" ai ly Echoes P.O Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463 Tel. (052)794-6422 June 30, 1996 Number 53 Y200 (Essays submitted between April 2 by listeners/readers on themes of "Daily Word" messages and May 7, 1996. Corrected and edited by Clark Offner.) ************************* April 2 Message (Subject #302) Today's theme is the Japanese sys- tern of education. What .do you think about it? What are its strengths and weaknesses and how has it changed since the end of the war? ************************* The educational system of our country basically consists of 6 years of elementary school, 3 years of middle school, 3 years of high school and 4 years of university. This system was set up under the direction of the U. S. Occupation Forces after World War The first 9 years of education (elemen- tary school and middle school) are corn: pulsory. Therefore, for these 9 years, the rate of school attendance by children is 100%. While not compulsory, high school enrollment is over 90% nation- wide and nearly 100% in the cities. Over 30% of all high school graduates go on to university or college, which is low only in comparison to the 50% figure of the U. S. (This data is a little old.) In the Meiji era, as Japan began undergoing modernization, the govern- ment established an integrated educa- tional system from elementary school to university in order to foster the develop- ment of industry and culture through the introduction of Western learning. In 1900, children were obliged to begin 4 years of compulsory education from age 6. That year, the percentage of children attending school was 90%. In1907, when compulsory education was increased to 6 years, the . percentage was about 99%. After that, many elementary schools, middle schools, girls' high schools, voca- tional schools, colleges and universities were founded. Except for elementary schools, however, applicants had to be selected for entrance into these schools so the proportion of students continuing on to higher levels of education was not high. In 1935, the percentage of elemen- tary school students going on to the sec- ondary schools of that time (middle schools, girls' high schools and vocation- al schools) was 18.5%, and the percent- age going on to higher education (higher school, college, university) was only 3%. As I have often written in this per- iodical before, I entered middle school the final year of the war. As my elemen- tary school was in a remote farming vil- lage (where I had been evacuated from Tokyo the preceding year), only 2 boys and a girl (from among 40 graduates) entered middle school or girls' high school. The other boys and girls went out into the world at the age of 12',' with the exception of some who entered a higher elementary school (called kotO shOgakko) for 2 years. My wife's mother, who died 8 years ago, was very proud of having been graduated from a girls' high school under the former system. It i s generally recognized that girls' high ---------------------[End of Page 1]--------------------- 2 JUNE 30, 1996 school was the highest institution of learning for girls and the comparative value of the school graduation was much higher than that of the universities of these days as mentioned above. Today, our country's education sys- tem faces many difficult problems such as an over---emphasis on entrance exami- nations, enhanced moral education, coun- tering delinquency, upgrading teachers' qualifications and so on. While agreeing that the American-style education con- tributed to Japan's postwar development many people feel this is a good time for retrospection and a reconsideration now that half a century has passed since the introduction of the "new" educational system. (M11(1:-IIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu) When Japan opened her ports to for- eign countries, she was considered a na- tion of virtue in the Orient. After the war, she was once criticized as an eco- nornic animal. Now,Japan is seriously Why are so many shameful events report- ed every day? Where has Japanese virt- ue gone? I think our present condition is a result of postwar education in Japan. There is -a story of a large number of wild rats simultaneously dashing to the seashore and jumping into the water to their death, one after another. I think this story gives a hint regarding our Jap- anese situation. "Even if the traffic sig- nal is red, if we cross the street in a group, we're safe." This saying exactly expresses our traditional Japanese weak point: an extreme group consciousness. After the war, is became stronger and we Japanese tend to think we will a I- ways be safe if we follow others. But, sometimes, we must make our own de- cisions. Now, Japan is in an unprecedented recession. The famous Japanese lifelong ,n-nployment and security systems have Many new university c,radu- :ltes cannot find jobs. Teachers ::-.)ould recognize that the age of concentr;L:Ung "DAILY WORD" ECHOES only on test scores is over. I am looking forward to a coming new age of Japanese students who have developed individual opinions and morals with the help of new teachers. (TSUYOSHI HAMADA, Minami, Nagoya) 1 do not think that the present Japanese education system itself has any weakness. 