Postcard from the Edge

Hello there! It has been ages since my last post. I had been hoping to leave this blog up to help anyone who needed to see what steps to take to fight an unfair dismissal. Though, reading back on some comments and letters, I wanted to tie up some loose ends. As well as comment on what, if anything, a big catastrophe like this earthquake could mean for foreign teachers.

Loose ends:

1. Ms. Tran cannot be contacted through this site. Nor am I allowed to give information on the union she is part of. The school would have a lot of motivation to try to link them to this site and cry defamation…(or maybe just cry). But, as we know, WordPress is great at protecting freedom of speech.

2. Many have been unclear on what it was that Ms. Tran got out of the settlement. In an unfair dismissal case, people sue for their job back, or the equivalent of back pay. In Ms. Tran’s case, it was for the job and no amount of money was specified. However, in settlements, it is always money that finishes the case. Getting her job back would have been weird for everyone.

3. Some have wondered what has happened to Ms. Tran and what she has learned. Well, she continues to putter about Tokyo, having dinner parties and doing her job. In her new work, well, the work of the last 2 years after leaving St. Mary’s, she has happily experienced the way teacher evaluation has been done at other institutions. For example, teachers are video taped and employers write a detailed report of what they saw with comments. All which is verifiable by looking at the tape. This is accompanied by a teacher self-evaluation and meetings with positive encouragement. Other teachers are required to watch each other’s tapes and write comments. All teachers undergo the same process, administered with objective rigor. Thus, when an evaluation comes out, you can bet it is useful and usable. It has been important to experience this fresh breath of professionalism. (My god. Isn’t this supposed to be normal?)

Japan in turmoil:

Many foreign teachers might have had a proper fright after that crazy earthquake on Friday March 11, 2011. Also, those nuclear meltdown warnings don’t sound so appetizing. Some might be tendering their resignation right now. Here are some ideas for those who are staying, regarding labor issues / education. (I am no expert, just FYI from a lowly blogger):

1. Thank you for continuing to stay in Japan. Your services are important for maintaining the level of education and economic progress of the country. Talk to your fellow teachers and employers about working together toward those goals. (An exodus of foreign teachers would be another huge setback for Japan, thus this is a time for teachers to recognize their worth).

2. Cooperate with your employer (on a reasonable level) to adjust to things like mandatory time off due to planned power cuts. Teachers on salary suffer less of course, but teachers being paid by the hour–you need to foresee how your income will be affected and decide what to do accordingly. Judge clearly to see if your employer is truly setback by the devastation or just using this event to justify layoffs that were in the works anyway etc. This is an important time to document things. Also, be aware that if you form your own union or join a pre-existing one, you become protected under Trade Union Law (which is can be a pre-emptive precaution to lay-offs and unfair firings etc). http://www.tabunka.org/special/trade.html

Stay informed with the news: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv

and

The power cuts–(& find out if you can get to work on time!):
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tepco.co.jp%2Findex-j.html&act=url

3. This is an amazing time in Japan. It can be used to educate students on humanitarian issues and the concept of rebuilding Japan. Talk to your staff about incorporating this into your curriculum from here on in. Make your school, students and staff on the forefront of helping to donate, conserve energy and preparing students to live in a country that has undergone a heavy blow etc. This is the post-WW2 moment and kick-in-the-pants that complacent and stagnate Japan has been waiting for. The help of foreign workers, English, and a motivated young generation is what is needed to get back on track. You are needed more than ever–foreign teachers committed to staying in Japan should get together and recognize that you are an important force of redemption and rebuilding here!!

Woohoo!!!

The historic signing of papers finally happened today!! Stubbornness finally caved.  So, while I assume the teacher is out to celebrate, I at least squeezed out an inventory list!

1. Meeting so many amazing people along the way who understand exactly why you must do something. Check.
2. Witnessing the magical helpful spirit of Japanese friends who translated hundreds of documents within days. Check.
3. MAKING the other side listen and LOOK at evidence–in Collective Bargaining, in court. Check.
4. Believing in self-determination and seeing it realized. Check.
5. Dragging the other side through years of time-loss, expense, publicity. Check.
6. 12,000 audited hits and counting. Check.
7. Being recognized by alumni and students who follow this thing in other parts of the world. Check.
8. Making a lasting impression. Check.
9. Learning from every moment. Check.
10. Getting to know the lovely maternal and paternal spirit of so many parents at St. Mary’s. Check.
11. Wiping the other side’s smugness up with the mop they gave you. Check!
12. Seeing karmic retribution kick BUTTS. (Though they [ahem] were rather hard to miss). Check and Check!

