In the United States, however, we labor under a great parenting deficit. Millions of parents now work outside the household, are often absent when their young children come home, and at the end of the day, parents often are too exhausted physically and psychologically to educate. Only a small part of the parenting deficit has been assumed by grandparents, child-care centers, and the like. The result is that youngsters begin primary school psychologically undeveloped. Primary schools hence must assume more of this task than in the past.
Parents are absent all year long, and kids can be taught nearly any of that time.
Japanese students spend about 60 more days in school each year than American kids, not to mention the intensive study camps many Japanese attend in the summer. Beyond reallocating our educational resources, the entire intraschool structure must be redesigned. We have a strong tendency to think about school reforms in terms of redesigned curriculum. But schools also are a place youngsters undergo a set of critical, formative experiences. And if school assignments are boring, meaningless or arbitrarily graded, students' motivation to learn will be low.