“The Irony of Modern Japanese Education”

同志社国際高等学校２年

畠瀬葵

Globalization is said to have accelerated considerably since the events of the last
World War.

Thanks to the advances in areas such as transportation, communication andtechnology, companies are now competing in a broader, interdependent market, and people
can contact others all over the world instantly. In a sense, things are changing so quickly
that the whole of society is struggling to keep up; and a major issue arising from thissocial transformation is its impact on cultural and national identity.
faces us daily is: Is Japan headed in the right direction?

The question that

Knowingly or unknowingly, weall tend to look to the government and the media for solutions to our problems.

Buttruly, shouldn’t we be the ones answering these questions?
Having been born and raised in England until the age of 6, moving to Japan was afrightening but exciting experience.

Like most returnees in Doshisha, I had attended ancultures while growing up.

英語

ethnically diverse school overseas, and I was therefore exposed to a wide variety ofI believe this background helped me develop a multiculturalIt wasfrom this perspective that I gradually began to see the contradictions present in thiscountry’s society.
During summer break, I participated in a program that was aimed toward students
who were interested in experiencing work at welfare facilities.

After finishing our three-day work experience, we were gathered to share and discuss our opinions and thoughts
on what we’d learnt during that period.

But as soon as the discussion started, everyone

fell silent as if they didn’t know whether it was okay to speak with one another.
Honestly, I was a little surprised; I was used to seeing Japanese students being hesitant,but not to that extent. I’m a rather reserved individual myself, but at that time I actually
took on the role of the discussion leader (mainly because I just couldn’t stand the silence).
It was the first time I’d ever done something proactive as that, and it convinced me thatanybody could become an assertive leader, given the right circumstances.
Back in my international school, someone always had something to say, and themajority of students were actively speaking up during class.

This may be because wewere a small, tightly knit class, but I believe this was also due to us being repeatedly
taught to respect each other’s opinions.

And thinking back, it was perhaps natural that I

was confused by some of Japan’s customs, having grown up in such an environment.

Soseeing those unsure students during the social welfare program made me realize how
Japanese students were not used to expressing themselves in front of others―especially－高校生

understanding, something which allowed me to see things differently from others.

strangers.

I believe one the main reasons for this is that Japanese students simply havefewer opportunities to discuss their opinions in comparison to their western counterparts.
But thankfully, this trend seems to be changing recently as our country is hosting a lot of
educational programs that are discussion oriented.

There’s a definite need for us

Japanese to step out of our comfort zone and overcome our shyness to succeed in thisglobal era, and we must put all of our efforts into achieving that goal.
All returnees face a certain problem when coming to Japan―identity crisis.
Returnees will often hide their differences to assimilate into mainstream society to counter
this, and leave their unique cultural backgrounds behind.

And being a returnee student

myself, I cannot help but feel that this is a huge waste.

One thing that I love about

Doshisha is the diversity of its students; we have a large returnee population from allaround the world, and that is what sets us apart from other schools.
we’re not using this to our fullest advantage.

However, I feel thatI suggest we hold programs and events inwhich all of our students are encouraged to exchange and share their opinions, so that we
can create a more welcoming and positive atmosphere at our school.

This way, I believe

returnee and non-returnee students would come to understand each other more, and learn
to embrace their differences.
A few months ago, a friend of mine who had been attending a Japanese school inSingapore transferred to our school.

英語other subjects, there were no “correct answers” to a test, and she had the freedom to高校生－She said she enjoyed Japanese because unlike mostwas one of my favorite subjects as well, but over here things worked differently; students

generate her own thoughts and opinions.

And frankly, I was envious of her.

Japanesewere expected to memorize what their teachers had taught them in class, and coming up
with personal interpretations was unthinkable.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that

she’d just entered a whole new education system that neglected creativity; and certainly
enough, I ended up scoring higher than her on the test.
What is the point of reading a story or an essay if you aren’t allowed to interpretit yourself?

It seems to me that Japanese students spend too much of their time

cramming information into their heads, and not enough time on the output of that
information.

I’ve come to think that it’s not just that Western education promotes

creativity, but more that Japanese education stifles creativity.

Our education system puts

too much emphasis on a student’s grades, and not much on the value of education.
I know a childhood friend who went to art school to pursue filmmaking; he won anaward for his stop-motion animation and was also invited to study abroad in England bya famous film director.

My friend wasn’t exactly an academically gifted individual to

begin with―rather the opposite; but he found his life’s calling and is successfully living
up to his potential right now.

Watching him fulfill his dream made me think that we all

have some sort of potential within us that cannot be measured by our grades.
We live in the Information Age, an era where new ideas and innovations valued
above everything else―how on earth can Japan compete on a global scale if we keep on
killing our creativity like this?

Each and every one of us is born with our own uniqueabilities, and education is meant to help students discover and develop those qualities, notsquash them. Therefore, it is essential for us to review our teaching and learning process,and facilitate change in our education system if it is not functioning properly.

Of course,

systematic change is no easy task; but by doing so Japan will certainly make a great step
forward.

The future of our country rests in our hands, and it is ultimately up to us

whether we wish for that change or not.

英語高校生－