…And although Richard Dawkins is right…I can’t help but say, God IS watching! The Old and New Testament God! And I like how He rolls His eyes at certain people, or at least pretends to sleep when they ask Him for things they don’t deserve. Awesome.

Woohoo!!! Stay tuned for more posts. I ‘ve wanted to post a few more things…I’ll get my act together soon!

This just in!

Today, the teacher met with the school’s principal and business manager for what was supposed to be a final court meeting.

It was a good thing Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were left back at base camp. Though it is always fun to see them, weeble-wobbling down a hallway.

But what am I saying? The small-stuffy-room meetings had no room for me either! I have gotten my information downstream…

But, I’m such a discerning listener! This is what I’ve learned

So, the judge meets with each side individually to hammer out details. The other side has to wait outside the room. Good thing the teacher brought snacks and a friend to chat with for almost 3 hours!

The teacher and the school are trying to come up with something that would sound dignified for all those involved. This is important in a settlement, especially for the party that needs to save face the most (that’s what settlements are all about).

But I say,

No matter how much lipstick you put on a pig…

or

How much rouge you put on a corpse…

Pigs will always be pigs. However, death with some make-up can make it seem more pleasant for onlookers…but, it’s still…dead.

Both sides will translate something into English and then have to agree on a translation. So, there is, yet ANOTHER court date: April 15th.

Anyway, **!!! I heard that the teacher is double-checking her email list. If you have updated your email recently and / or as a supporting parent / student / teacher are interested in being included on the teacher’s updated list of supporting parent / student / teachers, don’t hesitate to be included!!

How?

You can send your email address here whenever you write a comment (you can just write a short comment, that I won’t post if you don’t want). Your email will be anonymous to the public, but I can see it. I will pass it on to her! I’m sure she is smart enough to BCC you in mass emails.So, I wonder if this has been meaningful to the teacher? Was the whole process the thing that was meaningful–3.5 years of dealing with these people/multi-celled organisms? Or does it all come down to one final moment, one settlement, one piece of paper?

In the words of LL Cool J: “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.”

The latest goings on

Without giving too much away, let me just say that there will be another court date on April 7, between the teacher and the school to discuss “thangz”.

Unfortunately, because this was held in a stuffy tiny room, there won’t be space enough for any of us onlookers. But rest assured, I will find out some way, some how and let you know how things are going down.

However this ends, if it ends, it needs to be done in a meaningful way. I’m sure the teacher wouldn’t have it any other way.

Correction

Friday, March 26 at 15:45, on the 13th floor, in “bu” 19…. the case could end!

But probably not. Apparently, the judge has asked the 2 sides to make some kind of out-of-court settlement before he hands down a decision. This is the second time the judge has made such a recommendation. The first time, the school opted not to settle and submit evidence instead [don't know why they didn't just submit evidence pro-actively to begin with 1 year into the court case. Perhaps they were waiting for the teacher's visa to expire?--Then they wouldn't have to do any work. But strangely enough, she still seems to haunt them in Japan!]. The evidence consisted of 27 character references for the Assistant Vice Principal, which did not mention the teacher at all. And negative letters by people who had all written positive things 3 years before.

The teacher looks forward to:
1. Hearing out just, out-of-court negotiation ideas from the school (won’t happen)
2. Appealing this case to the next level (either by the school or by the teacher), which could take another year or two. But the good thing about that would be the essence of the case would be further distilled…
The next level is High Court, which has 3 judges, who attend court sessions together. This is also open to the public.

The teacher is happy to be going through the process. Every level it goes, the more interesting it gets. And, she figures, the fresher the memory of the necessity to treat people fairly will stay within the school. This is a classic case. Professor Rory O’Day from the University of Waterloo, Canada wrote almost exactlyabout this case in 1974. I recommend his following article to all international school teachers and all students who want change in an organization (here is an excerpt):

“In the discussion that follows, I will be concerned primarily with the reformer who emerges from the lower hierarchy in an organization and challenges the middle hierarchy. A reformer threatens middle management in three distinctly different ways.

