Equality...?

So I will take you back to a few months back when I first arrived in Japan. But first, my day today. It's a Monday...but I was surprisingly not as tired as I thought I would be! I went to bed pretty late last night...but I guess I got quite a bit of sleep on the train ride back from Tokyo yesterday. So I know that helped and I snuck in an afternoon nap. Today was a day back at the middle school. Lucky for me, the 3rd grade classes were canceled. 3A had a test during 1st period (which is normally English class) and 3B's class was switched to Home Economics. So that left me with only 1A and 2B...meaning only 2 classes for today! Woohoo! So it wasn't so bad. I have also been recently practicing piano again. I decided that I want to conquer Debussy's Clair de Lune. It's one of his most famous pieces and I'm sure that if anyone heard it, they would recognize at least bits and pieces of it.

Anyway, back to my original thought of the day...equality. So a few months ago, I was in a long and heated discussion with the teachers at my school about how American and Japanese education are much different. The main difference is that in America, kids are able to fail a grade and be held back...meaning they have to redo that grade. The teachers in Japan were in absolute shock of that, because in Japan, no matter how poorly a student does on tests or homework (which doesn't exist), they will automatically advance to the next grade so that everyone is in the same class still. They have the mentality that everyone moves together, because it's one big team. Everyone is equal and everyone must help each other out. No one is left behind and no one is considered "better" than somebody else as a result. While I think this is an ideal thought, and would be great if it were true, I do not believe in this idea. I guess it's because I grew up in America where things are opposite and so I'm biased toward that thought.

While I think that it's true we are all humans, people are better at different things and we all have different talents. As well, we all have to try hard in order to get to the next level, which is how American education works. I feel that in Japan's elementary and middle schools the students can get away with not studying at all, and are still rewarded for it. They don't have homework and are not held liable to those projects which I remember working delicately on during my school years back in the States. So back to the scenario where all the teachers were in shock to hear that in America, students can be held back. They were even more shocked by the news that the classes in America are split into different levels for the students. To them, having a "Basic", "Intermediate", and "Advanced" class level for different subjects was a very big surprise and they could not believe it. I guess it's because the parents of those students would be ashamed if their child was in a lower class for math or science. I explained to them that most students know and understand what level they are in. It's also good because that way the whole class can move at a pace which is reasonable for everyone without having to accommodate for a wide spread of students at different levels.

So while they were surprised at all this news a few months ago, I was talking with the same teacher again today about English class. There was a speech presentation last week and the students rated themselves on their performance. There were many students who thought that they didn't do as well as they could have...of course most people will be harsh critics on their own performance. In talking with the teacher, she said that it's difficult for some students because they might be slower in learning English or they don't feel as confident as some of the others....and in turn it's a problem because of the widespread of ability. She went on to talk about that it can get boring for the faster students if we slow down the material for the ones who don't understand as quickly, and that it's a problem for the slower learners if we move too quickly because then they won't understand and will fall behind. She was explaining that it is a problem in the classroom and it's hard to manage the widespread abilities....which brings me back to the point that I had referred to earlier when I was talking with her a few months ago.

That's exactly why we have different levels in the schools in America so that this issue won't arise! There are different levels for a good reason! I thought it was ironic and interesting...a few months ago she was in complete shock to hear about the different levels, and then today she went on to say that it's difficult to teach the widespread level in one class and to manage all of that. Then she went on to explain how it works for getting in to high schools. I was asking about high school entrance exams and she was telling me that the students will go to different high schools based on their exam scores. So the students who perform better will be eligible to go to certain high schools, ensuring that the top students go to the top high schools, and lower performers go to average or less than average high schools. In some lower high schools, it is already known that those students will not go to college or they won't be able to because that high school is not reputable.

So wait, the Japanese teachers were in complete shock to hear that in America, classes are divided into different levels based on students learning abilities and how smart they are. Yet, in Japan, they do the exact same thing, just at a later level and in a slightly different fashion. To me, it sounds like they are doing the same thing because they are accumulating the smarter people in smarter high schools, while those that don't do as well academically go to lower high schools. The irony and the frustration! This situation doesn't surprise me, as it should be according to this fashion. Normally, smarter people will be able to have a better opportunity to get better education and be able to further themselves both in school and in life. But the thing that frustrates me is that the teachers were so shocked by the concept, yet it happens in Japan just the same.

Anyway, enough ranting, I'm glad that I learned something new today and hopefully at some point may be able to kindly help the teachers understand that the same thing happens in Japanese education...students are separated into different levels for education, no matter how equal everyone may be!