I removed a "Pray for Palestine" picture that the Islamic teacher put up today in my Kindergarten classroom (As I'm the homeroom teacher and I believe in responsible for the class and the pupils). It ripped while I tried to remove it so I put it in the bin. . However, I didn't remove any of the other posters that he put up around the school.
I then went upstairs and told him (while there were no pupils around), in his self-appointed office that the head teachers (including the main school manager, who is from Palestine and whose parents are currently homeless) didn't feel it was appropriate to discuss this (political) subject at the school. My Palestinian boss also felt it wasn't appropriate to discuss the current situation in Palestine with kids aged 3 - 7 years old (and possibly older). Out of respect for my boss, and professional due diligence, I've avoided this topic.
He said we should have a meeting to discuss this later and I told him there was no need, as we've been asked to avoid this subject. I said he was welcome to talk to others, but as far as I was concerned, I didn't want the poster up in the room that I was responsible for. He was really angry when I told him I put it in the bin (it was just printed on paper).
There's a bit more to it, but basically he then came down to my classroom and lost his temper and started shouting that I was against Islam and things like that, in front of his own son (who's in my Kindergarten homeroom).
I told him that I was not prepared to discuss the matter further and I then asked him to stop talking about this, as it might be upsetting my pupils and asked him to leave the classroom. When he was leaving but still talking about it, I closed the door and he then commanded me to "not close the door" on him. I then asked him to leave again.
(Later, his 5 year old son told me that "I was saying bad things to Daddy", etc, which is why I didn't want this situation to happen in a classroom).
Then, I spoke to our Palestinian boss about this incident outside the school building (and asked another teacher to look after the kindergarten pupils). I explained that I was not against Palestine, but as he and the other managers had asked us to refrain from discussing this subject (especially with the children) and as I am responsible for the Kindergarten classroom, I felt it inappropriate to have this poster up on the wall.
My boss and I then came to my classroom, where the Islamic teacher was shouting angrily, in front of my pupils, the other teachers and basically all of the kids from other classes (who all arrived together en masse). I went outside to meet and greet them and ensure the kindergarten pupils were ok, got their shoes ready, etc.
My boss then spoke to the Islamic teacher and had an immediate meeting with him to defuse the situation.
Both in his "office" and downstairs in my classroom, he kept asking me my views about this issue but I told him that it wasn't appropriate to talk about it here at this school (for me). He then insinuated that I was teaching the kids bag things, that "people like me" (I suspect he meant non-Muslims/westerners) were responsible and/or was against Islam, etc.
When he left, I apologised to the other teachers who had to witness this. One of them, herself an Islamic teacher, said they agreed with him somewhat (although I didn't have time, nor the desire to explain myself, so they weren't aware of the full story). They said that I shouldn't have removed the poster as it was his religious view and he's the main religious teacher at the school.
The thing is, I myself have put up posters around the school (including flags and greetings in the languages of an the pupils and staff, including Palestine)' but I've always checked if they were OK, with either management or the homeroom teacher responsible for that classroom. I've even put up several Islamic or Arabic posters (such as how to wash before praying, etc) and (unlike some of the other Muslim teachers at my school), I've removed faces from worksheets and the background music from educational songs, because I've been asked to (as some Muslims aren't happy with these things). I've been very careful to avoid sensitive or political issues and/or to avoid a "West is Best" image. In other instances, posters I've put up have been removed or edited (such as during exams or because it was felt not to be appropriate) and I wasn't asked about this. I wasn't angry about this.
The Islamic teacher has also previously tried to change the way the school is run to make it "more Islamic", even though the managers and some other staff (themselves strict Muslims) have stated as "not really relevant or possible at a school in Japan"), such as making the boys walk in front of the girls when going to the park, etc. I have even asked other (Muslim) teachers to take the children to the toilet as he refused because it was "against his religious beliefs". Again, the management or some other staff thought that this wasn't really helpful or relevant to running a school for kids in Japan. We've all got to muck-in, basically.
Anyway, our Palestinian boss then took him aside and had an immediate meeting with him, even though he asked the Islamic teacher to have the meeting later (he refused), so he had to calm him down.
I'm not sure what the outcome was. My boss recently only came back to school due to stress from his job (and most probably his family situation in Gaza).
Please don't think badly about Muslims in general. It's a rather sensative subject and I can tell that for some of the staff, it's rather painful. Some are rather political and I feel they have a "Muslims against the world/vice-versa" view, but most people at my school at least understand the need to be diplomatic or professional.
Here's an example of one of the posters that is around the school This one is now up right next to my classroom door)
I'm not really great at dealing with these sorts of things. I've had to defuse disagreements between myself and this teacher before (see above) whilst ignoring other things (he has refused to help my pupils clean up their mess that his wife, who worked at the school, was partially responsible for, as it was seemingly "beneath him", for example). I also hope, in order to follow the views of my managers, that I did the right thing...
www.caitlinjohnst.one
