May 2014

Angela Mara Pcsi Araujo

INTL 2990-001: Study Abroad to Japan
ePortfolio Signature Assignment

o What are some similarities and differences between Japanese schools and American schools?
Formal schooling in Japan is a very serious business to the government and to the families.
Probably most of the aspects that the West has heard about Japanese schools are distortions or
outright falsehoods. We hear that the Japanese children are mostly disciplined highly, as an
example; yet, in reality, Japanese schools at the elementary and junior high levels are rather noisy,
unstructured places with children racing around the halls during breaks and getting into fights with
classmates on their way to home. Japan, actually, has a far lower percentage of its college-age
population enrolled in higher education than it is in the United States 47 percent compared to 66
percent. Moreover, the Japanese government does not require young people to assist to high
school, they are obliged to attend until the age of 15, although 94 percent do anyway. Now, given
these and other realities of school life in Japan, how can we explain the consistently high scores of
Japanese on international tests and the general agreement that Japanese high school graduates
know almost as much as college graduates in North America?
Structurally, schools in Japan are similar to those in many other countries: there are
kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools. The passage into
elementary and junior high is automatic, regardless of the student performance level. However,
the admission to high school and college is based on test scores from entrance examinations. And
preparing for these examinations requires full attention of the students in their final year both of
junior high and high school, respectively. Both their parents and the school authorities are
determined and insist that studying for the tests should be the primary focus of a students life at
those times. For instance, members of a junior high soccer team may be allowed to play on the
team only for the first two years; during the last year, they are expected to be studying for their
high school entrance examinations. The school policy reminds the students that they are in school
to learn and to graduate to the next level, not to play sports. As a consequence, many students
attend after-hours cram schools (juku) several nights a week to prepare themselves for the
exams.
Time for recreational and other nonschool activities is restricted, because Japanese
students attend school more days per year than students in North America. When mandatory
school attendance on Saturdays was eliminated in the year 2002 as part of a major school reform
program, many parents protested vigorously. They worried that their children would fall behind.
School leaders agreed to start voluntary Saturday schools, and when they did, as many as 75
percent of their students attended. Summer vacation is only about six weeks long, and students
often attend school activities during most of that period. Japanese youths are expected to treat
schooling as their top priority over part-time jobs, which are usually prohibited by the school
policy during the school year, except for the needy, sports, dating, and even family time.
The children who perform well in school are generally thought to be fulfilling their
obligations to the family, even if they do not keep their rooms clean or help with the dishes, as an
example. The reason for this focus is that the parents realize that only through education the
Japanese youths can find their place in the society. Joining Japans relatively small military is not
an option generally; opportunities for farming are limited because of land scarcity and most major
companies will not hire a new employee who has not graduated from college or a respectable high
school. Therefore, the Japanese find it very important to focus on education, to do a thing but
well.
Teachers are held in high regard in Japan, partly because when mass education was
introduced, many of the high-status samurai took up teaching to replace their martial activies.
Additionally, in modern times, the Japan Teachers Union has been active in agitating for higher
pay for teachers. As a group, the teachers are the highest-paid civil servants in Japan. They take
their jobs very seriously. Public-school teachers, for example, visit the home of each student each
year to merge the authority of the home with that of the school, insisting also the parents, mostly
mothers, to play active supporting roles in the school.
Some Japanese youths do not like the system, consequently, discussions are currently
under way among Japanese educators on how to improve the quality of life for the students.
Usually the pression for taking examinations, which is known as exam hell, produces such stress
that a desperate student would commit suicide instead of trying and fail, or even kill their parents
because they force them to study and pass the exam. Stress appears to be the cause of ijime, or
bullying in other words, of the weaker students by stronger peers. In recent years, the Ministry of
Education has worked hard to help students dealing with school stress, resulting that the Japans
youth suicide rate has dropped dramatically, far lower than the youth rate in the United States.
Despite these and other problems, most of the Japanese youngs enjoy school and value the time
that they have to spend with their friends, whether in the class, walking home, or attending cram
school. Some of them who fail their college entrance exams continue to study privately, some for
many years, and take the exam each year until they pass. Others travel abroad and enroll in
foreign universities that do not requiere such rigid examinations for studentsentrance. Others
enroll in vocational training schools. However, everyone in Japan realizes that the education, not
the money, name, or luck, is the key to success.
Parents whose children are admitted to the prestigious national universities of Tokyo and
and Kyoto, for example, consider that they have much to brag about. Othe parents are willing to
pay as much as $45,000 on average for four years of college at the private, but not as usually
prestigious, universities or institutions. Once admitted, students find that life slows down a little.
