For some reason there seems to be a large number of kids (Mostly Elementary) who have trouble seeing the blackboard.
I try talking to other teachers at the school about it but no one can give me a definite answer.
Do their parents just not want to buy them glasses? or are Japanese optometrists just that incompetent?
As someone who wears glasses since they were in the eighth grade, I could see everything clearly from the moment I got them.
I have had trouble finding good glasses in JP so I’m more so thinking this has to do with how Japanese fail at checking eye sight and giving proper prescriptions.
It seems to be a system of “oh well you can see good enough, that’s fine, here are your glasses”. Any everyone just goes along with it.
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In my area children get free eye exams and free (or heavily subsidized) glasses. Getting them to wear them is a different story
>I have had trouble finding good glasses in JP so I’m more so thinking this has to do with how Japanese fail at checking eye sight and giving proper prescriptions.
Just curious why you think Japanese optometrists are incompetent or what issues you have finding good glasses because I have been to multiple and have never had issues, both at eye glasses shops and also eye clinics.
From my understanding Japanese teachers never take the liberty to tell the parents. And parents tend to be “too busy” to do anything about it. It ends up being a circular problem. I don’t think they parents “don’t want to buy them glasses” but more that they “don’t have time.” It’s a little sad.
I’ve never had any issues with an optometrist as an adult. I’ve actually gotten better care here than in America.
This still happens in high school. Asking the students to wear glasses is like asking them to show up to school in pyjamas. It’s social suicide so they expect the teachers to write in huge fonts.
What usually happens is, the kid has bad eyesight but doesn’t tell the parents, the parents somehow find out anyway, they buy him glasses, the child hates them, the child breaks them, the parents give up and don’t buy any new ones, the teacher doesn’t force them to wear the glasses anyway, the teacher compromises by putting the child right at the front of the class.
I had a student who was nearsighted and had a lot of trouble seeing the blackboard/whiteboard. I asked why she didn’t have glasses and she said her mom wouldn’t buy them for her cause her mom thought they’d make her look ugly. I taught her for years and she never got those glasses or even contacts.
>are Japanese optometrists just that incompetent?
My friend and his father own a glasses shop and I get my glasses from them. The quality is fantastic. It’s a generational family business though. I do feel that a lot of Japanese business men do get into businesses that they have very little knowledge about in order to make quick bucks, so maybe other glasses shops are bad.
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I’ve noticed that most people in Japan wear contacts though.
Recurring conversation with my partner:
“I can’t see a thing”
“Where’s your glasses?”
“At home” / “They give me a headache”
Yeah, they give you a headache because you randomly wear them maybe three times a year. Of course you aren’t going to feel well after wearing them for such a short period of time. You need to get used to them.
I avoid being her passenger if I can…
I had and have university students here who won’t wear their glasses (which they have with them) and will instead be content to not be able to read the board.
Hi-jacking, slightly. I have the feeling I’m in need of an upgraded presrciption. I’m near-sighted so objects far away are blurry as all hell without my glasses on. LAtely, objects have been getting blurry closer. I don’t know what my prescription is. I’ve had the same lenses for 10 yrs now. I do not speak Japanese. What should I do?
I work as a kindergarten teacher, where we tend to start noticing some eyesight problems first. If we mention or ask the parents if they’ve had their kid’s eyesight tested, a lot react with the ‘but glasses are so ugly/will make the child not cute’, and so it never happens. A lot of pushback because of aesthetic reasons.
Thankfully one kid’s mom just laughed and said yes, they were waiting until he turned three just because they were worried the kid wouldn’t like the glasses or break them, and when he turned three the next day he had glasses. The glasses have a loose around the head strap on them, so if they fall off they’ll just hang instead of hitting the ground, but the kid seems to really not care about wearing them and has had no major issues. The kid did ask me, as I also wear glasses, to help with their mask because it was fogging up their glasses. I helped adjust the mask and taught them how to, and they’ve been happy since.
“I have had trouble finding good glasses in JP so I’m more so thinking this has to do with how Japanese fail at checking eye sight and giving proper prescriptions.”
Do you speak Japanese well?
As for the kids, it’s all about “we won’t look cool with them” and the parents aren’t going to bother pushing back. I hate seeing that, though.
They fit you with glasses according to what you tell them remember they cant see what you see so i think partly its your fault.
When I was a kid, i didn’t admit my eyes being bad and nobody knew about it. No idea why I didn’t speak up. But anyway, it kinda affected my education…
Some Japanese retailers tried to ban female employees from wearing glasses
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50342714