{"id":61,"date":"2005-09-02T12:25:23","date_gmt":"2005-09-02T03:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2005-09-02\/61"},"modified":"2005-09-03T07:32:57","modified_gmt":"2005-09-02T22:32:57","slug":"the-price-of-conformity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2005-09-02\/61","title":{"rendered":"The Price of Growing Up (and of Conformity)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\ntd { padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px }\n.dollar { font-weight: bold }\n<\/style>\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/pic.regex.info\/anthony\">Anthony<\/a> is getting to the\nage where he'll start preschool soon, so we've started to evaluate <span class='nobr'>a number<\/span>\nof them. Japanese pre-school, called <i>youchien<\/i> <span class='nobr'>(\u5e7c\u7a1a\u5712)<\/span> and sometimes\n&#8220;kindergarten&#8221;, generally goes for three years starting during\nthe school year in which they turn three years old. (In the US, of course,\n&#8220;kindergarten&#8221; is generally <span class='nobr'>a half<\/span> <span class='nobr'>a day<\/span> for one school year at\nabout age four or five.)<\/p>\n\n<p>Each school has its own formal uniforms that the kids wear on the\nway to\/from school. Being very formal (jacket, vest, shirt) but for kids\n(short pants and short-sleeve shirt), they're generally quite adorable on <span class='nobr'>a\nthree<\/span>-year old.\n\n<\/p><p>I'm sure that these uniforms are <span class='nobr'>a big<\/span> deal to the kids too, as it\nrepresents <span class='nobr'>a big<\/span> step toward growing up, and makes them <span class='nobr'>a tangible<\/span> member\nof <span class='nobr'>a group.<\/span> Just thinking of Anthony strutting proudly in his new clothes\nmakes me smile like the silly proud parent <span class='nobr'>I am.<\/span>\n\n<\/p><p>This all comes at a steep price, though. <span class='nobr'>The first<\/span> place we went to\nhad <span class='nobr'>a price<\/span> list of required items (here shown with prices in US dollars,\nat the <a href=\"http:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/q\/bc?s=USDJPY=X&amp;t=3m\">exchange\nrate<\/a> of 110 yen\/dollar):\n\n<\/p>\n<table border='1' cellspacing='0'>\n<tr align='right'><td><\/td><td>Yen<\/td><td><b>Dollars<\/b><\/td><\/tr>\n\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>summer short pants \/ skirt<\/td><td>2,800<\/td><td class='dollar'>$&nbsp;25.46<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>short-sleeve shirt<\/td><td>2,400<\/td><td class='dollar'>21.82<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>jacket<\/td><td>9,500<\/td><td class='dollar'>86.37<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>winter short pants \/ skirt <\/td><td>4,200<\/td><td class='dollar'>38.19<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>long-sleeve shirt <\/td><td>2,000<\/td><td class='dollar'>18.19<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>vest<\/td><td>4,500<\/td><td class='dollar'>40.91<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>sweater <\/td><td>3,500<\/td><td class='dollar'>31.82<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>long pants<\/td><td>5,200<\/td><td class='dollar'>47.28<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>sweatsuit<\/td><td>2,100<\/td><td class='dollar'>19.10<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>smock<\/td><td>1,800<\/td><td class='dollar'>16.37<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>necktie <\/td><td>  550<\/td><td class='dollar'> 5.00<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>collar<\/td><td>  550<\/td><td class='dollar'> 5.00<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>suspenders<\/td><td>  850<\/td><td class='dollar'> 7.73<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>name tag holder <\/td><td>  750<\/td><td class='dollar'> 6.82<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>inner liner (jacket) <\/td><td>  800<\/td><td class='dollar'> 7.28<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>inner liner (vest) <\/td><td>  700<\/td><td class='dollar'> 6.37<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>inner liner (short-sleeve shirt)<\/td><td>  600<\/td><td class='dollar'> 5.46<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>100% cotton short-sleeve shift <\/td><td>2,880<\/td><td class='dollar'>26.19<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>100% cotton long-sleeve shirt <\/td><td>2,400<\/td><td class='dollar'>21.82<\/td><\/tr>\n\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>hats (winter, summer) <\/td><td>1,850<\/td><td class='dollar'>16.82<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>fringe for hat <\/td><td>  800<\/td><td class='dollar'> 7.28<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>gym