Last week we addressed academic issues and the timing of school enrollment in response to Floyd's question regarding his son reentering the Japanese education system after living abroad for several years. In this week's column we look at potential social issues, being accepted to a good high school, and communication.

One factor to consider for any bicultural kid reentering the Japanese school system (and often for those already in it) is the potential for social problems. As Stewart Dorward briefly mentioned last week, if your son starts junior high as a first-year, he'll have more chances to make friends before they've established cliques, which typically last through junior high.

Some schools have good support systems in place for dealing with bullying and social exclusion, while many schools, despite their best efforts, aren't able to control it; unfortunately, bullying often happens under the radar.