Is 'School Refusal' a 'Disease' Unique to Japan? Thinking About My Eldest Son Through the Lens of Education in Taiwan

If he has a diagnosis of 'anxiety disorder',
isn't it 'sick leave' rather than 'school refusal'?

That's what I suddenly thought while doing chores, and that's how today started.

What are you talking about??

I think to myself, too.

A while ago, I was talking with the school nurse and we said,'Kids should have paid leave, too, right?'and that's how the conversation went.

If there's paid leave, isn't there also sick leave???

Rather than vaguely treating it like a taboo subject and saying,
'That child is refusing school',
wouldn't it be better if they explained it as
'They are absent due to illness' and just not count it as an absence? (Since a medical certificate has been issued, after all)

I thought that, but since they might be seen playing energetically at a local park, would it end up like the stories I often heard a while back:
'They were off work but posted travel photos on Instagram'?
I ended up thinking about something that is... well, a bit late to be thinking about now.

Mental illness is difficult, isn't it!

Back when I worked at a psychiatric hospital, I encountered more people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
It's not something to compare, butI feel that adjustment disorders and anxiety disorders are more heavily influenced by social conditions and the environment.

I think that psychopathology, or the 'sickness' unique to a society,exists deeply rooted in the depths of human beings, regardless of whether a diagnosis is made or not.

And to me,
school refusal also feels like something that exists in the gaps of this social structure.
It's not as simple as saying that if the country were different... or that the country is bad.

This is a story that really made me think about that.

In Taiwan,
children who do not go to school are not called 'school refusers' but are referred to as 'self-directed learners,' and a significant percentage of children choose to learn 'outside of the school classroom' on their own,
which I learned from this article. I will quote it.

Also on the podcast.

Of course, the premise is that 'the country is different,' but Taiwan was once a Japanese colony and was originally built on the foundation of the Japanese education system.
About 20 years ago, they faced the same problems as Japan does now,andfrom there, an educational system was built in the direction of 'choosing to learn at home or at alternative schools'.

I see, I thought.
Since the nature of national politics and population size are different, I don't think the same thing can be done in Japan today.


If we were in Taiwan, my eldest son wouldn't even have a diagnosis, right?
Because there would be nothing to worry about.
I felt strangely convinced.

So, in other words,
if I were living in Taiwan, I wouldn't have had to worry this much—!!

Well, since I live in Japan, I suppose it can't be helped (?), but...

However, of course, the place where my child will live his life is (though I don't know what the future holds, as of now) this region of Japan.

Realistically, I wonder what kind of education we can provide for our child right now...

The part about 'how to maintain distance from school' (which is also in the article) that was discussed toward the end of the program really resonated with me.

In fact, I think there were parts in the latter half of the school year where I was able to 'use the school teachers' in this way. (I'm sorry, I was relying on you.)

I can't do anything big on my own, but
first, I want to keep increasing the number of people who understand my eldest son right in front of me without giving up, and do what I can...

That is what I think.

In the midst of days where the future is uncertain, this was a valuable talk that gave me great courage.