kokusu
後輩
- 5 Oct 2004
- 79
- 8
- 18
I have read and studied that getting into the right school in Japan can have a huge impact on one's life, including but not limited to career options, employment pay scale, social networks, and even marriage prospects.
In the case of college, acceptance and eligibility is determined through entrance examinations given once a year. In the cases of pre-school, elementary, junior high, and high school, I have learned that eligibility is determined via interviews, tests, and previous academic performance (except in the case of pre-school, of course).
Given that which educational institution one attends has such weighty consequences regarding one's life, it is no wonder that competition is stiff to get into the more prestigious of schools. This has led to a critique of the Japanese education system both from within and from outside Japan as being too stressful on students and families (watch the Japanese movie called the "Family Game" for a darkly humorous take on the pressures of Japanese education) and also for being concerned more with image and test scores than actual quality of education.
However, I tend to think that their are similar conditions existing within the U.S. education system that are often just as strenuous if less formalized and openly supported. For example, I wonder what would happen if you compared the overall quality of life for a minority student graduating from a public high school in the Bronx versus a student graduating from a private prepratory school in say the Hamptons. Do you think that the opportunities in life facing those students are based totally and simply on their academic merit?
Which brings me to the real question(s):
1) Which do you think is better - the Japanese system of education where a competitive rat race is openly acknowledged and accepted and compensated for, or the U.S. system of education where the entire system tries to stuggle for an equality that does not nor has ever truly existed?
2) Which education system did you go through, be it U.S., Japan, or other? Did you find your education to fit the general descriptions above, or was it something wholly different?
3) Do you think the U.S. and Japanese educational systems are about equal in strengths and weaknesses, or is one better than the other? What is the reasoning for your opinion?
In the case of college, acceptance and eligibility is determined through entrance examinations given once a year. In the cases of pre-school, elementary, junior high, and high school, I have learned that eligibility is determined via interviews, tests, and previous academic performance (except in the case of pre-school, of course).
Given that which educational institution one attends has such weighty consequences regarding one's life, it is no wonder that competition is stiff to get into the more prestigious of schools. This has led to a critique of the Japanese education system both from within and from outside Japan as being too stressful on students and families (watch the Japanese movie called the "Family Game" for a darkly humorous take on the pressures of Japanese education) and also for being concerned more with image and test scores than actual quality of education.
However, I tend to think that their are similar conditions existing within the U.S. education system that are often just as strenuous if less formalized and openly supported. For example, I wonder what would happen if you compared the overall quality of life for a minority student graduating from a public high school in the Bronx versus a student graduating from a private prepratory school in say the Hamptons. Do you think that the opportunities in life facing those students are based totally and simply on their academic merit?
Which brings me to the real question(s):
1) Which do you think is better - the Japanese system of education where a competitive rat race is openly acknowledged and accepted and compensated for, or the U.S. system of education where the entire system tries to stuggle for an equality that does not nor has ever truly existed?
2) Which education system did you go through, be it U.S., Japan, or other? Did you find your education to fit the general descriptions above, or was it something wholly different?
3) Do you think the U.S. and Japanese educational systems are about equal in strengths and weaknesses, or is one better than the other? What is the reasoning for your opinion?