Compare And Contrast Japanese Education And American Education

A Comparison of Education
The United States versus Japan

In 1947 the Japanese took a page from the American education system and implemented the style of 6-3-3 classroom division (Angela Bartlett). Therefore the Japanese children attended six years of elementary school followed by three years of junior high and three years of senior high school. The major difference comes between the two systems in the area of study disciplines, students’ having a clearer direction earlier, motivation and structured learning environment to name a few, giving the Japanese children a marked advantage above the American children. Early on in the Japanese system the children remain required and encouraged to learn additional sciences, languages and math,
making the later years of learning intensely difficult concepts easier for the students.
This move has allowed the Japanese people to move ahead of the majority of countries in the areas of research and development in Medicine and Technology and Finance faster than American students. Academic achievement stays a high priority for the students in Japan at a greatly significant rate than those students studying in America, and from an earlier age. This has a profound impact on the knowledge imparted in the Japanese school system. Thus the attitude of Americans that as a culture our citizens are high-quality than the rest needs to be reevaluated, humbling ourselves to the fact that Americans certainly fall severely behind in teaching our children what they need to survive in the world today (Kim). The American Education system needs a major renovation or our students will continue to lose ground in every aspect of our existence. Currently the Japanese government happens to be re-evaluating the education system that they adopted from America after WWII, looking to incorporate the compulsory four year college degree program into the scheme of their educational outlook. Organizing this will place the Japanese at a level
that the system here in the United States must aspire to work towards. One of the differences between the Japanese and American systems of education is that the American lack a comprehensive arrangement and the Japanese abide by the compulsory and comprehensive styles of study. In a comprehensive tract the students test over a much larger area of study, whereas a compulsory tract breaks the areas into smaller parts allowing for a much superior degree of absorption of the materials. Another aspect that stands missing in the American school systems happens to be the lack of encouragement of the imagination, without challenging a child’s mind beyond the standardized test scores, children are losing the ability to reflect outside of the box at an earlier age (Williams). With the Japanese children being presented with the opportunities to engage in science projects at an earlier age this affords them the ability to learn by trial and error to a much vaster degree than the American students. The resourcefulness, vision and creativity requires the reinvestment of our resources in the education system that educators subscribe to now. Until that time comes Americans will be stagnant in our knowledge and the production of quality scholars that this country once delivered to the world after graduation. Japanese culture also plays a role in the education system to the degree that it gives the students a prodigious pride in accomplishments throughout the formative years.
The Japanese education system is built on Confucianism and its disciplines, creating a pronounced commitment to learning at an earlier stage of life (Yamanaka). Hence the students in Japan are also taught academics accompanied by morality and character in the work they complete (Jackie Cooke). The lack of an interrelated American culture is having a detrimental effect, the pride in ourselves on individuality, but that pride is arrogance and the individualism has created a divide that is becoming wider as evidenced by our educational systems. Yet another structural difference between the two educational disciplines is in who organizes the curriculum that is prescribed for each country. The government in Japan has an appointed panel identified as the Ministry of Education that develops and administers a national curriculum. Whereas in the United States, each state builds their own syllabus and how it is administered and tested. Lacking cohesiveness throughout the entire nation has specific children excelling in a number of areas of the country, while others are falling further behind-both the nation and the world in education. Once studies prepared on other nation’s education systems the United States needs to implement a statelier interconnected method of instruction and testing of our students.
Americans invest millions of dollars into the study of this area and subsequently fall short of capitalizing on the knowledge that is learned. The sheer lack of follow through is costing our students, economy and nation the ability to draw out the intelligence of our youth today. Until parents, legislators and citizens stand up and exercise their rights and needs to occur to return this nation to its status of distinction that Americans cling to, the United States will continue to fall further behind countries such as Japan, for example. One last and greatest difference between the Japanese and American educational system is the enrollment, participation and graduation rates. In the United States the dropout rate by the age of 16 stands at around 20 percent across the board, for all races in 2010 (United Health Foundation). Thus the Japanese dropout rate reported for the same time period registers at approximately two percent (Abe). Concentration on lessening the dropout rate in America will allow the US to recruit the minds that have been left by the wayside and open up the current talent pool. Employing some of the methods employed by the Japanese government will aid America in restoring its citizens to the distinction that was once enjoyed here. No system is perfect, but if America consolidates its resources and employs a standardized curriculum modeled after Japan, our children will benefit across the nation. Even though I went to the same school from beginning to finish, I remain incredibly disillusioned with the education that I received. I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, graduating from High School in 1980. Although the school that I attended was not a deficient school, but it left a lot to be desired. Never having been pushed to learn more math, science and English past a certain year, for generally the girls is a great detriment. By the time that I hit the 10th grade the counselors let it be established that I had finished everything that I was required to in those areas, so throughout the final years my concentration in DECA, which gave myself several more credit hours than average classes. Therefore, by the time that my senior year rolled around I was allowed to leave school to de fragment for work by 10:15 a.m., receiving additional credits for my working a paid job. My employer was required to fill out an actual grade form for my teachers which was incorporated into the classroom grade. The saddest part of my entire High School experience is that I was not pushed harder to learn more while my mind was still malleable. As for my home life, it was non-existent from a very early age, so there was no encouragement from that area of life either. Although I passed and graduated, the experience should have been much more educational than it ended up, and I may have been able to attempt more with my life at a much earlier age. That is why I encouraged my own children to learn as much out of their own school experience as they possibly could, and to set out and continue their education beyond the walls of the schools. My son is the only one to think twice to this advice and entered the Middle College, and College after graduation.