Several times a year, schools hold events called “class observations,” where parents attend classes.
High school classes average 40 students each. The teacher asks questions, and students raise their hands to answer them. We teachers always try to assign students equally. However, one parent angrily complained to a teacher, asking why their child wasn’t being called on.
Even during sports festivals, even though there are seats for parents, parents come to the students’ seats to take photos and disrupt the proceedings. It’s really annoying.
At the school where I used to work, there was an elderly math teacher.
He was known for being extremely strict in both his classes and student guidance.
He was quite disliked by the students.
One day, a male student complained to his parent that he had been physically abused by this teacher.
Of course, this was untrue.
The parent believed this big lie and directly filed a complaint with the prefectural board of education.
The next day, the teacher suddenly stopped coming to school.
A few days later, I heard that he had been dismissed for disciplinary reasons.
You may find this hard to believe, but it’s true from my own experience.
I think teachers all over Japan are probably troubled to some extent by ‘monster parents’.
⭐️In fact, an increasing number of teachers are suffering mental breakdowns due to parents’ unreasonable complaints and demands, and are no longer able to come to school or quitting their jobs as teachers.
This is one of the reasons why the nationwide teacher shortage in Japan has become a societal problem.
🌾 A teacher’s job is not just to teach subjects, but also to do clerical work, club activities, and an infinite number of other tasks.
And with the need to deal with these kinds of monstrous parents, it’s no wonder there’s a shortage of teachers.
