Japanese Education
Soon a group of Fullbright teachers will be visiting Tanabu High School, where I work, as part of a tour to learn about the Japanese education system.
I was asked to write an essay about my impressions of the Japanese education system, and urged to be as critical as I saw fit to be. There are no secrets in it (in fact, I would assume most of the Fullbright teachers will have already read about most of the topics I bring up), so have I decided to upload it for anybody curious about the Japanese system, or who have ever felt a sense of rivalry after hearing those reports about how Japanese students are so much better than Americans at science and math.
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posted by Chris @ 9:17 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Damn, wish I taught at your schools where the students sincerely apologize and everyone says hello. I've given up on expecting sincere apologies and have to coerce a "hello" from students as if I were pulling teeth.
It was good reading that. There're some things I would've emphasized more though, like how the admirable goals set forth my MEXT (at least with regard to English teaching) are only lip service to people who complain about the pathetic English abilities most Japanese students leave high school with (I'm sorry; there's simply no excuse for supposedly having studied English for six years and still not knowing the basic question words) as they're not backed up. The "passing" percentage is simply an embarrassment to education, and it's also really messed up how many expectations there are of teachers here while their hands are effectively tied behind their backs, as there ARE no real punishments. Kid not college-bound? There goes one of "two real" punishments. And if he doesn't care about getting yelled at in front of class, oh look, there aren't any punihsments after all. I highly agree that there needs to be a system of punishments instated for unmotivated students, and I can't emphasize this enough. It's basic human psychology and behavior. People who aren't held to high expectations and aren't taught/helped to do so don't excel.
And the whole "teachers and not parents are responsible for students' behavior" is absolute bullshit. Parents have the responsibility to raise their own children; like it or not their children's behavior is a reflection on them, and they'd best realize this and act accordingly. Good parents already know this. Expecting a teacher to be their own kid's individual parent as well is impossible and extremely unrealistic.
I think one of the problems facing Japanese school (and Japanese society in general) is the cultural acceptance of being overly passive and expecting people do everything for you. Why work/try in school? The teacher will give you multiple chances, and so long as you're not dead you get passed anyway. The problem with this way of thinking is that it loads more responsibility onto those who are responsible. I'm all for group-conscious society, as it is better than one that only focuses on "me," but at the same time, if you're gonna be part of a group, the requirement for that is that you pull your own weight. In a similar fashion, I think it's equally embarrassing that those who do contribute don't demand more of their lazy brethren and children.
good points, all. When I mentioned them saying "hello" and "good work" I should have clarified that I meant in Japanese. Only the adventurous ones use English (and the kids in my advanced course, thank goodness).
A teacher did clarify to me that sometimes teachers do call parents, but it's always top secret. And when I say that teachers are responsible for their students' behavior, I mean from the standpoint of their expectations from their boss and colleagues. As in, a teacher will get yelled at by either a senior teacher or vice principal or principal when his/her students don't do well. I agree, fundamentally, that the parents are the biggest influence on how well a student does.
And yea, as I learned at Ohata, the kids with no intention of going to college sadly really are lost causes. They don't give a damn.
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