“Young people do not know how to behave.”

The president of the vocational school I used to work for confided in me that he was unhappy with the ways his students behaved. The two-year college offered computer skills and English literacy. The students were high-school graduates. I was an English teacher. He told me, “You know Mr. Sekino, young people today don’t know how to behave.” What he meant was that some of the students would not say, “Good morning,” to him when they see him in the morning. He took his grievances further and decided that “proper behaviors” were mandatory for the young people. Soon, the students were required to stand still before the teachers’ lounge and yell to the closed doors, “My name is such and such. I am a first year student. I am here to talk to such and such sensei. May I come in?” Sensei means teacher in Japanese. If the student is in the second year, “first year” will be replaced by “second year.” Whoever happens to hear the plea would command, “Come in!” and the student will enter the room. I did not think it was the exercise of proper behaviors.