I learned Japanese schools and American schools have differing views on how ability and effort affect in school and society. In Japan effort is seen as more important and academic fate relies directly on the amount of work students dedicate to their studies. Japanese parents not only encourage their children to learn from an early age,but they also instill the concept that a good education is the basis for their success in life. In the US ability or potential is seen as an important factor for success in school and in society. Japanese students see a long term value in trying hard so they are motivated by intrinsic motivation. American students often need extrinsic rewards to be motivated to study ... so that the rewards make the risk of failure worth the effort. American homework is often practice of what is learned in class and recently, studies show that there is no academic benefit to homework. When n American student doesn't succeed often they often find blame on circumstances beyond their control. I thought it is interesting.
I heard there is a nationalized education system in Japan to make sure that every student receives the same education. In the US each state determines the education standards ... and the school districts chose the curriculum. The number of resources available to each state and to each school district varies, so that students across the country get different qualities of education. In Japan, school choice is determined by entrance exams. In the United States choices are given to parents; and the choice is based on the perceived need/ ability / interest of
the children. In Minnesota, parents can chose "open enrollment" to enroll their student in a public school in a different district than the district where they live and pay taxes. Many schools districts offer magnet schools that may specialize in the arts, science, technology or languages. In addition to private schools parents may choose to home school their children or send them to a charter school.
Another difference between Japanese and American schools is simply the amount of time spent in class. Japanese students spend 240 days a year in school ... 60 more days than American students don't have school on Saturdays while in Japan there is 1/2 day of school on Saturday. According to some estimates, in 13 years of schooling, Japanese students are in school almost an additional year. Japanese students have more advantages in practice, repetition and breadth of knowledge. In the US many students may lose skills over the long summer break.
Americans spend more money per child on education, but that money goes to food, transportation, athletics and custodians. In the Us the students come to school by bus paid for by the school district, while in Japan the students walk or use public transportation. The students also clean the classroom at the end of the day in Japan, while in the US there is a custodian. Almost 40% of US curricula is devoted to non academic studies. In the U. S. extracurricular activities are considered an asset on a college application, while such activities are seen as a hindrance to passing entrance exams in Japan. Many American students participate in sports and take music lessons starting at a young age. Students may also be involved in scouts, attend church events and volunteer. Japanese students may attend cram school or spend hours on homework. I learned many thing at this time.
577 words