shirt <\/td><td>2,500<\/td><td class='dollar'>22.73<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>gym pants <\/td><td>2,000<\/td><td class='dollar'>18.19<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>gym\/inside shoes <\/td><td>1,800<\/td><td class='dollar'>16.37<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>plate<\/td><td>  450<\/td><td class='dollar'> 4.10<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>cup<\/td><td>  450<\/td><td class='dollar'> 4.10<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>shoulder bag<\/td><td>2,100<\/td><td class='dollar'>19.10<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>blue bag (?) <\/td><td>1,050<\/td><td class='dollar'> 9.55<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>school emblem for jacket<\/td><td>  250<\/td><td class='dollar'> 2.28<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>school emblem for hat<\/td><td>  250<\/td><td class='dollar'> 2.28<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>&#8220;bus rider&#8221; patch <\/td><td>  200<\/td><td class='dollar'> 1.82<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>extra button (jacket, pants) <\/td><td>   60<\/td><td class='dollar'> 0.55<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>extra button (shirt) <\/td><td>   40<\/td><td class='dollar'> 0.37<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>extra button (sweater) <\/td><td>   30<\/td><td class='dollar'> 0.28<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/images.search.yahoo.co.jp\/bin\/search?p=%a5%d4%a5%a2%a5%cb%a5%ab\">pianika<\/a>&#8221; (<small>mouth-blown accordion type thing<\/small>)<\/td><td>4,000<\/td><td class='dollar'>36.37<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr align='right'><td align='left'>hose for pianika<\/td><td>  400<\/td><td class='dollar'> 3.64<\/td><\/tr>\n\n<tr valign=\"bottom\"><td><br \/>Total<\/td><td align='right'>66,310<\/td><td align='right' class='dollar'>$&nbsp;603.00<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n<p>These prices are <b>ridiculous<\/b>. $47 for pants for <span class='nobr'>a three<\/span>-year-old?\nGeez, <span class='nobr'>I rarely<\/span> ever spent that much on <span class='nobr'>a pair<\/span> for myself. Most of the $600\nis for the formal uniform which is not even worn during school\n(thankfully). Generally, it's worn during the commute to\/from the school.\nThat's <span class='nobr'>a heck<\/span> of <span class='nobr'>a lot<\/span> to spend for <span class='nobr'>a bit<\/span> of cuteness!\n\n<\/p><p>Of course, the $600 is in addition to the $5,000\/year for the school\nitself (plus another $900 if they want to ride the bus).\n\n<\/p><p>Choosing the school is quite an important decision, not only to\nensure that they treat the kids the way you want (e.g. do they put\nemphasis on play? socialization? learning? etc.), but also because which\npre-school they go to can have <span class='nobr'>a direct<\/span> impact on, <span class='nobr'>I kid you<\/span> not, what\ncollege they go to.\n\n<\/p><p>Some highly sought-after private high schools, for example, are very\ndifficult to get into, but once you're in their system (e.g. by getting\ninto the preschool, elementary school, or middle school), you're in. So,\ngetting into their preschool ensures that they can continue though high\nschool. Of course, the high school one goes to has an impact as to what\ncollege you can get in to.\n\n<\/p><p>We definitely don't want to put Anthony on the\n&#8220;boileroom&#8221; track of cram schools and\nstudy-to-the-entrance-exam that is not uncommon here. Thus, we're looking\nfor just the right place that will let him enjoy being <span class='nobr'>a kid<\/span> while he's <span class='nobr'>a\nkid,<\/span> but give him the opportunity for <span class='nobr'>a good<\/span> education down the road. (Not\nthat one can predict what he'll want to do when he's older, but <span class='nobr'>I would<\/span>\nthink he'll go to college in the US, but we want him to have the option to\ngo here if that's what he wants.) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anthony is getting to the age where he'll start preschool soon, so we've started to evaluate a number of them. Japanese pre-school, called youchien (\u5e7c\u7a1a\u5712) and sometimes \"kindergarten\", generally goes for three years starting during the school year in which they turn three years old. (In the US, of course, \"kindergarten\" is generally a half a day for one school year at about age four or five.)<\/p> <p>Each school has its own formal uniforms that the kids wear on the way to\/from school. Being very formal (jacket, vest, shirt) but for kids (short pants and short-sleeve shirt), they're generally quite [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}