Parents anger at $730 Armani school uniforms

Parents of a Tokyo elementary school are up in arms at being asked to pay $730 for their child's school uniform. A public elementary school in Tokyo's upmarket Ginza district has decided to adopt new school uniforms designed by the luxury Italian designer Armani. The bespoke uniforms, which include a hat and bag, are priced at over ¥80,000 ($730) each. Parents are angry at the school's decision and are protesting at what they view as the exorbitant price for a uniform of an eight-year-old child. The school said it wanted a designer uniform that represented the rich area of Ginza. School officials visited top department stores and decided to ask the fashion brand Armani to design the uniform.

The expensive uniform has created such a fuss that it has been discussed in Japan's parliament. One lawmaker said that since the school is public and not private, "a certain price range needs to be considered". Finance Minister Taro Aso said: "Clearly it's expensive. It would be tough if a student could not afford to pay for it." Japan's education minister said steps would be taken to ensure the financial burden placed on parents for uniforms, "would not be excessive". Twitter users said young children are not interested in designer clothes. The school principal said: "With humility, I take the criticism that the explanation has been insufficient and not well-timed. I will go on explaining carefully to those concerned."

1.Vocabulary 

    Paragraph 1

1.	up in arms	a.	Take up or start to use or follow an idea, method, or course of action.
2.	upmarket	b.	Very, very angry.
3.	adopt	c.	The state of great comfort and extravagant living.
4.	luxury	d.	Of a price or amount that is unreasonably high.
5.	exorbitant	e.	Very expensive and designed to appeal to richer customers.
6.	represented	f.	A type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name.
7.	brand	g.	Was a symbol of a particular quality or thing.

    Paragraph 2

8.	fuss	h.	The area of variation between upper and lower limits on a particular scale.
9.	range	i.	More than is necessary, normal, or desirable.
10.	tough	j.	A display or show of unnecessary or excessive excitement, activity, or interest.
11.	burden	k.	Involving considerable difficulty or hardship; example: It will be a xxxxx road ahead.
12.	excessive	l.	A low view of one's own importance.
13.	humility	m.	a heavy load,a challenging responsibility
14.	insufficient	n.	Not enough; inadequate.

 

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. up in arms
2. upmarket
3. bespoke
4. exorbitant
5. represented
6. fuss
7. considered
8. tough
9. excessive
10. insufficient

1. excessively high
2. too much
3. thought about
4. exclusive
5. difficult
6. symbolized
7. angry
8. too little
9. hoo-ha
10. custom-made

3.Role play

Role  A – School Uniforms You think school uniforms should never be expensive. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why it is OK for their things to be expensive. Also, tell the others which of these can be very expensive (and why):

Role  B – Internet Access You think Internet access should never be expensive. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why it is OK for their things to be expensive. Also, tell the others which of these can be very expensive (and why):

Role  C – Cosmetics You think cosmetics should never be expensive. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why it is OK for their things to be expensive. Also, tell the others which of these can be very expensive (and why):

Role  D – Weddings You think weddings should never be expensive. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why it is OK for their things to be expensive. Also, tell the others which of these can be very expensive (and why):   Role E- Pets Role F - Housing

Discussion - Parents anger at $730 Armani school uniforms

1. What was your school uniform like?
2. Why do people wear uniforms?
3. What do you think of luxury brands?
4. What was the last thing you were up in arms about?
5. What do you think of the price of the Ginza school's uniform?
6. Should the uniform reflect the wealth of the upmarket area of Ginza?
7. What advice do you have for the parents?

11. Do schoolchildren need to wear uniforms?
12. Do you understand the fuss being made?
13. What happens if parents cannot afford the expensive uniforms?
14. How interested are you in designer fashion?
15. What would you do if your child was a student at the school?
16. What are the bad things about uniforms?
17. What questions would you like to ask the school principal?

Spelling

Paragraph 1

1. Tokyo's upmarket Ginza sictritd
2. the ruuxyl Italian designer
3. The osepekb uniforms
4. angry at the school's oncesdii
5. the tnoaxietbr price for a uniform
6. School fociliafs

Paragraph 2

7. discussed in Japan's ameirapltn
8. It would be tuhgo
9. uniforms would not be eixvecses
10. I take the smcctiiir
11. the explanation has been untcsfiiefni
12. explaining carefully to those nencrdceo