For one thing, parents typically pay more than 65 percent of the costs, and approximately 3
percent is covered by scholarships. This leaves only about 30 percent to be earned by the
students, usually coming from tutoring high school students that are going to take entrance
exams. Contemporary parents are also willing to pay the cost of a sons or daughters traveling to
and spending a few months in North America or Europe either before college begins or during
summer breaks, a practice that is becoming a fashion for the Japanes students, much as taking a
grand tour of Europe was expected of young, upper-class Americans and Canadians.
College students may take up to 15 or 16 courses at a time, but classes usually meet only
once or twice a week, and sporadic attendance is the norm. Straight lecturing instead of class
discussion is the typical learning format, and there is very little homework in addition to studying
for the final exam. The students generally do not challenge the professors statements in the class,
still, some students develop rather close, avuncular-type relationships with their teachers outside
the classroom. Hobbies, sports, and club activities, things that students did not have time to do
while in public school, occupy the center of life for many college students. Japanese professors
visiting the universities in North America and Europe are often impressed by how diligently the
students in these places study during their college years. By contrast, the Japanese students spend
a lot of time making friendships that will last a lifetime and would be useful in either their career
and private life as well.
Another fact to note is that the Japanese Ministry of Education has mandated that shop
classes would be requiered for both boys and girls, meaning that both sexes would have to learn
how to cook and sew as well as construct materials out of wood and metal.
Japans education system played a central role in enabling the country to meet the
challenges presented by the need to quickly absorb Western ideas, science, and technology in the
Meiji period (1868-1912), and it was also a key factor in Japans recovery and rapid economic
growth in the decades following the end of World War II.
In the early years of the 21
st
century, however, Japanese society is facing many challenges
as a result of changing cultural norms, advances in science and technology, economic
globalization, and a difficult business environment. Nurturing young people who can meet these
challenges is a critical task for Japanese education. The direction to be taken in this endeavor is
the subject of much debate in the government, the education community, and Japanese society as
a whole.
Education in reading and writing has of course existed in some form since the introduction
of Chinese writing and Buddhism in the 6
th
century. In 701, the Taiho Code established schools for
the children of the nobility, in both the capital and the provinces. Beginning in the Kamakura
period (ca.1185-1333), an increasing number of the children of the samurai families received a
formal education, but it was not until the 265 years of peace of the Edo period (1603-1868) that
education became widespread among both the elite and the common people. Education in the
Edo period was primarily based on Confucian concepts that emphasized rote learning and study of
the Chinese classics. Two main types of schools developed. The first type was the domainal
schools (hanko), which totaled around 270 by the end of the period and provided education
primarily to children of the samurai class warriors. The second type was the terakoya schools,
which enrolled the children of commoners or ordinary persons as well as samurai and
concentrated on moral training and teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. Terakoya were
usually run by a single teacher or a married couple, and there were tens of thousands of these
schools in existence at the end of the Edo period. Japans literacy rate at the time of the collapse
of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 was higher than that of many Western nations at the time.
Without this educational foundation, the rapid modernization achieved in the following years
would not have been possible.
Meiji leaders moved quickly to put a new educational system into place as a key part of
their efforts to catch up with the West and promote national unity. A three-tier system of primary
school, middle school, and university was established, with primary school being compulsory or
obligatory for both boys and girls.
Following the end of World War II, the Fundamental Law on Education and the School
Education Law were enacted in 1947 under the direction of the Occupation forces. The latter law
defined the system that is still in use today: six years of elementary school, three years of junior
high school, three years of high school (unlikely the United States that require two years), and two
or four years of university. Elementary and junior high school attendance is compulsory, as in
America. There are also kindergartens (attended from one to three years), five-year technical
colleges for junior high school graduates, special training schools for junior high and high school
graduates, and special schools for handicapped persons. Universities include undergraduate
colleges, junior colleges, and graduate schools, as in the United States.
In Japan, the percentage of women who continue their formal education after high school
is very high. To put an example, in 2012, 54.8% of women graduating from high school entered
universities or junior colleges, as compared with 51.4% of men. A growing number of women want
to work on an equal basis with men following graduation from an institution of higher learning.
