Hello, Work!

Semi-recently in Japan, they have changed the name of the unemployment office to “Haroo waaku” (Hello Work), because it has a more positive connotation than unemployment. I find this amusing in itself.

So, today I found a “Hello Work for 13 year-olds” book in one of my classrooms. Out of curiosity I picked it up and flipped through it, and it is possible careers for kids based on their interests. For example, for those who like movies, you can be a ____, ____, or _____. For those who like math, you can be a blah blah blah. You get the point. While I am not sure if 13 year-olds should really be too worried about their career path, I guess it is sort of helpful.

Anyway, at the end of the book they have a special section for “kids who don’t like anything.” Seeing the title page just promised blog-worthy bits, and it did not disappoint. In this section they had advice for those who “like knives” (knife salesman!), those who like war (the army, etc. (um, WHO likes war?!)), and “those who like to fight.” I shit you not. The page for this section had a drawing of two people fighting. It had a long introduction along the lines of “For strange reasons, there are kids who seem to only be interested in fighting. This isn’t a good thing, but we’ll give them career advice based on fighting anyway!” Those who only like to fight (I sense this is the most-used section at my school) can follow the successful career paths of pro wrestler, stuntman, etc. I definitely need to find a copy of this book and read through it some more….clazy Japanese.