The first threat is a function of the validity of [her] accusations about the inadequacy of specific actions of middle-level members and [her] suggestions for correcting them. If the reformer is correct, those in the middle will fear that those at the top will punish them when they discover the truth. [The teacher in this case had:
1. pointed out that middle management should provide basic support for new teachers in the form of a guidebook
2. middle management recruited another middle manager and resorted to putting her in closed meetings with them to, as she feels, bully her goon-style, when she had pointed out #1. And then, since the teacher pointed THAT out, it snowballed from there until the point of her expulsion].

The second threat comes from the moral challenge presented by such a reformer, for [her] demand for action will reveal the strength or weakness of middle management’ commitment to the organization.

And thirdly, the reformer’s challenge may indicate to the people at the top that middle management is unable to maintain order in its own jurisdiction. To protect their interests, middle-level bureaucrats therefore feel their only defense against reform-minded subordinates is intimidation.”

O’Day, Rory. (1974). Intimidation Rituals: Reactions to Reform.

Journal of Applied Behavioural Science.

pp. 373-386.

Retrieved from: http://jab.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/10/3/373

The Teacher’s Testimony

This was the big day!

The Assistant Vice Principal, Curriculum Coordinator and the Business Manager were in attendance.

The Business Manager testified first and honestly, that he had very little to do with this case, knew of little, could only assume that certain things happened and was not sure about things. It was curious indeed why the school put this man on the witness stand. Why would he stick his neck out for these administrators? Guess it’s his job…he did not look terribly excited about the whole process. As for the other two, they seemed to wear the grimace of consternation. Or swallowed poison? Or just general gene pool issues from way back?

Yuks aside, it is strange to see an administration made up of a bunch of men, who are depending on, basically, the one testimony of the Curriculum Coordinator. Although she was somewhat involved, she wasn’t as much involved as the Assistant Vice Principal, who isn’t even testifying! What about the Brothers? Is the CC some kind of workhorse for these men? Do they make her constantly go into the trenches for them? Why does she do it? (Well, the answer at the school quite likely is: the salary).

The school’s lawyer asked the teacher nothing about her classroom. Shock? After all these months of going on and on about how kids twirled pencils and put their heads on their desks and dared clap and cheer noisily during a math game etc. Not a question about her classroom. Smart? Well, the school had never documented a single objective complaint about or wrongdoing by the teacher. Their past strategy was to barrage the court with a million tiny points (mentioned above) hoping one of them would stick. Or, ask some teachers in the elementary school 3 years after the fact, to trash talk the teacher. (Too bad they got dates wrong; had never actually witnessed the teacher teach and boasted about going through the teacher’s garbage). Too Salem, Massachusetts 1692. They got 2 moms to write mean things about the teacher (too bad the moms had previously written really nice things about the teacher on exactly the same points; too bad their sons’ futures hang in the balance at the school). Too Maoist-denunciation. They got the Elementary Guidance Counselor to express shock at the teacher’s nuts students (too bad she happened to say that they were nuts when she–not the teacher–was teaching them–doesn’t that reflect on her? Or perhaps this is her willingness to go up to bat for the administration? Life and work in Japan for someone with her qualifications is a luck-out job indeed. Hang on to it honey!! Also, she had written something sweet and contradictory 3 years ago). The strategy here was: if several people tell similar stories, it must be true. And this could have possibly worked in court if the teacher did not have proof that these same people wrote different things way back. Lessons learned?
1. Back up your computer!
2. Be nice to people!
3. Actually do a good job at something!
4. Court is like the book Rashomon, until someone actually has evidence.

ANYWAY, the school has one peg leg left to stand on, we guessed, and they had to whittle it down to a fine pointy point! The lawyer focused on a point that he hoped would surely qualify the teacher to the dust bin:

On the one-year contract that the teacher (and every teacher) signed, there are 4 criteria for renewal:

４ renewal criteria (契約更新の基準):

1. Teacher’s work records and attitude（教師の仕事を記録し、態度）
2. Teacher’s aptitude (教師の適性)
3. School’s operational standing (学校の財政的実行可能)
4. School’s curriculum (学校のカリキュラム)

They tried really hard to get her on the “attitude”. Since:
1. Work records were not recorded as being bad by the school
2. The teacher is licensed and was qualified enough to hire and even renew after her first year
3. The school is not broke (?)
4. The school did not eliminate the 3rd grade or other things which she is qualified to teach.

