Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-16

FUTURE DAYS.
EDUCATION IN JAPAN
Comparison Between Ancient and Mod
ern School Control.

From Harperis Weekly.
II you can imagine a long room In a long
house with matched 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 sehoolroom in Japan.
Again, IL you can imagine a patriarchal
old gentleman, with sparse beard. a head
half bald, a small twig Of hair turned back
on the top of his head. then seated on a lit
tie cushion behind one Of the tiny tables
on which Is fat stone inkStand, @ man
uscript school book and a long bamboo pen
ell, at one end of which is a fine pointed
brush for writing; then think of some tiny
children-a half dozen probably-the boys
heads shaved, except for q 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 behind
other little tables, their brushes in hand,
and writing. from the teachers dictation,
strange shaped characters on coarse copy
books-imagine this and you have an an
clent Japanese school in session, both teach
er and pupils sitting upon the floor.
They 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-
catlonal system, western in theory and
practice, is now in full operati 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 the highest American in
situations. The official or government
scnools are worked out to cover the whole
nelo OF education except the religious fea-
ture, and this they are endeayorinR to sum-
ply by an eclectic system Of morality both
oriental and occidental -
Besides the regular course which exends
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 Observation-Disclosures
army navy. agriculture, textile mechanics
law, meolclne, normal language, etc.
The government maintains a special
school for the teaching of every modern
language OF northumberland, French
German, Russian, Spanish Italian. Chinese
ana Corean: But the English language pre-
such rapid progress that 1t ia destined to be-
come the spoken language of the nation.
one serious criticism against Japan's ed
ueational system is that it discourages pri-
Vate schools Pupils of 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 practical
~ 1ree this discrimination of the govern
ment would seem unwise, and It is likely
TO De corrected in the near future.
The American nation should be especia1
~ proud OF Japan's educational record
s sltlce II IS from America that Japan has
taken her lessons in western learning,