The Japanese education systems include nine years of compulsory education in
elementary school (6 years) and junior high school (3 years). The school year begins in April and
ends the following March. The government initiated a yutori kyiku approach with the aim of
creating a broader, more relaxed, educational environment in 1998. However, this is thought to
have lowered academic standards, so the educational guidelines for primary and middle schools
were reformed in 2008. Preschool is a facility for child care under the jurisdiction of the Board of
Health and Welfare. Trained staff take care of infants and small children instead of their busy
parents. Kindergarten is one of the schools designated by the Education Law and under the
jurisdiction of the Board of Education. Children receive preliminary education, experience group
life, and learn basic social skills. Children from 6 to 12 years of age (1st to 6th grade) receive
compulsory elementary education. They usually walk to a local elementary school, where children
of the same age study together in classrooms. One teacher takes charge of a class of about 40
students and, in principle, teaches all students. The remaining three years of the nine-year
compulsory education consist of junior high school education. Most children in the 13 15 age
group attend government-run junior high schools within their district, however, some go to
private schools. There exist full-time, part-time, and correspondence high schools. In addition to
regular courses, certain schools offer some specialized studies, such as industrial and agricultural
sciences. Some 97.0% of junior high school graduates go on to high school (MECSST, 2008). Some
56.2% of high school graduates go on to university or junior college (MECSST, 2008). And entrance
examinations are very competitive and difficult to pass. If a student fails, he/she attends a special
school to prepare for the next years exam. Enrollment, study, and equipment fees at private
universities average 5.06 million yen per annum in medicine and dentistry, 1,14 million yen in
liberal arts. Students may also be asked to contribute to various endowment funds. In National
Universities, students pay only 740,000 yen per annum to enroll and study. Graduating from
university is not as difficult as entering, so once they pass the stressful entrance examinations,
many students prefer to enjoy student life than study hard.
There exists motivation for doing part-time work: to make money for leisure-time
activities, to buy luxury items, and to make living more enjoyable.
Parties are held with fellow club members, or to get to know students in other
departments and at other universities as social gatherings.
Increasing numbers of students do volunteer work in their free time. And groups of seniors
wearing formal suits visit companies with a view to getting a job.
Both nations use systems of transportation to school such as buses, and some students
drive cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. In certain schools in America, there exist buses that drive the
students to different campuses showing their college card, as an example, the B-Line Inter-Campus
Shuttle of Salt Lake Community College in Utah. Nevertheless, Japans transportation system is so
well developed that it is very easy and safe to travel in the country. Many people take commuter
trains and subways to go to school and to go to work. Big cities have particularly well developed
railroad networks. And trains run punctually, which make city life very convenient.
Respecting to the language knowledge acquired in the schools, in Japan, the people learn
Japanese language that can be written using Kanji (pictographic characters from China) as well as
the Hiragana and Katakana (phonetics alphabets developed in Japan) syllabaries. The students can
also learn other languages such as English, French, and German in the universities, as an example,
in Shitennoji University (IBU). Students also learn traditional Japanese arts like shodo (calligraphy)
and haiku (a Japanese poetic form, developed from the longer haikai (renga), the first part of
which became an independent unit. It comprises 17 syllables (5-7-5-syllable lines) and has to
contain kigo (a word that expresses a season). Haiku uses simple expressions to convey deep
emotions to readers). Japanese children enter the first grade of elementary school in the April
after their sixth birthday. In the classroom, there are around 30 to 40 students in a typical
elementary school class. The subjects they study include Japanese, mathematics, science, social
studies, music, crafts, physical education, and home economics (simple cooking and sewing skills).
More elementary schools have started teaching English too, and it has been increasing.
Information technology is increasingly being used to enhance education, and most schools have
access to the Internet. In Japanese elementary schools, classes are divided into small teams for
many activities. For example, as part of their education, every day the students clean the
classrooms, halls, and yards of the school in teams. In many elementary schools, the students eat
lunch together in their classrooms, enjoying meals prepared by the school or by a local "school
lunch center". Small teams of students take turns to serve lunch to their classmates. School
lunches contain a rich variety of healthy and nutritious foods, and students look forward to
lunchtime.
There are many school events during the year as well, such as sports day when students
compete in events like tug-of-war and relay races, excursions to historical sites or field trips, and
arts and culture festivals featuring dancing and other performances by children. Students in the
highest grades of elementary, middle, and high schools also take trips lasting up to several days to
culturally important cities like Kyoto and Nara, ski resorts, or other places.
Most middle and high schools require students to wear uniforms. Boys generally wear
pants and jackets with stand-up collars, and girls wear two-piece suit with sailor collar or blazers
and skirts. In school, children usually carry squared Japanese style backpacks.
Almost all middle school students take part in an extracurricular club activity of their
choice, such as a sports team, a musical or arts group, or a science club.
