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Toyoko Academy High School (1) |
For this next series, Anno visited Toyoko Academy, a girls' school in Tokyo's fashionable Setagaya Ward. Located in a quiet residential district, this combination intermediate-high school has a an air of calm dignity about it. Anno seemed delighted at the thought of visiting a second girls' school. The students, especially the two Seniors, began by bragging about their teachers. Both Anno and our editorial staff were amazed, as this was the first school they had been to where the students expressed such fondness and respect for the teachers.
Kasagi: We get along well with the teachers here. They'll talk with us about anything, and aren't the least bit embarrassed about talking on the phone with us, either.
Kashiwara: Right. But even so, I have a favorite.
Anno: Must be a male teacher.
Kashiwara: It is.
All: (Laughter)
Kashiwara: But you know, there are a lot of terrific teachers around here.
Kasagi: Yeah. They put themselves in our shoes. Even though we're children from their perspective, the teachers call us at home to see if we're all right, that sort of thing. It feels good to have such good teachers.
Mitsui: I'm on the Softball Team, and our advisor really takes the coaching seriously.
Yoneyama: And he's really nice when we have a game to play. He can just about make us cry with his words of encouragement when we lose--things like, "You can do it."
Kahsiwara: Wow! That's so cool.
Anno: (laughter)
"We're Also Proud Not to Have Bullies"
Q. So the pride of the school is its teachers.
Kasagi: We get along with the teachers like we were friends. And there's no bullying here. I mean, really, there isn't.
All: Yeah.
Kasagi: So I get a shock when I hear reports of suicide and the like.
Kashiwara: I find myself wondering what goes through people's minds to make them do that.
Kasagi: I can't understand why people would kill themselves.
Q. Do you have much of a truancy problem?
Kashiwara: There may be some truants, but not more than a couple.
Kasagi: We do take time off for health reasons, though.
Q. What kinds of teachers are the most popular?
Kasagi: There's Kobayashi, who teaches Japanese history. He really knows how to teach. He makes it sound like he's telling a story. And he uses special marks to indicate the important things.
Kashiwara: Yeah, he's really popular. We all welcome Kobayashi at the opening ceremonies before school begins. If class is two hours long, we could be at the ceremonies an hour if we're not careful. The kids in class really get involved.
Kasagi: It was amazing how they built that arch and all. I couldn't sleep the night before, dreaming about the ceremonies and all.
Kashiwara: The whole class came together as a result.
Q. There must be girls in this school who get crushes on the male teachers.
Kashiwara: I like Kobayashi. But I'm not in love with him.
Kasagi: There are girls who fall in love, though.
All: Oh yeah, head-over-heels.
"Valentine's Day Is Something Else"
Kashiwara: Valentine's Day is something else.
Yoneyama: Our class does it up big too.
Kasagi: Nihei, a really cool-looking teacher, got first place in the magazine.
Anno: Magazine?
Kashiwara: Girls sent pictures of their favorite teachers to this magazine. And he got ranked coolest-looking teacher in all of Tokyo. He really does look that cool, like he ought to be working nights in a club for ladies.
Kasagi: He really is good-looking. He talks like a gentleman, and he looks like he's in his late 20's, not 36. And he works hard enough to bring out bags under his eyes, and still looks cool.
All: (laughter)
Kashiwara: But you work harder at studying when you've got a good teacher.
Kasagi: And you feel bad when you get bad grades, too. I got a 98 in Kobayashi's Japanese history class.
Kashiwara: I got a 90. My loss. But he said to keep at it, so I did.
Q. Do you get teased by intermediate-school students or underclassmen about teachers you like?
Kashiwara: There were rumors about me and this one teacher, and now when he comes by I hear things like, "Here's your darling." It's the worst. They misunderstand everything.
Kasagi: The junior-high students love seeing stuff like that.
Q. There's a lot of teachers like the Onizuka character in the manga GTO, who give their all to everything they do.
Kashiwara: Well, not to that extent, but they all take the job of "teacher" very seriously. The students are all they think about.
Kasagi: They worry about us.
Kashiwara: But they don't understand us.
Kasagi: Some do, some don't.
Q. You've mentioned a lot of teachers. Who's your real favorite?
Kasagi: I'd have to say my homeroom teacher. It's not love, but I really respect him. He listens when I need to talk about things at home, stuff like that.
Kashiwara: I'd say Kobayashi. I'm probably halfway in love with him.
Anno: None of the students I've talked to up to now have had this kind of praise for their teachers. Of all the schools I've been to so far, this is the one the students themselves have rated the highest.
(From the Sept. 24, 1998 edition of Mainichi Intermediate-School News)