They grilled her on an email she had written to the Curriculum Coordinator in March (?) April (?) 2007. The teacher had called in a government mediator to find a solution to what she felt was Power Harassment. The mediator told both sides to stop all contact until after the mediation period. But the Curriculum Coordinator would say an “unnatural” Hello to the teacher in front of others as if nothing was amiss at the school. (Imagine Kim Jung Il saying “What’s up?” to you at 7-11). The teacher wrote that during a staff meeting, the CC greeted her this way and would not give the teacher a paper handout until the teacher responded. She emailed the CC and asked her to stop these weird Hellos and allow for the mediation to finish.

If Hellos could be nuclear missiles….

Anyway, the lawyer tried to get the teacher to say that she did not want to greet Her Majesty CC. If the teacher said “no”, this might construe her as “rude” and possibly give grounds for #1: bad attitude, which = FIRED! The teacher testified that she acknowledged the CC in other ways, like giving a slight bow. How Japanese.

Believe it or not, that was kind of it. The teacher was often just “yes” or “no”ing things..maybe she’ll complain and then I’ll write more…

The school’s lawyer asked her a bunch of questions about her apartment and why she is continuing to pay the owner and not the school. Many court documents indicate that she should be paying the school. She said that since the apartment and the employment case were closely linked, she didn’t act on these documents on her own and instead deferred to her lawyer who would surely know what to do. Her lawyer pointed out that her apartment contract was never with the school. And the school, although they claimed to contract the apartment exclusively with the owner, were not the ones who paid the first 2 years of rent or 1,000,000 yen of key money and thank you money. The teacher paid it. So, the school needed to explain that.

PS: I hope to obtain a copy of the statement that the teacher wrote against the school. It is 17 pages, detailing all kinds of garbage. I will erase all the names, but you’ll have good imaginations, I’m sure.

PPS: If you are a student reading this: Awesome! This would have been a proper field trip. Notice how the CC and the Assistant Vice-Principal were absent on Wednesday??

Hopefully, this opens up the possibility that there are some people who look, talk, act and have jobs like adults, but they are nothing more than the yard apes you remember from recesses gone wrong. But, no matter who it is, address them. Make sure they know through and through who you are. You may win or you may lose, but they will remember they have been in a fight with you.

Last minute thoughts

Last minute room change: courtroom 603, not 606.

The teacher is excited about testifying in court! This fantastic opportunity is a testament to a strong judicial system in Japan that allows any individual to have their day (or 2 years) in court with anybody.

Many people around the world fight to the death for such an opportunity over much worse circumstances. This whole case can be classified under “administrative skirmish” in comparison. It would be a waste and an insult to the justice seekers in the world NOT to solve problems when civilized means are at hand. So, the teacher is very happy about this opportunity.

She wishes her former students could take a field trip today! That would be REAL education!

Stay tuned. I’ll take notes as she talks. Also, the school’s Business Manager will testify.

Review of a School-side Testimony

The teacher sends her thanks to those who attended. The Curriculum Coordinator testified.

The teacher’s lawyer asked the Curriculum Coordinator many things and she said many things, careful not to perjure herself, but the teacher was avidly taking notes next to her lawyer. I guess we will know the results of that later.

Where do I start? I guess the highlight of the testimony was this: the lawyer asked why, if the teacher was deemed so unfit in her first year of teaching, would the school not fire her or at least change her position. The school’s witness explained that they were an honorable school and honored the 2 years they said they would hire her. Earlier, the witness explained that hiring an overseas teacher was really expensive for the school. So 2 years it was. (But that didn’t explain why the teacher was kept at exactly the same homeroom).

Of all things that were said, based on the school’s logic, this made me want to demand a refund for the students of the teacher’s 2nd year class. So: are there incompetent teachers at the school right now who need to go, but are staying on because the school wants to save some money?? How much in debt is the school to compromise on something so important?? Or…was the teacher kept on for a full second year because there really was no problem despite the admin’s claims and they wanted to dispose of her (because she was annoying them) after they broke even? It seems either the families/students are getting shafted or the teachers. (But, rest easy teachers, just name drop this case and consider yourselves safe). Parents: if the school is in debt, which is probable from having built the new site…get to know the compromises that are being made to cut corners. It might seem like just a year or two of your son’s life, but it is a YEAR or TWO of your son’s life! Every moment of good education counts!

There seemed to be no time for the the Business Manager’s testimony. Next one is the teacher herself on March 3rd at 1:30pm in the courtroom on the 6th floor, Room 606.

Testimonies! (Room # Correction)

The testimony phase of the court case will happen on the following dates. ANYONE from the public is welcome to watch!

