary for parents to learn this, as well as children.

Fujisawa also wrote that schools in those days were "enclosed societies surrounded by a barrier." Today, outside voices heard in schools through good communications between communities and schools can serve as a valuable compass for school management.

But once those voices turn into a roar, teachers will cover their ears.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 6(IHT/Asahi: June 7,2007)