Photo/Illutration Elementary school pupils in Saitama clap to express gratitude to medical workers on June 15. (Nobufumi Yamada)

SAITAMA—About 100,000 students at all 168 municipal-run schools here on June 15 clapped in appreciation for medical workers battling the novel coronavirus, but some adults questioned the educational value of the city-instructed event.

Saitama city’s board of education had informed all school principals in writing about the plan. It asked for their cooperation with the event to express gratitude toward medical personnel for their work in the pandemic.

Just before 10 a.m. on June 15, an announcement was broadcast in classrooms for senior students at an elementary school: “Medical workers are fighting on the front lines against the new virus, so let’s clap our hands to thank them.”

The city’s schools started staggering attendance on June 1, but most of the schools had switched to normal attendance on June 15.

In one classroom, a social study class was interrupted by the announcement and the 40 or so pupils were told to stand up. They raised their hands to the height of their chests and clapped together for 30 seconds.

“I hope that students understand that they must not hold any prejudice against medical workers and need to thank them through this event,” the school’s principal said.

Four other schools used the Zoom videoconferencing app to connect to eight medical facilities in Saitama and directly show their gratitude to the workers.

“I felt that the children expressed their determination to do their own best, too,” Akihiko Ando, head of the Saitama Red Cross Hospital, said.

“Clap for Carers” events have been held in a number of countries to show appreciation to medical workers dealing with the pandemic.

An official of the educational policymaking section of Saitama’s board of education said of the June 15 event, “We know there are all kinds of opinions, but we did it because it is a very meaningful educational activity.”

However, some people disagreed

A female teacher in her 40s said, “Can students really nurture genuine feelings of gratitude by just following directions?”

A mother in her 30s talked about the clapping with her first-grade daughter. She said: “My daughter seemed to clap her hands because she was told to do so. She did not seem to understand why she did it.”

Chieko Sakurai, a professor at Kwansei Gakuin University who specializes in educational sociology, said the children should have been taught more about why they were clapping.

“Why are medical workers now in really tough positions? Is it because the country’s insufficient policies led to a dramatic decrease in the number of available beds for infected patients?” Sakurai said. “Students should think about the causes and the background.”

She added, “School teachers and staff should make great efforts to prepare information on various social issues so that children can learn by themselves.”

(This article was written by Nobufumi Yamada and Yoshitaka Unezawa.)

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