"The Japanese Education Ministry announced Friday that starting in 2011, they are increasing the number of class hours for elementary and junior high school kids for the first time in 40 years...
Students will now be taking an extra 10 percent of Japanese, foreign language and social studies. There will be a super-sized portion of 22% more math and 33% more science. Kids will now need to learn 1,200 English words, up from 900. Even more kanji will need to be learned. And the 30% of the content of the textbooks that was cut in 1998 will be making a heralded comeback."
You know, I've got Jr High School kids who put in a full day at school, 2-3 hours of club and sports activities, and then another 3 hours of juku/cram school everyday from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays there's more clubs and sports and 8 hours a day of cram school. I've got smart, good kids who can't stay awake in class. I've got a significant # of JR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS who have GRAY hair, for God's sake.
So, give them MORE to do? I swear, one day this country is gonna have a massive national nervous breakdown.
I love my job, and I love the kids... but the system? Jesus God Above, I wish they'd get a clue.
That seems to the the solution to many of Japan's educational problems. Academic levels falling? Give em more school! University entrance dropping? Give em more school.
ReplyDeleteSome of the problem lies with the university entrance exam, which basically tests students on their memorization skills, as opposed to the application of the education they receive.
But it can change, right? After all, the current batch of MEXT "geniuses" will retire right? I used to think so, but now I'm not so sure. Won't these people instead look for successors whose opinions match their own? Won't the successors be of that top-percentile of bookish academic kids who are out of touch with the realities of real-world practical education?
Reminds me of various grunt-based military gripes, where command doesn't know about the situation on the ground...
The big thing is... and this isn't a knock on Japan, just an observation... is that the educational system with all it's rigidity and testing and conformity is just a reflection of the culture at large.
ReplyDeleteJapan is not a hotbed of creative individualism - great article about how it's even beginning to lag technologically here - http://www.newsweek.com/id/111718
And it's language education will reflect it. It'll swing for a while to more and more grammar translation until, once again, "the country" is embarrassed by having "English experts" who can pass tests but not carry on a conversation... and then it'll swing back. Again.