Teaching manual may confuse, not enlighten
Yomiuri Shimbun:
Teaching manual may confuse, not enlighten
The government’s decision to mention the territorial dispute over the Takeshima group of islets in an instruction manual for the education ministry’s new course of study at middle schools may lead to confusion at schools.
Overly concerned with balancing the conflicting dynamics of Japan’s diplomatic relationship with South Korea and the domestic political situation, the ministry paid little attention to the needs of teachers and students in the process of drawing up the manual for new curriculum guidelines. To alleviate educators’ concerns, the ministry should give sufficient explanations to officials of prefectural boards of education around the country.
School curriculum guidelines, which are revised once every 10 years or so, set the minimum content that must be taught at both public and private schools. High school curriculum guidelines, for instance, list mandatory subjects, their credits and goals. It should be noted, however, that the guidelines do not go into detail on the content of each subject.
Therefore, the Education, Science and Technology Ministry draws up manuals to supplement the curriculum guidelines for individual subjects at primary, middle and high schools. The manuals provide more specific content to be taught and describe teaching methods for each subject.
Unlike the curriculum guidelines, the manuals are not legally binding. However, they are effectively used as guidelines for publishers to compile textbooks and for teachers to conduct classes because the school curriculum guidelines do not list what specifically is to be taught at school.
The curriculum guideline for middle school social studies, which was revised in March, says teachers should encourage students to familiarize themselves with issues concerning Japan’s territories, including “the fact that the northern territories are an integral part of Japanese territory.” However, it stopped short of presenting what specifically needs to be taught and principles to compile textbooks.
The instruction manual for middle school social studies, which was disclosed Monday, is designed to complement the curriculum guidelines, listing what was not written there. Specifically, it says teachers should make sure students know the locations of the four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido–Shikotan, Kunashiri and Etorofu islands and the Habomai group of islets. The manual also says that teachers need to make clear that the four islands are “unlawfully held by Russia” at present and that Japan is asking for their return. As such, teachers are expected to conduct their classes using the manuals for reference.
This time, a reference to Takeshima was made only in the instruction manual, not in the curriculum guideline.
How will school textbook publishers and teachers deal with the situation?
Currently, few middle school textbooks mention Takeshima. Of six geography textbook publishers, only one mentions Takeshima in its textbook. As for textbooks on civics, three out of eight publishers’ textbooks refer to Takeshima.
At the primary school level, references to the Russian-held northern territories are made not in the curriculum guideline, but in its manual, just as in the latest case. Because all publishers incorporated the reference to the northern territories in their textbooks, it is expected they will make the same decision when it comes to the reference to Takeshima in middle school textbooks for social studies.
As for discussions over whether to mention Takeshima in the manual and what wording should be used in reference to it, top priority was placed on protecting Japan’s diplomatic relationship with South Korea while taking domestic political considerations into account. Consequently, little attention was paid to schoolteachers and students.
Initially, the education ministry planned to refer to Takeshima in the curriculum guidelines. However, it decided not to out of concerns it might offend South Korea because the inaugural ceremony of South Korean President of Lee Myung Bak took place in the middle of the ministry’s work to revise the guideline.
The choice of words used in the manual has caused some head-scratching.
While the manual describes the Russian-held northern territories as an “integral part of our country’s territory” and states they are “unlawfully occupied” by Russia, the ministry decided to avoid using similar expressions in respect of Takeshima, which is also a disputed territory, in consideration of South Korea’s feelings.
There is concern that such a decision might puzzle and confuse teachers and textbook publishers, who eventually need to deal with various problems that may result from such political considerations.
From now on, the education ministry plans to explain the manual to prefectural board of education officials across the country. The ministry bears the responsibility to provide sufficient and understandable descriptions about the purpose of mentioning Takeshima in the manual, and how the issue should be taught.