Tag: education | RocketNews24

education

How transparent is acceptable for a girl’s pants? This much, according to one Chinese high school

yesterday by Casey Baseel
0
Tweet

As we head towards the end of May, there are a few tell-tale signs that summer is on the way. The sun sets later, the temperatures gets higher, and schools and office workers switch over to the lighter, breezier uniforms for the warmer months to come.

One high school in China may have gone a little overboard in its uniform design, though, as it seems to have given priority to keeping cool rather than keeping students’ underwear hidden. Read More

Photos of Japanese People Accidently Used on Korean Textbook Covers

May 5, 2013 by Oona McGee
0

State-sponsored textbooks issued to 870,000 first and second grade elementary school students in Korea this year have mistakenly used photos featuring Japanese people on their covers. The mishap was confirmed after much speculation about the nationality of the subjects in the photos. They were said to have different features to Koreans, namely more defined double-creased eyelids and less-defined cheekbones.

Feb 16, 2013 by Philip Kendall
0

“Ignore the rules and you’ll get jam in your sneakers.”

The teachers may not always know about them, but throughout schools in Japan there are a number of unwritten rules that have been passed down from school generation to school generation and must be obeyed. First graders may only use the old, “haunted” toilet block nearest to the gym; only third graders may wear their backpack with just one strap; the cute art teacher must never be gazed upon by anyone other than the boys from class 2-F…

Entering a new school and being told to obey these long-standing rules “or else”, many kids probably wonder why their seniors, or “senpais“, are such jerks. But as the years go by and they, too, slowly rise to power and reap the rewards of having aged a couple of years, few are in a hurry to abolish the “ura“, or “other side”, code of conduct.

According to a report by Japan’s Yomiuri Online, however, students at a school in Tainai City, Niigata Prefecture have taken the unusual step of openly discussing these rules and swearing to abide by them no more.

Feb 13, 2013 by Rona Moon
0

Crushes at primary school are so cute, aren’t they? Rolling 50 deep to the school picnic, attended by a crew of giggling cuties on every class outing and fending them off right and left in the playground… girls want them and other boys want to be them. The harsh reality is that often more than half the girls in the class are in love with the same kid – but why? What makes the “cool boy” so popular?

Japanese website Goo News has recently investigated this phenomenon, uncovering the most striking characteristics of these popular boys. Take a look at their results, ranked by the top five attractive “characteristics”, below:

Jan 22, 2013 by Jessica
0

It made the news over the weekend in Japan that middle schoolers in Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture were forced to drink diluted hydrochloric acid as punishment for failing to perform a lab experiment correctly. Read More

New iPad App “The Legend of Momotaro” Brings Japanese Folk Tale to Life

Jan 22, 2013 by Philip Kendall
0

Telling the age-old story of a hero born from a giant peach, Ghost Hand Games’ new app The Legend of Momotaro landed on our iPad last weekend. Promising an inspiring interactive experience while telling the classic Japanese tale, we fired it up right away. A couple of hours of reading, listening and screen-tapping later, we were left with no doubt in our minds: technology really can do great things for an old reading experience.

Jan 20, 2013 by Philip Kendall
0

Fantastic octopus wiring!

My brother has been observing the slugs since he got divorced.

Let’s start from where we left off yesterday. Get down on all fours.

No, these aren’t the ramblings of a man with concussion; these are genuine excerpts from Twitter feed and study guide “Non-essential English Vocabulary: Words that will never come up in tests”, a language resource for Japanese students of English that presents entirely useless but infinitely memorable phrases.

With more than 40,000 Twitter followers so far, Twitter feed curator and author Nakayama-san (otherise known as @NISE_TOEIC)’s cheeky tweets are clearly resonating with English learners here in Japan, but why, when the rest of the nation is busy with earnest study, would someone take the time to create a Twitter account dedicated entirely to unusable English? Japanese website Excite Bit sat down with the Nakayama-san to pick up a few study tips and learn little more about the thinking behind the bizarre project.

Jan 18, 2013 by Master Blaster
0

When I was a junior high school student my music teacher used to jab a meter stick into my gut while I played Mary Had a Little Lamb on the trumpet. Good times.

Still, that guy could win teacher of the year next to a 55 year-old man who was suspended from his Shonan Ward high school in Kanagawa Prefecture for inappropriate behavior with some female students.

How inappropriate? For starters, he composed an original love ballad.

Jan 17, 2013 by John Stuart Translations
0

In a review of the current five-day school week currently being used in public schools across Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said it is considering Saturday classes and a re-introduction of the six-day school week that was phased out between 1992 and 2002.

New curriculum guidelines mandating increased classroom hours resulting from a re-examination of the Ministry’s Yutori Kyoiku, (pressure-free education) program were introduced to elementary schools last year, and fully implemented in junior high schools this year. In seeking the use of Saturdays, the Ministry hopes to improve the academic ability of the nation’s youth by securing more teaching hours. It also hopes to dispel concerns of a widening “education gap” between public schools and private schools, many of which continue to implement Saturday classes.
Read More

Chinese Kindergarten Offers Premium Package: Two Hugs a Day for Kids of Paying Parents

Dec 22, 2012 by Master Blaster
0

Recently a kindergarten in Yangzhou has caused a stir for practicing capitalism at its finest. Parents who pay an optional monthly fee can provide their young emotionally malleable child with hugs from their teacher twice a day.

