Daily Yomiuri On-Line:BUSINESS INSIDE / Teachers should improve IT proficiency for better education
Fusao Misaki Special to The Daily Yomiuri

When my mother was teaching school I heard her complain for years that she had to spend too much time with "paperwork." Namely administrative duties. I wonder if it had more to do with not having the right tools to get the work done? - Barry

"A survey conducted by the Japan Teachers Union in August 1998 showed that the most serious problem teachers said they faced was a shortage of time. About one-fourth of the teachers surveyed said this was because they had too much work and too many chores to do that did not directly pertain to their core duties. What are 'work and chores' for teachers? Given that their core work is teaching and maintaining close communication with students, additional duties--termed irrelevant by some teachers--include producing report cards, putting together materials related to students' postgraduation courses, creating curriculums at the beginning of each school year, compiling and updating health reports and settling expenses."