Emoni
先輩
- 20 Sep 2003
- 1,779
- 67
I'm posing this question to you all here as I've found the quality of the posters has really gone up the last few years here and I've found some awfully good comments and topics lately on the board.
For those who have studied in Japan we've seen at the very least major issues with the college system. Students sleeping in class, not really studying anywhere near the level of a typical American college student, and generally not quite matching the scale of an American University. I'm talking in generalizations here, as I also know Japanese students in college who study way more than some Americans as well. (Plus, it isn't considering the entrance exams which are a whole issue in and of itself, and other situations for grad school prep)
Many of us I assume have seen the specials about Japan trying to teach "creativity" in schools and using more western based teaching methods. Universities such as Waseda have opened up certain departments which are radically different than previous college departments in that they are more interdisciplinary as well as use new teaching methods.
Is it really "creativity" that is a major problem with Japanese education, or even education in Asia in general? I've come to wonder if it isn't creativity, but actually critical thinking skills.
I've seen many classes taught in Japan (including in China and South Korea which tend to be similar in many ways), I've read the books, I've taken the college classes (the regular Japanese ones, not just international student sectioned off ones), and the method and focus of classes is pretty much: here is the material memorize and know this. Once again, this is speaking in generalizations, and of course America shares this to some degree as well. However, I do want to point out that there seems to be a much stronger focus on critical thinking skills in United States colleges than Japanese ones.
With the linear teaching methods, one track history, rigid system, and overall opposition to uniqueness and "contrary thought," this almost creates a environment that punishes those who consider thinking and evaluating information rather than simply absorbing information.
What are your thoughts on this? Yes, this has some strong generalizations here and I'm posting late in the morning, but I'm curious as to how you all might view this aspect of Japanese education.
(Glenski posted this link below. I wanted to include it at the top as it covers exactly the sort of questions that this thread relates to: http://www.chss.montclair.edu/inquir.../davidson.html) [in the event of failure, try this ]
For those who have studied in Japan we've seen at the very least major issues with the college system. Students sleeping in class, not really studying anywhere near the level of a typical American college student, and generally not quite matching the scale of an American University. I'm talking in generalizations here, as I also know Japanese students in college who study way more than some Americans as well. (Plus, it isn't considering the entrance exams which are a whole issue in and of itself, and other situations for grad school prep)
Many of us I assume have seen the specials about Japan trying to teach "creativity" in schools and using more western based teaching methods. Universities such as Waseda have opened up certain departments which are radically different than previous college departments in that they are more interdisciplinary as well as use new teaching methods.
Is it really "creativity" that is a major problem with Japanese education, or even education in Asia in general? I've come to wonder if it isn't creativity, but actually critical thinking skills.
I've seen many classes taught in Japan (including in China and South Korea which tend to be similar in many ways), I've read the books, I've taken the college classes (the regular Japanese ones, not just international student sectioned off ones), and the method and focus of classes is pretty much: here is the material memorize and know this. Once again, this is speaking in generalizations, and of course America shares this to some degree as well. However, I do want to point out that there seems to be a much stronger focus on critical thinking skills in United States colleges than Japanese ones.
With the linear teaching methods, one track history, rigid system, and overall opposition to uniqueness and "contrary thought," this almost creates a environment that punishes those who consider thinking and evaluating information rather than simply absorbing information.
What are your thoughts on this? Yes, this has some strong generalizations here and I'm posting late in the morning, but I'm curious as to how you all might view this aspect of Japanese education.
(Glenski posted this link below. I wanted to include it at the top as it covers exactly the sort of questions that this thread relates to: http://www.chss.montclair.edu/inquir.../davidson.html) [in the event of failure, try this ]
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