Issues Faced By Schools
On this page I talk about the culture of education in Japan and some of its issues along with tidbits of information. I believe that many of the problems within classrooms spawn from these greater issues. These are just my opinions and general observations.
Issue: Teacher-Student Ratios
The ratio is typically 1 teacher to 40 students in a high school classroom. Need I say more? At schools with a significant number of struggling students, extra teachers may be hired and some classes may be split into two groups so students can receive more attention.
Issue: The School System’s Responsibility to Raise Children
We’ve heard the saying that “it takes a village to raise a child.” Some people believe it’s mostly on the parents’ plates, but in Japan it’s not quite so.
One aspect of Japan that really surprised me was the burden placed upon schools to raise children and provide moral education. If a child does something wrong or illegal, authorities will contact the school first, then the parents. (I’m not so sure about the latter.) The school will then enforce punishments, even though the incident happened outside of the campus. There is a separate discipline office / committee within each high school and they enforce rules and consequences accordingly. At one of the schools I attended, teachers from the committee would sometimes ride morning trains to school with the students to make sure they’re behaving with decorum. Issue: Technology (Lack of)
Most of the high schools I visited are over a hundred years old. Although the campuses received some renovations, classrooms looked no different than they did 50 (or perhaps 100 years ago, lol). There were usually no computers, projectors, or televisions in the homeroom classes, so teachers didn’t typically use technology to supplement their lessons. Note that there ARE computer labs and technology classes on campuses.
Look at my Technology Tips for ideas on how to use technology to support teaching and learning. Reality: Changing Students
Teachers in Japan experience similar issues as American teachers when it comes to the fact that students and families are changing. The status of being a teacher is no longer as valued as it used to be, either. Divorce is on the rise and childbirth is in decline. Many families have only one child to dote upon. There are more households with single parents or both parents working. Although this is considered normal in American households, they are new changes in the Japanese family dynamics.
Then there is the change in technology that I can list on and on. The technology that children interact with will change the way they see and learn things. Despite all this, the accommodations provided within a Japanese classroom now isn’t much different from a classroom 50 years ago. What has significantly changed are the students. I think the slow change in schools to provide technological supplements is due to bureaucracy and the budget. Anyone who lives in Japan probably understands me when I say that change is usually slow and comes from the top. |
Hats Off to Japanese Schools
Reasons why I think Japanese teachers are pretty amazing:
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Reasons why most Japanese students are pretty amazing, too:
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