Job Discussion Forums

[moot point]

I've been asked to write about the above topic by my local Board of Edcuation. They are planning to publish a book titled, more or less, "100 hundred opinions on educatioon in XX, Japan.

I'm free to write whatever I want, so it does not necessarily need to deal with English education. They want between 1000-2000 characters (2000-4000 words, I guess).

I have several ideas of my own but if anyone has comments I'd be grateful as it would give me more direction. Any thoughts?

[PAULH]

[freddie's friend daniel]

And there's nothing in between?
I personally think that, while of course secondary education in Japan needs a big rethink, elementary education here is largely successful. Everyone bemoans the lack of creativity in schools but the emphasis put on music, art and sports activities in the elementary school I worked at was a real eye-opener. Pity this all gets cancelled out by the entrance exam routine in high schools but education here is not all doom and gloom. Surely the OP can give a balanced opinion without losing his job over it.

[Nismo]

[rvsensei]

You need to remember that in Japan they really prepare hard for taking exams, however are poor when it comes to "thinking outside the box". Students are drilled to death to memorize facts, just to forget about them once the test is over. Do standardized tests really show your intelligence or what you learned? sure the U.S ranks below in standardized test scores in comparison to other countries, but nobody really says who was tested and what exactly the test entailed. I would still choose putting my kid in an elementary school here in the U.S. than Japan, besides I wouldn't want my kid to be bullied or singled out because he is bi-racial.

[rvsensei]

1) If it were true that Japanese students were ill-prepared for "thinking outside the box", the marketplace would not be flooded with Japanese-designed products, Manga would not be revered by teens and twentysomethings across the US as an "art form", and so on and so on.

So Japanese students in most junior high and high schools are more crtical thinkers than students in the U.S. ? You were the one comparing Japan to the U.S, not me. So I don't know why you are getting testy. The students I taught in Japan lacked several skills that many kids in the states have, of course Japan has a wealth of excellent students, no one is denying that. I love here in the states, I wouldn't say teens all over this area love manga as you say, sure about 10 percent might love it, I wouldn't say revere it.
2) "Do standardized tests really show your intelligence or what you learned?"

Yes, when phrased like that. Did you mean to put a comma in there?
So now you are checking grammar on these posts? You still didn't answer the question.

3) "nobody really says who was tested and exactly what the test entailed"
Once again, getting picky on grammar on these posts is silly. You still havent provided any answers. Who really says "methodology of the rankings" okay now I am being sarcastic.
Yes, in fact they do. Information on the methodology of the rankings is easily found. Google is your friend.

[guest of Japan]

I'll give a little thought on the matter.

I do firmly believe that elementary math education is far advanced over that in the US. In that I mean students are doing more advanced math earlier than students in the US. Part of the reason is that math education in the US is based on cognitive development research, while in Japan it is often based on what has been achieved in the past. The Japanese way greatly benefits more advanced students, but I feel it leaves the weaker students struggling from an early age. At the secondary school level only the more gifted students can progress. It still seems to me, however, that even those lower level students are more capable of doing advanced math than their American counterparts. I think the US has a lot to gain by looking into how math is presented in Japan more fully.

We all complain about English Education. I think it is pretty hard to compare foreign language education between the countries because in the US, usually the foreign language studied is a romance language, and it is not studied until high school.

Science education in Japan lacks sufficient experimentation. American science education lacks teachers who can convey science to students who are not naturally interested.

Native language instruction. Again this is hard to compare. Japanese instruction has far more intensity than English instruction back home. The results yield greater basic literacy in Japanese, but the edge in functional usage of the language would have to go to the US. The definition of literacy between the two countries differs greatly. Japan boasts 99% literacy to the US which moves between 90 and 97, depending on who states the number. Japanese literacy measurement is based fundamentally on the ability to read specific kanji characters. Literacy in the US is very ill-defined. Recent focus has been on functional literacy, and I've seen numbers such as 50% as the level of functional literacy. The problem is that no one can agree on what the level should be.

I must admit that if I had the luxury of governing a country which was completely homogeneous with everyone operating from the same native language, and hoped to eliminate turmoil by teaching everyone their place in life at and early age, then I'd follow Japan's system exacly. However, since I believe in self-determination, cognitive and emotive differences between people, recognize that socio-economics play a very important role in all our lives, and a host of other ideas; I'll have to go with the US system with the recognition that changes are always needed.

I think that students in the US face far more serious challenges than their Japanese counterparts. The US has long ago recognized this, and has been actively confronting it with limited success. These US problems are already developing in Japan, and their is no confrontation other than try harder.

I'll stop here, though I'm sure I could go on.

[Nismo]

[markle]

Actually Japan can be seen to be a something of a crossroads educationally. With falling birthrates the cornerstone of secondary and higher education, the University exam, will become redundant since there will be more Uni places than students, hence the gradual turning to foreign students (esp. Chinese).
On the one hand they can experiment more since they have the resources at their disposal but on the other hand they will face a fair amount of resistance from both institutions and parents to not 'fix what's not broken'

Personally I would suggest that the US may not be the best place to look for alternative models but rather at European education.