Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-09-24
EDUCATION IN JAPAN.

If you can imagine n long room in "A
long house with matched roof, dark
plastcred wells. broad doorways closed
with papcr-covorcd latticed frames which
slide in grooves bare floors covered with
perfect fitting straw mats. some tiny
tables one Ivy two feet in size and eight
inches high,-if you can imagine this,
then YOU can conceive of an ancient
schOOl-rOom in Japan.
Again. ii you can imagine n patriarchal
old gentleman. with a sparse beard. a
head half bald, . small tvig 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
inkstaud a manuscript school-hook and Il
long bamboo pencil at one end of which
is a fne-pointed brush for writing: then
think of some tiny chldren,-a half
dozen probably-thc boys heads shaved,
except for a circular bunch of hair cx-
actlN at the crown. the girls with long
tasscls of straight black hair hanging
in front of each ear. all dressed In little
flowing garments with sleeves like the
wings Of birds-thesc children sitting he
hind other little tables. their brushes in
hand, md writing, from the teachers
diCtati1n. strange shaped characters on
coarse copy hCois.-imaginc this. and YOU
have an ancient japanese school in sos
sion, both teacher and pupils sitting upon
the floor.
Thcv never went beyond reading and
counting upon the soro-ban (abacusl
Things have changed now. The old has
utterly PASSED away. A most efficient
educational system. western in theory and
practice, is now in full operation through
out Japan. Commodous common school
houses. and imposing college and uni
VorSty buildings are dotted all over the
country. A thoroughly graded system
operates from the primary school to the
imperial university, which ranks with
the highest American institutions. The
official or government schools are worked
out to cover tho whole field of educa ton
except the religious features. and this
they are endeavoring to supply by an
eclectic system of morality, both Oriental
and Occidental.
fiesides the regular course. which cx-
tends from the common school through
the high common school, the middle
school, the high school. to the university.
there are government technical schools
for every branch of trade and the pro-
fesSions,- commercial. army. navy, agri-
culture textile. mechanics, law, medicine
normal language, etc.
The government maintains n special
school for the teaching OF every modern
language of Importance. -English, French,
German, Russian. Spanish. Italian
Chinese and Korean. But the English
language preccdes all other languaGeS
and 1t Is making such rapid progress that
it is destined to become the spoken Ian
guage of the nation.
one serious criticism against Japan's
educational system it that il disoouraSes
private schools. Pupils of private schools
of equal grade and efficiency with the
government schools cannot pass on 10 the
upper official schools with the same facil-
ity as pupils of the government schools.
When we remember that the government
schools are not free schools and that
many excellent private schools supported
by foreign capital give students AN odu-
cation practically free this dscrimina-
ton of the government would seem un-
wise. and II is likely to be corrected in
the near future.
The American nation should be eSpec-
Tally proud of Japans educational re.
cord. since it is from America that japan
has taken her lessons in Western learn
inE-Harper'S Weekly.