reinstating classes on Saturday

公立小中高校の土曜日授業の復活を検討している文部科学省検討チームは２８日、土曜授業を行いやすくするための省令改正を求める中間報告をまとめました。秋をめどに省令を改正し、来年４月からの実施を目指すそうです。

さてその「土曜日授業の復活」ですが、記事ではreinstating classes on Saturdayと訳されていました。reinstateはその語源から「人を復帰させる、復職させる」と覚えていましたが、こうした制度に対しても使えるのですね。

なお、わたしは教職志望ではありませんが、記事の最後にある"Teaching is not a job that makes a young person rich or gives them prestige, but it allows you to participate in building someone else’s life."という発言にはなるほどなと思いました。先生がいつもいわれていることと同じですね。（Nat）

JAPAN TEACHERS FACE DIFFICULT TIMES

Although being a teacher is never an easy task, educators in Tokyo are saying that lately it has been more difficult than ever.

“Teachers come to school at 7 a.m. and greet the children as they enter,” Yasuko Muramatsu, president of Tokyo Gakugei University, says. “After the children leave, they start preparing for the next day’s classes, and they stay at school until 7, 8, or 9 p.m. We do not think it is a healthy situation.”

Teachers’ responsibility may increase even more with Tokyo being close to reinstating classes on Saturday , despite the fact that teachers disagree with this plan.

Teachers in Japan seem to not have too much power. They are moved to different schools every six years and principals go through this process even more frequently. “When a successful principal is moved to another school, it spreads the success and helps elevate the whole district,” Harukazu Fukuda, a principal, said, according to the international press.

“Experiencing various situations is needed as a public school teacher,” commented Mai Ebisawa, a teacher at Wada Junior High.

But although the responsibilities may be pressuring, there are also rewards in a teacher’s activity. “Teaching is not a job that makes a young person rich or gives them prestige, but it allows you to participate in building someone else’s life,” Muramatsu concluded.

http://www.tokyotimes.com/2013/japan-teachers-face-difficult-times/