The friend of one student’s parent poster about the pricing plan to the internet when they found out about it. As a result, the school has been put under investigation for unethical conduct.

Sep 27, 2012 by Steven
0

Maria Ozawa is one of the most popular Japanese Adult Video (AV) actresses in the world. While she may not have half of China following her on Twitter like Sora Aoi, she does command a huge following in many countries across Asia, especially Southeast Aisa.

Indonesia, in particular, is crazy about the half French-Canadian half Japanese porn star. Known as “Miyabi” by local fans, Ozawa is so popular in the country that she has even appeared in two non-pornographic Indonesian films, one of which, titled Menculik Miyabi (“Kidnapping Miyabi”), is a comedy about two teenage Indonesia fans who kidnap Maria Ozawa while she’s vacationing in Indonesia only to end up learning valuable lessons about life, love and, most importantly, friendship.

However, Ozawa’s popularity among Indonesians has also become a point of controversy among right-wing Islamic groups (Islam is the dominant religion in Indonesia and Muslims makes up over 80% of the population) and her appearance in Indonesian films have sparked heated protests from conservative groups, who denounced filmmakers for casting a foreign porn actress instead of a local actress.

Imagine their reaction, then, when it was discovered that a photo of Maria Ozawa was published in a middle school workbook earlier this month.

Aug 28, 2012 by Steven
0

Many Japanese people lament their inability to carry out a proper conversation in English despite studying it for 10 years in junior high, high school and university.

Some people blame the education system, some people blame the lack of transparency between Japanese and other languages; but there just seems to be something about Japanese people that makes them terrible with foreign languages.

Continuing from yesterday’s post, we’d like to share the last part of Japanese columnist Ryuuji Haneishi’s discussion of why he believes they are.

Aug 27, 2012 by Steven
0

Many Japanese people lament their inability to carry out a proper conversation in English despite 10 years of study during junior high, high school and university.

While anyone who has taught English at a public school in Japan would probably be quick to point their finger at a curriculum still largely grounded in rote memorization and strange textbook phrases, it’s also important to realize that Japanese has absolutely nothing in common with any of the European languages and most other languages in the world.

But aside this inherent disadvantage, there just seems to be something about Japanese people that makes them terrible with foreign languages.

Aug 22, 2012 by Steven
0

Love Hatsune Miku and wish you could create your own Vocaloid music and music videos?

Digital Hollywood, a Tokyo-based school offering degree and certification programs in IT and digital media, announced they will be holding a 6-month course on CG animation and music video production using Vocaloid software and characters.

Aug 10, 2012 by Steven
0

At Japanese universities, female science and engineering majors are definitely in the minority. Even in Tokyo, it’s not uncommon for ladies to make up less than 10% of enrollment for science departments. But the elusive rikei joshi, or “science girl,” does exist and Japanese student organization CURIE is holding a pageant called “Miss Rekei Contest” to give them a chance to prove they’ve got beauty as well as brains.

Jul 21, 2012 by Steven
0

Yesterday we shared the highlights of an online discussion of what Japanese students think of their junior high school English classes.

Another similar thread has popped up on 2channel, this time sharing several pages from a university-level English textbook that are so mind-numbingly simple you’ll wonder what those 6 years of compulsory English education were for.

Jul 19, 2012 by Steven
0

Perhaps the most popular job among Westerners living in Japan is Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) at a public school.

Anyone who has worked as an ALT before could likely write a book on their observations of Japanese students and all the crazy things they say (or, as is often the case, don’t say) in and out of the classroom. But have you ever stopped to think about how your students are observing you?

A thread on Japanese message board site 2channel titled “Things that often happen in junior high school English” offers some humorous insight.

Jul 13, 2012 by Jessica
0

Awesome Course Schedule, an app released last year by Japanese content provider Labit, has been rapidly gaining traction with students at Japanese universities, because it allows them to rate and review their courses. Read More

Is Your Face Pregnant? Ask Twitter

Jul 4, 2012 by Jessica
0

Tracking Twitter trends can teach us a lot about language, for instance that Japanese women are more likely than men to tweet about boobs. It can also introduce us to hitherto unknown expressions coined and trending in the Twitterverse. We at Rocket News have been looking into some very strange examples, and we’d like to enlighten you today. Get ready, because your eyes are about to get pregnant! Read More

Take the “Public” Out of Public Bathing and Make a Natural Hot Spring in the Comfort of Your Own Home

Jun 30, 2012 by Master Blaster
0

One of Japan’s greatest features is its many natural hot springs called onsens. Thanks to its highly volcanic location, Japan’s countryside is dotted with resorts welcoming tourists all year round.

For some foreigners visiting or living in Japan, public bathing isn’t a very appealing recreation. Reasons for this include tattoos which are considered verboten in many onsens, and the fact that foreigners tend to stick out like a sore thumb and might draw uncomfortable stares while bathing.

Now there’s another way to enjoy the relaxing and curative properties of a natural hot spring in the comfort of your own bathroom. If you want to know how, then give our easy manual “How to Set Up an Onsen in Your Own Home” a quick read.