Kanae Minato - Confessions

Once you finish your milk, please put the carton back in the box. Make sure you return it to the space with your number on it and then get back to your desk. It looks like everyone is just about done. Since today is the last day of the school year, we will also be marking the end of Milk Time. Thanks to all of you for participating. I also heard some of you wondering whether the program would be continuing next year, but I can tell you now that it wont. This year, we were designated as a model middle school for the Health Ministrys campaign to promote dairy products. We were asked to have each of you drink a carton of milk every day, and now were looking forward to the annual school physicals in April to see whether your height and bone mass come in above the national averages.

Yes, I suppose you could say that weve been using you as guinea pigs, and Im sure this year wasnt very pleasant for those of you who are lactose intolerant or who simply dont like milk. But the school was randomly selected for the program, and each classroom was supplied with the daily milk cartons and the box to hold them, with cubbyholes for your carton to identify each of you by seat number; and its true that weve kept track of who drank the milk and who didnt. But why should you be making faces now when you were drinking the milk happily enough a few minutes ago? Whats wrong with being asked to drink a little milk every day? Youre about to enter puberty. Your bodies will be growing and changing, and you know drinking milk helps build strong bones. But how many of you actually drink it at home? And the calcium is good for more than just your bones; you need it for the proper development of your nervous system. Low levels of calcium can make you nervous and jumpy.

Its not just your bodies that are growing and changing. I know what youve been up to. I hear the stories. You, Mr. Watanabe, you grew up in a family that owns an electronics shop, and I know youve figured out how to remove most of the pixilation on adult videos. Youve been passing them along to the other boys. Youre growing up. Your minds are changing as quickly as your bodies. I know that wasnt the best example, but what I mean is, youre entering what we sometimes call the rebellious period. Its a time when boys and girls tend to be touchy, to be hurt or offended by the least little thing, and when theyre easily influenced by their environment. Youll begin to imitate everyone and everything around you as you try to figure out who you are. If youre honest, I suspect many of you will recognize these changes in yourselves already. Youve just seen a good example: Up until a few moments ago most of you thought of your free milk as a benefit. But now that Ive told you it was an experiment, your feelings about the milk have suddenly changed. Am I right?

Still, theres nothing too odd about thatits human nature to change your mind, and not just in puberty. In fact, the teachers have been saying that your class is actually a good bit calmer and better behaved than the usual group. Maybe we have the milk to thank for that.

But I have something more important I wanted to tell you today. I wanted you to know that Ill be retiring at the end of the month. No, Im not moving to a new school, Im retiring as a teacher. Which means that youre the last students Ill ever teach, and Ill remember you for as long as I live.

Settle down now. I appreciate your responseespecially those of you who actually sound as though youre sorry to hear Im leavingwhat? Am I resigning because of what happened? Yes, I suppose so, and Id like to take some time today to talk to you about that.

Now that Im retiring, Ive been thinking again about what its meant to me to be a teacher.

I didnt enter this profession for any of the usual reasonsbecause I myself had a wonderful teacher who changed my life or anything like that. I suppose you could say I became a teacher simply because I grew up in a very poor family. From the time I was little, my parents told me they could never afford to send me to collegeand that it would have been a waste to send a girl anywaybut I suppose that made me want to go all the more. I loved school and I was a good student. When the time came, I received a scholarshipperhaps because I was so poorand enrolled at the national university in my hometown. I studied science, my favorite subject, and I started teaching at a cram school even before I graduated. Now I know you all complain about cram school, having to go right home from the regular school day to hurry through supper and run off to more classes that last late into the evening. But Ive always thought you were incredibly lucky to have parents who cared enough to give you that extra opportunity.

At any rate, when I reached my senior year I decided to forgo graduate schoolwhich might have been my first choiceand get a job as a teacher. I liked the fact that it was a secure career with a stable income, but there was an even bigger factor: The terms of my scholarship required me to repay the tuition money if I did not become a teacher. So without so much as a second thought, I took the test to obtain my license. Now I know this may cause some of you to question my motives for becoming a teacher, but I can assure you I have always tried to do the very best job I could. Lots of people fritter away their lives complaining that they were never able to find their true calling. But the truth is that most of us probably dont even have one. So whats wrong, then, with deciding on the thing thats right in front of you and doing it wholeheartedly? Thats what I did, and I have no regrets.

Now, some of you may be wondering why I chose to teach middle school rather than high school. I guess you could say that I wanted to be on the front lines, so to speak. I wanted to teach students who were still in the middle of their compulsory education. High school students have the option of quitting, so their attention can be divided. I wanted to work with students who were still completely committed to their education, who had no other choicethat was as close to a true calling as I could find. It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when I was passionate about this work.

Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Ogawatheres nothing particularly funny about that part of my story.

I became a teacher in 1998, and my first positionon-the-job training, reallywas at M Middle School. I was there three years and then took a leave of absence for a year before coming here to S Middle School. I found I enjoyed being away from the bigger cities in the prefecture, and this has been a pleasant, relaxed place to work. This is my fourth year here, so Ive worked as a teacher for only seven years total.

I know youve been curious about M Middle School. Masayoshi Sakuranomi teaches there, and youve probably seen him on TV recently.Please settle down, everyone. Is he that famous? Do I know him? Well, we worked together for three years, so I suppose you could say I do, but in those days he wasnt such a celebrity. Theyve made him out to be a super-teacher, and hes in the news so often that I suspect you know more about him than I do.