School teachers throughout the country recently held brainstorming sessions as part of a voluntary effort to promote educational reform. Reports and discussions at those meetings, attended by members of the Japan Teachers Union (Nikkyoso) and the National Teachers Union (Zenkyo), reinforced the perception that the government's attempt at reform, particularly a legislative package now before the Diet, is far removed from classroom realities.

As it stands, the official campaign for educational reform is long on rhetoric and short on substance. If it really means what it says, the government should funnel more money and staff into the school system to address children's pressing needs. It is also essential to create smaller classes, so that teachers can pay closer attention to children's worries and problems.

In a session on the "classroom breakdown" phenomenon, a fourth-grade teacher reported on an emotionally unstable boy who often "snaps" and turns violent. The student lives with his divorced mother, who earns her living as a dump-truck driver. As an only child, he is lonely at home. He eats breakfast alone because his mother leaves early for work. He has little time to spend with her at night because she also goes to bed early. Yet the boy comes to school every day, looking cheerful. Knowledge of his family situation has changed the teacher's attitude toward him to one of admiration.