End-of-summer slapstick

It is now late August and summer is coming to an end.

In Japan, students are in the last spurt of their summer vacation homework.

Although they know that they would not be so pressed if they had planned ahead, they often find themselves playing around until the last minute for whatever reason, and before they know it, there is only one week left to go.

To begin with, let me explain what summer vacation homework is. In Japan, from elementary school to high school, homework assignments are given in each subject during the summer vacation period. (In high school, homework may or may not be assigned, depending on the school.) In elementary school, homework usually consists of "Kanji drills," "Math drills," "Picture diary," and "Free research. In junior high and high school, the range of assignments is set in the textbooks, and there is a test at the end of the vacation. Therefore, I regret if I don't do them, but as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I end up playing with them. When I was in elementary school, I didn't write a "picture diary" for a single day, and I somehow managed to fill in a month's worth by checking the weather and retracing my memory.

There was also a homework assignment called "book report." I had no choice but to read the synopsis of the book and write a vague impression of it, but since the number of pages was limited to 2-3 pages of 400-character manuscript paper, I remember somehow changing the endings to make up the number of words.

There is also a common story that my older brother or older sister helped me with a homework assignment such as "free research" or "drawing an educational poster" that I just couldn't finish, and it ended up being displayed in the school. (It is very hard for the person in question to stay in the room...)

I have seen several friends in junior high and high school who lost the printout with the scope of the assignment and were left in despair because they could not find the scope of the test, but by the time they realized this, it was already three days before the end of summer vacation, so I would tell them the scope, but sometimes there was nothing I could do to help them. I try to help them, but sometimes there is nothing I can do to help them.

No, what is written here is not about me, because I gave up rather early and played around.

Well, I am sure that all of these memories are the result of a fulfilling summer vacation.