1 admit, however, that Japanese have changed their thinking about education. Why do Japanese stu- dents want to enter a famous school, college or university? Almost all stu- dents study hard to pass entrance exam- inations. Why do they not have a desire for knowledge after they gain entrance? Recently, there are entrance examina- tions from kindergarten to university. The present situation is the result of mistaken ideas, but I cannot say what they are. I will mention my feeling during a trip to Holland where we had some un- hurried time and were able to talk to a few persons we had met somewhere. I remember one of them talked about edu- cation. He said that he did not want to go to college after he graduated from high school. He said that most people thought the same way as he did. They have no difficulties and spend happy and peaceful days all their lives. Only spe- cial people graduate from university or college. I saw in his smile that he did not envy them. I think that the present situation in Japan was caused by the general pub- lic. I myself am becoming uninterested. Now, I am reflecting on my conduct as a result of thinking about this -theme. (MICHIIKO SANG, Minami, Nagoya) Since l have been involved in the education system of Japan or the past I S years, there are many thftigs I would like to write, but here I will rilention one clear difference between the education of Japan and that of England. ---------------------[End of Page 2]--------------------- JUNE 30, 1996 It was back in 1981 that 1 went to-- a British university for the first time. It was Manchester University. For the first few months, 1 was not sure how to study, so I tried to do my best in the same way I did in a Japanese university. I listened to lectures as carefully as possible and did all I could do to grasp the main point of each class. In Japan, had been expected to write as exactly as possible what I learned during the class when it came to exams, so I did that at Manchester University. To my surprise, however, I didn't get as good results as I had expected. So after the exams I went to my teachers who all said they would not give a good mark on a test paper only full of notes taken during the class. It was then that I began to recognize the importance of thinking on my own. Since I came back to Japan, I have been teaching English so as to give my students as many chances as possible to think of their own ideas or to express themselves in their own ways. In recent months, however,l've found many of them are still not used to teaching which is meant to encourage their creative think- ing. It may be because they have been forced to imitate their teachers even when it comes to thinking. They seem to be afraid of making a mistake by think- ing on their own. As far as writing Eng- lish is concerned, this is true even with English teachers as well. It is easy to point out "weakness- es" of our education system but it is dif- ficult to make use of those "weaknesses" to improve the system. And this is ex- actly what I am determined to do from now on. It is true that many Japanese have been poor at creative thinking, but their diligence has helped them master the basics of any subject. Independent thinking is important, but it can't get us somewhere unless we have mastered the basics, so I would like to lead my stu- dents in the right direction by encourag- ing them to work diligently and leaving "DAILY WORD" ECHOES 3 them as much room as possible for their creative thinking. Last of all, I want to express my gratitude for the "Daily Word" messages, most of which have given me much food for thought. (TOMOYASU KIMURA, Nishi, Nagoya) After the war, Japanese compulso- ry education was changed to include six years of elementary school and three years of junior high school. Even though the education period has been extended, human education has failed. We live in material abundance and have become fi- nancially well off. On the other hand, children's hearts have become poorer. A very important problem for edu- cators is how to restore spiritual vitali- ty to their students. Teasing, suicides and cruelty related to the examination wars arise from poor spirits. Most chil- dren cannot play with a group of friends nor get along easily with nature. There are defects in the basic edu- cation policy. For example, religious training, patriotism and respect for tra- ditional culture are not included in the curriculum. Sympathy for others, modes- ty, gratitude and respect all come from a spirit of independence and self-control. I think there is a great need for educa- tional reformation. Yesterday, I read some interesting comments in the Asahi newspaper. A car- toonist, Kei Ishizaka, said that children should have many opportunities to enjoy themselves in order to enjoy human life and have good experiences in the future. Another person, Sakane Yonekura, said that school is not a place where grades should be emphasized or where distinc- tions should be made between students. What does it mean to be first class? It is a process. School courses, school