Evening star., 1903-09-07
EDUCATION IN JAPAN.
Comparison Between Ancient and
Modern School Control.
From Harper's Weekly.

From Harper's Weekly.
If you can imagine long room in long
house with thatched roof, dark plastered
walls, broad doorways closed with paper
covered latticed frames which slide IN
grooves, bare floors covered with perfect
fitting straw mats, some tiny tables one by
two feet in size and eight inches hight
you can imagine this. then you can conceive
of an ancient school room in Japan
Again, If you can imagine a patriarchal
old gentleman. with sparse beard, a head
half bald, small twig of hair turned back
on the top of his head, then seated on a
little cushion behind one of the tiny tables
on which is fiat stone inkstand a manu-
script school book and a long bamboo pen
Gill; at one end Of which is a ne-pointed
brush for writing; then think of some tiny
children-a half dozen probably-the boys
heads shaved, except for a circular bunch
of hair exactly at the crown, the girls with
long tassels of straight black hair hanging
in front of each ear. all dressed In little
flowing garments with sleeves like the
wings of birds-these children sitting be-
hind other little tables, their brushes in
hand, and writing, from the teachers die
tation, strange-shaped characters on coarse
pybooks-imagine this, and you have an
ancient Japanese school in session. both
teacher and pupils sitting upon the floor
The never went beyond reading and
counting upon the soro-ban (abacus).
Things have changed now. The old has
utterly passed away A most efficient edu-
cational system, western in theory and
practice, is now in full operation through
out Japan. Commodious common school
houses and imposing college and university
buildings are dotted all over the country.
A thoroughly graded system operates from
the primary school to the imperial univer-
sity, which ranks with the highest Ameri-
can institutions. The official or government
schools are worked out to cover the whole
! field of education except the religious fea-
ture, and this they are endeavoring to sup
ply by an eclectic system of morality, both
oriental and occidental.
Besides the regular course which extends
from the common school through the high
common school, the middle school, the high
school, to the university. there are govern
ment technical schools for every branch Of
trade and the professons-commerciaI
army, navy, agriculture. textile, mechanics,
law, medicine, normal. language. etc.
The government maintains a special
school for the teaching of every modern
language of importance-English, French,
German, Russian. Spanish, Italian, Chinese
and Corean. But the English language
precedes all other languages, and 1t is max
ing such rapid progress that 1t is destined
to become the spoken language of the ma
ton.
One serious criticism against Japan's edu-
cational system Is that 1t discourages pri-
vate schools. Pupils or private schools Of
equal grade and efficiency with the govern
ment schools cannot pass on to the upper
official schools with the same facility as
pupils of the government schools When
we remember that the government schools
are not free schools. and that many excel
lent private schools supported by foreign
capital give students an education practi-
cally free, this discrimination of the gov
ment would seem unwfse, and 1t Is likely to
be corrected in the near future,
The American nation should be especially
proud of Japan's educational record. since
it Is from America that Japan has taken
her lessons in western learning.