Baseball clubs are very popular among boys. Soccer (football) clubs are also gaining
popularity. Judo clubs, where kids train in this traditional martial art, attract boys and girls. They
may be inspired by the many great Japanese judo athletes, both male and female, who have won
medals at the World Judo Championships and the Olympic Games. Other popular sports clubs
include tennis, basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, Ping Pong, dances, and Kendo. In every sport,
many games are held between schools and at the regional level, so students have plenty of
opportunities to compete.
Meanwhile, among cultural clubs, one that has lately gained popularity is the go club. Go is
a strategic board game played with black and white stones. After a Manga (comic book) about the
game was published, more and more schoolchildren started enjoying go. Other options for
students include choir and art clubs. Brass band, tea ceremony, and flower arrangement clubs are
also popular.
Japanese elementary and middle schools begin around the time of eight thirty. Each class
lasts between 40 and 45 minutes in elementary school and 50 minutes in middle school. Students
are given a 5- to 10-minute break between consecutive classes. During the morning hours there
are four classes, and many elementary schools also include a 20-minute recess. Lunch time starts
at twelve thirty and lasts for about 40 minutes. At public schools, where school meals are
provided, the students are responsible for carrying the meals to their classroom, where they eat,
serving portions, and cleaning up afterwards. After lunch, it is time for recess, which is about 20
minutes long. Some schools use this time for cleaning the classrooms: the students move the
desks and chairs to one side of the room, then broom and wipe the floor, clean the blackboard,
and throw away the trash. Afternoon classes begin after the cleaning. In lower elementary school,
classes are held only in the mornings, and the children go home after lunch. But in upper
elementary school there are five classes each day; middle school students even attend six classes
on some days of the week.
Elementary school students can choose from a wide variety of after-school clubs, which
usually meet once a week. Through club activities the students have the opportunity to receive
training in sports, or to deepen their understanding of subjects that interest them. Elementary
school students in Japan usually leave school at around three o'clock.
Once students enter middle school, extracurricular activities take on a bigger role: some
clubs meet several times a week or even everyday, and on some days the students won't leave
school until around five o'clock.
Unlikely most of the cities in the United States, at public elementary schools in Japan
earthquake drills are held once a month. If an earthquake strikes while they are in the classroom,
children learn the safety preventions to get under their desks, head first, and to hold on to the legs
of the desk until the quake is over. After that, the teacher leads them out of the building and calls
the roll to make sure everybody is there and safe. If an earthquake hits when the children are in
the schoolyard, they are taught to gather in the middle, away from the school building.
Schoolchildren may wear protective hoods during an evacuation drill as well.
Sometimes, with help from the local fire department, children also take turns to practice
in earthquake-simulation devices, which are special rooms that can be made to shake just as they
would in a serious earthquake. At schools with three floors, the older children may also practice
using emergency chutes to get to the ground from the top level. Another feature of the drills is to
pretend that a fire has broken out and to find a safe way out of the school. The location of the
imaginary fire is different every time, so the children can learn what to do no matter where it
breaks out. The teachers and children in the upper grades also watch videos to learn how to use
fire extinguishers.
If a serious quake strikes during school hours, the children stay at school with their
teachers until somebody from home comes to get them. This is because it may be dangerous for
them to try to go home by themselves, or something may have happened to their houses or
apartment buildings during the earthquake, and their families may be staying somewhere else.
The kids also practice waiting at the school this way as part of their earthquake drills.
Mentioning an example of the consequences that an earthquake in Japan can bring, right
after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, as well as the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995,
many public elementary and middle schools served as emergency shelters for people who had lost
their homes. Some of these schools accommodated large numbers of people for several months
while temporary new housing was being built.
An interesting fact to know is that in order to read a newspaper, one must know about
2,000 commonly used Kanji, as well as Hiragana and Katakana, which are taught in elementary
school and junior high school, along with the English alphabet.
Japans literacy rate is 99 percent. And for instance, as of 2010, over 140,000 foreign
students (60 percent of them Chinese) were studying in Japan the highest number in 30 years.
Japan has achieved virtually complete literacy. Although there are poor areas and some
tend cities created by homeless people, there are no slums inhabited by a permanent
underclass. The gaps between the social classes appear to be less pronounced in many other
societies. The country seems to entering an era of remarkable educational accomplishment, and
Japanese scientists are at the forefront of inventions that are improving life for people
everywhere. Forty Japanese have been awarded Nobel Prizes in such fields as physics, chemistry,
and literature.
To complete this subject, the following are some statistics referring to the education of
Japan:
Adult Literacy Rate: 99%
Compulsory (Ages): 6-15; free
However, it is important to note that acquiring a degree from the United States is very
respectful and well recognized in all the world.
Source:
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/schools/
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/schools/q9.html
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/schools/q6.html