Here at AccessJ we're always one step ahead of the game. We tear the competition in two with our cut-throat professionalism and unstoppable momentum. Out of the way "Gumper ALT Life Stories" and "JipanGU" sites, AJ gone crazy.Anyway, so we got hold of a copy of next year's JHS textbooks (at least, for selected schools). It's a reworked version of New Crown - that series I got so angry about last year with my "5 Most Annoying Pages in New Crown", "4 Stupidest Characters in New Crown", and "3 Appalling Stories from New Crown" posts.
Here's your chance for a sneaky peak before 2012!
Well, first things first. Wang Ming has had a sex change! Someone finally helped him take the last step towards becoming Yang Meling. Ratna has slithered off back to India, too, unless her eczema got so bad that she just crumbled into dust and was rebuilt as a boy called Raj. Speaking of Emma (does that even qualify as a bad pun?), she's still there, but along with the rest of the cast has had a massive face-lift. The retarded, camp watercolourist from last issue has given way to the elite skills of some anime-savvy whipper-snapper.
In fact, and I may alienate half of our audience for saying this, but it actually looks quite good. Not only was New Crown dated this year (and every previous year it was used), but it had so much nonsense content that either didn't teach anything useful or made little to no sense at all (like the bizarre re-tellings of Alice in Wonderland and the Whale Rider). The new edition seems to have deliberately targeted the problem sections and made them into something useful, and, lo-and-behold, actually entertaining (sort of).
However, there's also a hell of a lot more material to cover. This probably has something to do with the upcoming change in the education system. Japan's education functions on a 10-year plan, after which the previous decade is analysed and the results used to formulate the next. Last time this led to massive changes in how children were taught. The high levels of suicides and stress were attributed to the huge workload on school students. The proposed solution was to drastically cut that workload (no school on Saturdays and a dramatic drop in expectations) and focus more on involving the personalities of students in every-day school life. The result of this change, however, was (predictably, I guess) a drop in achievement. So, looks like it's back to the old method... More on this in a future post.
Today we'll treat you to character comparisons. Next time, we'll have a closer look at how the same chapters/pages have evolved in the new edition.
Kumi
Paul
Wang Ming
Ratna
So it's all change, huh? Paul has also acquired a physically handicapped brother (presumably to balance out his own mental retardation). More details in the future, folks.
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| Bonus picture: Ms Sasaki trying to screw up Paul's shodo. |
Interesting futuristic ECO cover: post-carbon world, with no signs of gas-guzzling SUV-choked multiple lane highways, where we have finally realised that solar powered cells are not ever going to be good enough to even heat your bath at home and we go wholesale energy-sapping directly from plants for our fuel needs (the fond feeds straight into the seat of the peddle powered bike!)Whaky!
ReplyDeleteThat and the mountains look like Adam & Eve got to finish off the apples of the Tree of knowledge - let's hope there is some real wisdom in the new English textbook!
ReplyDeleteIs it just me, or is there a noose hanging from the tree?
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteThank God they found some snazzy new artist. I can stop thinking that I have spilt something on my book. Nope, the artist managed that before it was even printed.
Let's hope they have taken out a few of the depressing pages out. I can't get through another year of talking about Sudan, Marting Luther King and bloody whales!
And Dom, it's not a noose hanging from a tree.
ReplyDeleteIt's hanging from the back of that guys fancy bike. For when it all gets too much!
Had a look at it, seems not too bad. (MLKing is still in there tho ^^ the stupid Zorba story too)
ReplyDelete"Bonus picture: Ms Sasaki trying to screw up Paul's shodo."
ReplyDeleteI was drinking coffee when I read this. You owe me a new keyboard. ;)
Man, I was really looking forward to using a crazy English textbook. Maybe I'll get lucky any my future schools won't get updated right away *hopes*.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of my crazy outdated Japanese textbook in college. Seriously had my teacher laughing out-loud with some of the dialogue movies and sentence we had to translate.