I managed to have an altercation with the first teacher I encountered... the head of Japanese language.... apparently notorious for her inflexibility. Mindless inflexibility ... a feature of Japanese institutions. In a rather raised voice she told me I 'shouldn't be studying Japanese' and walked out of the classroom.... hmmm.
Language classes don't count to Masters units - but they get calculated as part of a student's GPA (Grade Point Average). Attendance is very strict and there is a test every lesson. I asked if there is some way around this - like could I come as an unregistered student.
A. NO! We don't allow students to come and just sit in. It's a bother for the teacher.
Q. But if I give an assurance that I will participate fully and do my homework seriously.
A. No.
Q. But I want to learn Japanese.
A. Well You shouldn't work.
Q. But I can't stop working in the middle of a university term when I committed to it in February.
A. YOU SHOULDN'T BE STUDYING JAPANESE.
hmmm..
not very encouraging.
Lucky I am a tough cookie...
Lucky I am a tough cookie...
I sent a letter this morning pointing out that the attitude conflicts with the blurb on the Uni website:
The Masters Program...'encourages the study of Japanese' and developing a competent grounding in Japanese and/or other second or third languages.
It's false advertising....the whole point of studying from a Japanese university was that I would be able to improve Japanese. I'll be quite upset if they won't be flexible.
It's false advertising....the whole point of studying from a Japanese university was that I would be able to improve Japanese. I'll be quite upset if they won't be flexible.
Happily my afternoon classes were interesting and fun - one on Global History, one on Nationalism.
But lots of homework for the weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment