＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Recently, it was reported that a teacher at a Hyogo Prefectural High School had “forgotten to submit applications” for the recommendation entrance exam at the University of Hyogo, resulting in four students being unable to take the university entrance exam.
At a press conference held by the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education, they apologized for “a serious mistake that could have affected the students’ lives” and announced their intention to “take disciplinary action against several teachers involved in submitting the applications.”
However, there seem to be many problems with the way the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education, Hyogo Prefectural High School, and University of Hyogo have responded to this issue.
１．Problems with the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education’s stance
Although an apology and punishment for teachers have been announced, what about the crucial “relief measures for the four students”? I think that is more important than that. There is no sign of a “students first” attitude. This seems like a lip service apology.
２．Problems with Hyogo Prefectural High School’s “Application Submission Management System”
Apparently, this high school had a policy of “collecting and submitting application forms for recommendation entrance exams at school.” Students apparently submitted their applications to the high school by the “school deadline.”
However, it seems that “teacher[s] in the career guidance department” “did not check the university’s deadline” and “mailed the forms on the day of the deadline.”
What an “irresponsible system” and “lack of management”! It’s worse than that of a high school student or a new employee.
３．Problems with the University of Hyogo’s response
The principal of the Hyogo Prefectural High School explained the situation to the University of Hyogo, but the University of Hyogo did not accept the application.
It is clear that the cause was a mistake made by the Hyogo Prefectural High School, but the fact that the school refused to accept the application even after the principal explained the situation makes us feel that this is “too rigid” and “a response that does not put the students first at all.”
4．The problem of “relief measures for four students who were unable to take the exam”
I think that the university, the board of education, and the high school need to talk to each other immediately and come up with a solution. For example, I think they need to take relief measures such as accepting applications retroactively and then determining whether or not students have passed.
Although I am a third party, I would like to ask all concerned parties to consider this matter in good faith.