St. Mary’s Business Manager and the school’s Curriculum Coordinator will testify on:
Wednesday, February 10, from 14:50 to 17:00. Room 606.

The teacher will testify on:
Wednesday, March 3, from 13:30 to 16:30. Also Room 606.

Note, the Elementary Assistant Vice-Principal will NOT be testifying–which seems to be a smart move on the school’s part, since he seems to have “done enough” for this case, (ahem). Furthermore, it would be more difficult to corroborate stories with more than one person telling it. (From reading the school’s last submission of documents, that seems to be a bit of an issue…)

The Curriculum Coordinator is the only other person from the school’s side who has seen the teacher teach. Perhaps there is school-side hope that this administrator’s words, her history as a teacher (and with the stunning 2 math books she pulled out of the trash in June 2007 and has kept mausoleum-fresh in her home since) will convince the judge that the teacher is the worst she has ever seen.

The teacher is choosing which outfits to wear (among other things, of course!).

Kasumigaseki Station (Chiyoda Line and Marunouchi Line); Exit A1; ROOM NUMBER: 620

At the Tokyo District Court (Civil Court) in this building:
“Tokyo koutou tihou kanni saibannsho goutou chiyousha” = 東京　高等 地方　簡易 裁判所合同庁舎

December 2009 Update

Click Here for an Update!

Correction: 05/10/08 Japanese Leaflet: 聖マリア学園で教えている教員の雇用は大変不安定な状態です！

今年度、３１家族がまとまり、３年生のクラス担任ジュヌビーブ・トラン先生の突然の解雇処分を再検討してもらうための嘆願書をセントメリーズ校に対して提出しました。これは、現在のトラン先生が担任する児童の保護者全員（２４家族）と、その他の７家族の声です。

「…私たちは、トラン先生の私たちの子供たちへの教育におけるあらゆる取り組みに大変満足しています。・・・（この嘆願書に対しての）学校側からの速やかな返答をいただけること願います。」—　３Tクラス保護者一同より
しかし、このような不公平または明確な理由のない教師の解雇において、学校側から返答がされることは一切ありませんでした。 以下が学校側の現状です。

 非雇用者である職員の解雇、または契約の非継続という決断が下されるにあたり、事前に異議を申し立てるプロセスが存在しません。
 トラン先生に関して、書面で残された通常の評価記録が存在しません。
 速やかかつ客観的な解雇理由が提示されていません。
 学校の雇用規則の中で示されている契約継続のための４つの基準のいずれかにトラン先生が違反しているという測定可能、または客観適な根拠が存在しません。
 トラン先生に対しての何らかの警告、罰則などが過去に行使されたという履歴はありません。
 今回のトラン先生の件は、東京都労働監督庁が発行するパワーハラスメントに関する注意事項にのっとったものではありません。
 トラン先生が担任する生徒たちの優秀なテスト成績も考慮されていません。
 「（トラン先生の件について）これ以上の議論および交渉は行いません。」これが、２００８年１月の学校側の返答です。
 法定の失業保険も存在しません。
 法定の年金制度も存在しません。

更に 学校側は、能力があり良い変革をもたらす教師をセントメリーズ校に残したい、と考えている授業料を支払う顧客でもある保護者の妥当な要求を無視し続けています。それは何故でしょう？もし、学校側の理由が然るべき根拠に基づいているのではれば、説明ができるはずだと考えます。

１０００人もの学生を指導する「もの言わぬ独裁制」が存在するのは何故なのでしょう？
セントメリーズの管理者は保護者の声に耳を傾けるべきです！

April 23rd’s Court Hearing Review

Today, as previously promised, the school served papers to the teacher to sue her for living in her apartment.

At the court, the lawyers discussed the new possible case and decided to wait for decisions on either side to see if it should become a case at all.

The teacher lives in an apartment guaranteed by the school, she believed. She continues to pays rent, as she always has, every month by automatic bank deduction.

The school had decided to take over the rent payments a few months ago, on its own accord suddenly, but the teacher also continued to pay rent. Now, the school is suing the teacher saying that she owes the school money for rent. It is an interesting tactic because by taking over the rent in Setagaya-ku for 7 months, makes this a large sum of money.

The teacher will prove she willfully pays the rent, as she always has, every month, to the only party she owes money to: the owner.