re- cords and achievements test scares have no relation to character. I thought their opinions were very interesting. (MIEKO OKUMURA, Mizuho, Nagoya) ---------------------[End of Page 3]--------------------- 4 JUNE 30, 1996 Today, shameful incidents are oc- curring in many fields of government, medical groups, banks, religious bodies, and so on. What is the reason? All of these incidents seem to have a common origin--the lack of moral education. The other day I read an essay titled "Today's Young Men" written by Professor Tsuneo lida in the ChOnichi newspaper. He deplored the blameworthy attitude of students in lecture halls who noisily talk about their private matters, ignor- ing the sincere efforts of the lecturers. It reminded me of my own experience during my student days in the transition period from the prewar educational sys- tem to that of the postwar era. The class room was filled with studerits from both systems and I s,fas a student from the prewar system. The lecture was on ac- counting and students from the postwar system were very noisily absorbed in their persona conversation-+s from ti very beginning. The aged professor be- came angry arr.', scolded them in a loiel voice at last. His attitude was quite na-,-.- ural and we all sympathized with him. When I read the essay written by Professor Ida, thought that the detest- atmospheie common i. classroom:, in my school gays may hv.e continuer! without improve rnent until now. Those impolite. studei-H-s • have gru...vn up since those days and some have become lead- ers in many areas of Japanese society. A few days ago, I happened to hear an NH< radio rievis report that English courses will be introduced into grade schools for the •;.irst time. Listening to news, I was instantly against the idea. I thought f.it a course ii morality, which was inclucsd in the prewar educa- :ion system sheisld be introduced into grade schools before an English course, even though that my favorite lan;:luage. (b(ARUJI " " TO1YE ) "DAILY WORD" ECHOES At the recent meeting of "Daily Word" Fans which 1 attended and enjoyed for the first time, many people empha- sized the need for moral education. I fully agree that this is one of the most important elements in education. How- ever, in this short essay, I would like to focus on another aspect. Japanese education overemphasiz- es rote memorization. In my high school days, history was completely reduced to just memorization. I didn't think about the people, their way of thinking and so forth. I gained knowledge but not under- standing. And now I have lost most of that knowledge. It is very important to think deeply about and discuss historical events, for example. In science, we must deal with actual objects rather than learning just from textbooks. One way to solve this problem is to reduce the range of subjects or of one particular subject. To master a foreign language requires great effort. Some students are not good at learning words by heart. In high school, all students should not be forced to take English. The important thing is not what to learn but how to learn. (TOSHEYUKI KOTERAZAWA, Kasugai) The new educational system after the war shifted the emphasis from rote learning and indoctrination to thinking for oneself as a member of a democratic_ society.T- extbooks were completely re vised to eliminate militaristic and na- tionalistic propaganda and the old course on ethics, or shUshin, which was thought to have been the core of prewar educa- tion, was replaced by new courses in the social sciences. Elementary education had been egalitarian from the beginning but an c-..;fi'ort was to reduce the elitist ar of hicj!s:- levels of education and to shift from v\ilt the Japanese people cal::d the 6-5-3--3 school sys.':..wn to the American 6-3-3-z:- system. The sudden ---------------------[End of Page 4]--------------------- JUNE 30, 1996 rise in the number of universities—and the great increase in students attending higher levels of education resulted in a substantial lowering of university stand- ards. All this was deeply resented by many Japanese. The present examination structure which resulted threw the educational system into disorder. An entrance exam for junior high schools plays a key role in the present educational system. Since elementary school children are forced to study hard, without having a concrete goal or target in the future, they lose in- terest in learning before long and when it comes time to enter universities, they become extremely tired and no longer continue to study. In America, university students or postgraduates study very hard because they have a concrete object or aim in mind. The problem with the Japanese educational system lies not only in the examination structure but also in the time when decisions must be made, which is too early. It will be necessary in the near future to make provision for another try at learning after graduation. (SHOJI DOMAE, Kasugai) The education system of Japan con- sists of six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, three years of senior' high school and four years of university. This system was set up under the direction of