In addition, she is preparing evidence to rebut the assertions of the last court date submitted by the school. (For the real case)

The teacher had expected that the school would do such a thing (sue her). 2 court dates ago, the school’s lawyer (there are 3, but they always send a young man), did his best “mean face” toward the teacher and told the judge in translation, that they were going to sue her for “squatting in their villa”.

Since the teacher started working at the school, she was told, in writing that she was the tenant. And as such, she has paid the rent, all the key money etc. But, for the school, they have always held the tenant position (on the official Japanese original of the contract, which they never show the teachers). By tying a teacher’s job to his/her home, it is easy to fire them and make them leave Japan without a struggle.

It is convenient to make the teacher lose her home because logically, this will make her life difficult and discourage her enough to leave Japan. The teacher may feel scared at the prospect of being sued and owing a lot of money that she probably does not have. As well, she may not have any friends who might be her guarantor for her next apartment. She would be homeless. All this would also possibly make her give up! In this way, it makes it possible for St. Mary’s to “win” this case, since their evidence otherwise is, well…

What will the teacher ever do?

The next court date is on May 28th, a Thursday, at 3:00pm at the same place.

次のアップデートは６月６日です：

取りあえず：

本件の背景：
原告である女性教師はSt.Mary’sで勤務を開始から二ヶ月目～六ヶ月目の４ヶ月間、二人の管理職にあたる人間よりパワーハラスメントを受けていた。
学校側がハラスメント及び’いじめ’のような行為があったことを認識する前に、教師は本件を東京都へ報告した。
その後、学校側は女性教師が学校でのハラスメントを公に発表したことに対する制裁として女性教師を解雇することを決定した。
現在、この女性教師は法廷においてこの問題を追及している。

本サイトはSt.Mary’sと学校が解雇した女性教師間で争われている裁判の公判の全ての日程を紹介しています（下記のマップをご覧下さい）。東京地裁において解雇が不当であったことを女性教師が主張しています。
是非傍聴にいらして下さい！

May 28 の開廷 Update:

The school still has not submitted any evidence to justify the teacher’s dismissal. Her lawyer has submitted another request asking for evidence of the unfair dismissal.

学校側はまだ先生の解雇の証拠を堤出しませんでした。先生の弁護士さんは学校にも一度不当解雇の証拠を頼みました。

次のアップデトは, 次の開廷の後で：

７月　２日　１１：００午前　霞ヶ関で。

The next court date and update will be on July 2, 2009. The court session is at 11am in Kasumigaseki.

July 2 Update:

The teacher has submitted a petition by 32 families, report cards written by all 51 of her students, over 2 years, emails and letters written by others which support what the teacher claims; as well, school-issued memos that support the teacher’s practices.

The school has submitted their list of witnesses for the testimony phase that will come later this year. The witnesses are 2 administrators.

The teacher will submit her list by September 4th.

The judge suggested that the teacher’s housing contract be made between her and the owner. St. Mary’s lawyer refused this suggestion saying that it that it was impossible (?) and insisted that she pays the school directly. Though, the teacher has always paid the owner directly. Since the teacher’s housing is tied to the job, there is some question as what to do before knowing the outcome of the employment case.

The next meeting is at 16:45 on July 28th in Kasumigaseki regarding the housing issue. And September 4th regarding the employment issue.

The Judge Makes a Recommendation

At the beginning of August 2009, after about 9 months of court hearings, the teacher and the school’s sides have basically submitted all documents in terms of evidence.

Upcoming is the testimonies, which will likely reiterate each side’s points.

So, the judge has stepped in to make a recommendation based on the evidence so far. Judges tend to do this when it is foreseeable that the case is headed in a certain direction, in order to save everyone’s time. It a recommendation that the teacher finds quite interesting.

Once the two sides meet to discuss agreeing to this or not, an update, perhaps with more detail, will be posted.

Next Court Date

次の開廷は：
The next court date is at 15:30 on Sept, 15 2009, at Kasumigaseki Station (Chiyoda Line and Marunouchi Line); Exit A1; ROOM NUMBER: 13th floor, jyuukyuubu “19 bu”　or “１９部”

The teacher’s side will meet with the school side to discuss agreement upon the judge’s recommendation, or not. Details will be meted out. If any of the parties ultimately refuse the settlement conditions at this point, the lawsuit shall continue on through to next year–likely February 2010. Testimonies will be given.

Furthermore, depending on the final judgment in February 2010, either party may choose to appeal to a higher court, which would carry the proceedings on for another year or so.