the U. S. Occupation Forces after World War II. My first son was born in 1948 and the second one in 1951. Their children are going to school now. Though I do not live with my grandchildren, I think I can delineate how the Japanese education system has changed since the end of the war, especially in regard to the exami- nation fever in Tokyo, by comparing the cases of those two generations. When my sons were schoolboys, Japan was not so affluent as today. Though we led a more frugal life, '.v e "DAILY WORD" ECHOES 5 could enjoy a closer relationship with nature even in Tokyo. They could play outdoors until it got dark. I believe they were able to enjoy a happier childhood than their children. I do not deny that the entrance examination for senior high school was not easy. Tokyo was divided into regions, each of which had about eight or nine metropolitan senior high schools of various ranks. Students could choose any school within the region, de- pending on the results of their achieve- ment tests given at the school. When their choice was appropriate, the exam- ination was not so difficult. Even then, examination fever was criticized. To reduce the competition, the Tokyo Board of Education divided Tokyo into smaller regions, each of which had only a few high schools, to make the schools equal. Contrary to their expectation, people turned away from metropolitan high schools, 'though there were quite a few of them, some of which were prestigious. Instead of metropolitan high schools, which had lost their attraction, parents began sending their children to national or private schools, which were quite limited in number, as early as pos- sible. As a result, the examination fever escalated more and more. The Board of Education came to realize the adverse effect of their policy, contrary to their expectation, and quite recently made at- tempts to remedy the situation, but it was too late. My granddaughter began attending a supplementary school a few years ago. She is now in the sixth grade and goes to that school four evenings a week, taking a lunch. Concerned about her health and stress, I advised her parents against it, but their answer was just that she was willing to go. In urban.districts, the number of children hasremarkably de- creased. She has few schoolmates to play with. I pity her in that situation and just pray for her healthy growth. ---------------------[End of Page 5]--------------------- 6 JUNE 30, 1996 The strength of the Japanese edu- cation system rests on its raising the educational level of the general public. We used to have a great gap between ur- ban and rural residents, between the rich and the poor. As Japan has grown richer, educational facilities have become very good all over the country. Compared with us old people,even children have amazing knowledge. I recall a parable in Luke 24. Most of us do.not have many_ talents, but there is strength in numbers. if each of us tries to make much use of the one tal- ent given us, we can have great power. Japan has changed so drastically that we fear have not found an appro- priate way to f(ece the new environment. In the field of c.eelucation too, we have serious problem to grapple with. Surveys ::Idicate that in mast Western countries, cAdren in neec. or in trouble first go to their mothers or help or advice, while. in Japan, childch-en tend to rely on their friends in such cases. How disappoint: ,..ve ware to h = that! We ellould not be offended but t{ y to restore .ore frien0/ relationshipsthem,e;:ouldn't we What word of le::sdom can we give them their need? What exarrrla to follo\•/ tee ;•3 we show the•,)? Though the steps we take may be s: ell, we shod work hard i'or the betters. at of others as long as 1..,te live. We hope for and try to ilsure a better' and brighter future for /oung people, though we have many }roblems to be :elved. (M1CHIKO 1Co:: .AMURA, Mecuro, Tokyo) The Japai've;e school system of 6- was patterned after tinAmerican c;le after the S'ee-ricl World 131a:-. I don't t Th that this sy.:tem itself is bad. How- er, the existin. :ystem is impaired by entrance examim-: fr.es. Students tend to study only subjee e: that are for entranc:,) exams. a result, a-„?.:,.:!nese istoy is naglec.:-A has becr::-r.a an ::o rd subject. !?_) -dents don't have 3"!.c.ly the his'u.,-y own c&_.;ntry "DAILY WORD" ECHOES I think this is one of the worst as- pects of the present school education system. Without the study of Japanese history, how can Japanese students know about their own ancestors? They don't know where their ancestors .came from, what kind of people they were, what they did to make their living, what kind of culture they had, how they estab- lished their state, how they influenced other countries or how they were influ- enced by theM, their place in present world history and so on. If they don't know their ancestors, they don't know themselves. They have no identity. They are like ..obodies or floating leaves that have no a:iots. A of the feelings of Japanese toward Koreans and of Koreans toward Japanese was conducted several months ago which made clear that there was a great between these two countries. Young 1