The teacher in any event, as in the past, is prepared to do what needs to be done.

September 15th, 2009 Court Hearing Results

Today, the judge met independently first with the teacher’s side and then the school’s side to hear their acceptance / rejection of his recommendation.

After learning the two sides’ wishes, he met with the teacher’s side to say that the school is not willing to do much of what the judge has recommended. He said that it is clear that we shall continue with the case.

Testimonies will happen in about January 2010. Visitors and spectators are welcome to come (dates and places to be announced when known).

The testimonies will actually be a welcome, publicly-recorded phase of this court case (names, dates, words, everything) where the mysterious, elusive logic of why the two administrators decided to zero-in on this teacher to the point of dismissal will hopefully come to light. So far, the only logical (and acceptable) explanation would be that she was “a horrendously unfit teacher”. The judge has weighed the documentation for and against this claim already and has attempted to suggest a settlement based on it, to no avail.

Perhaps the teacher has another explanation of how this problem came to be, which she will gladly offer in her testimony. Good thing, she also kept the documentation of this from 2006.

The two administrators, until their testimonies in January 2010, will surely be rehearsing in front of the mirror; corroborating stories at closed-door meetings at school; and being extra-good Christians in case God is watching them.

And He always is, isn’t He?

Recording a Precedent

日本語

Thank you for being the “eyes” in this case, whoever you may be. When any kind of abuse is kept a secret, it is bound to repeat. When abuse is spoken out, when it is known to more people, when more eyes are watching, it makes it difficult for further abuse to happen. Therefore, your only “job” as a reader of this case, is to be informed (and if you would like: to seek more information from both sides).

- Know that there is a Labour Dispute between the teacher and the school.
- Know that it stemmed from harassment and the silencing of it, according to the teacher.
- Know the different paths the teacher has taken to solve her problem.
- Know that the teacher has given her evidence of her claims fully in court, and based upon it and the school’s evidence, the judge has made a recommendation.
- Know that this court case is officially public, and is open to any body to attend at any time (in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo District Court, 13th Fl, 部１９ on given dates and times).

In this case, the problem happened to a teacher. It is important to know of some precedent should it ever happen to another teacher, or a student, his family or even other international school teachers in similar circumstances. Currently, there is no written precedent of what to do when you have a serious problem within an international school. Members of the school community remember that Japan Soccer Coach and former St. Mary’s parent, Ruy Ramos (ラモス瑠偉) had once taken the opportunity to address the issue of school bullying on Japanese TV in the early 2000s.

St. Mary’s deserves to be an excellent school, not by omission of its problems, but by solving problems properly. Currently, the school has no clear teacher-evaluation procedure: how/when/why a teacher should continue teaching or be fired. This may cause the school to have many uncertified teachers, teachers who have not been evaluated in years, good teachers who are overlooked etc. In this case, a teacher was fired on an undocumented whim. Teachers leave their home countries behind to educate the students at St. Mary’s and spend a lot of their own money to set up lives here, just like other ex-pat families. Some degree of fairness and security is necessary for the stability of the school and the retention of good teachers in the long run. Few internationally-savvy teachers these days would want to stay long-term at a school with one-year contracts, no clear policy about job security, and large set-up costs (i.e. 6 months rent upfront in Setagaya-ku).

It is important not to fear solving problems. Be a critical thinker. Read the blogs and ask questions. Read flyers, recycle them and keep the seed of information should it ever become useful to you.

Japan is one of the best places in the world in which to live and work. There are laws that are upheld and if private residents / citizens have a problem, there are judiciary channels through which it can be solved. Even foreign residents are protected fully under this civilized and gracious protection.

Thus, the teacher in this case, is very grateful to be able to resolve this administrative / labour dispute through the courts. There are much worse problems in the world, where people suffer greatly, without any recourse to help themselves.

Legalistically, this case is only a labour dispute. But of course, the drive to fight it properly has to do with the theme of: “abuse of power with impunity”.

Thus, to persist with this case, to bring watchful eyes on the teacher’s problem vis-a-vis certain administrators, it is hoped that the treatment of all teachers doesn’t deteriorate again. Furthermore, whether or not the case is successful for the teacher, this exercise in using this hard-won judicial system to check if she is right or wrong, is important in and of itself.

Here is Isabel Allende talking about the age-old problem of abuse of power with impunity from minute 15:56:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/isabel_allende_tells_tales_of_passion.html