Japan vs. America

As you can see from the title of this post, this is going to be about the Japanese education system vs. the American education system. As you know from my current posts I don't find the American education system to be very effective.

     America has a dropout rate currently at 50% and is ranked 12th most educated country in the world. Violence is high in school and students tend to lack a lot of respect for their teachers. Currently here in America we also have a 2 1/2 month break during the summer time. Because of this most students actually forget most of what they learned during the time they were gone and this has a negative effect on the students. One last thing about our system is that students tend to be held back from responsibilities such as running their own clubs or cleaning up the classroom when the day is over.

     Japan, however, is much different in comparison. In Japan the current dropout rate is just a meager 2% and is ranked within the top 5 in the world in education. There is little to no violence in their school system whatsoever and a mutual respect is shared between both the students and the teachers. In Japan multiple breaks are spread throughout the year so that students do not forget what they learned over their summer vacation and they graduate to the next grade during the spring of the next year and continue going to school as if nothing had happened at all. Also, unlike our school system they have a 3-6-3-3 grade level system. 3 years in kindergarten, 6 years in elementary, 3 years in Junior High School, and a final 3 in Senior High School. In Japan the students will stay in their class for all of the days and instead have the teachers switch to different classrooms (With the exception that they have a class which they cannot do in that classroom such as sports). After all classes are over in the day the students will clean up the classroom and then they will be permitted to leave for home.

     I believe that if we implemented the Japanese school system with just the same form as Japan that the rate of education in America would quickly rise to be within the top 10 or possibly top 5 most educated countries in the world. Though it could possibly take years for America to change its educational system and work out kinks, I do believe that it would be for the better in concern for the future children of America.

The Interview

     Yesterday I had interviews a friend of mine named Danielle on the school system and what she thinks of it. She did speak with profanity, so I will have to rephrase what she said to keep from language as I don't find it would be appropriate as this is read by a teacher.

Myself - What do you think of the current school systems?

Danielle - I think they're all a big pile of crap. They care about themselves more than they do about us.
Myself - Hmm.. Interesting. Is there anything you dislike the most?

Danielle - It would probably be the lunches I dislike the most. I can't eat that stuff without feeling sick to my stomach and I'd rather starve than eat that stuff.

Myself - I don't think it's that bad, but I do agree that most of the time it tastes mediocre. Alright; now for the next question. If you could, what would you change?

Danielle - Everything. I would change it so the other students would actually have a chance to apply themselves in school instead of sitting around being bored because of some lousy teacher lecturing students on something they'll most likely never use in their life.

Myself - Hah; Agreed there. I think most of our teachers really don't understand us very well. So now, what do you think of the current teach-to-the-test standards?

Danielle - Huh? What's that?

Myself - It's how the teachers only teach you a chapter at a time so you'll be able to take a test and know all the answers

Danielle - Umm... It seems pretty stupid. Instead of doing that they could just teacher us things worthwhile that we're actually going to use instead of learning something unneeded.

Myself - Eh, I don't mind it. Tests are usually my excuse to sleep in class because I finish them pretty quickly. Alright, last question; Did you know that they clean the desks only once a semester?

Danielle - Ew; that's nasty. It's no wonder so many people are always sick. They should really do something about that.

Myself - I think so too. When one person at school gets sick we all get sick. It's really nasty.

Student Issues

      I'm making this post about yet another opinion on the school system. I believe that the school system is deteriorating and that students are quickly losing all interest in school whatsoever. I find myself in class these days with a blank expression on my face, half-awake in class with drool flooding out of my mouth because I'm to bored to even close my mouth. I don't think it's only me with this problem, as I find that most other students have the same faces and expressions as I do when I'm listening to a teacher ramble on about some nonsense they'll be teaching 2nd graders in 10 years time.

     Both myself and my fellow students seem to have the same opinions about the school systems; that they do not teach us well enough and give us meaningless material which will not benefit us in life. I've talked with plenty of students over the 3 years I've been in high school and all of them seem to have the same idea that school is pretty much like a jail, but with worse food. If anybody can change their opinions on this matter I think it would have to be another student or them by themselves.

     School has quickly become dull and with less excitement students feel they have no motive to learn, causing them to drag behind and become mellow and underachievers. I really think that the school system should really stand up and take a part in the system which they decided to create for our learning experience. Then again, what would happen if no students were motivated enough to do anything and the school system rotted altogether? We would have a new school system them and definitely some changes....

What do you feel?

     I want all of your opinions on the subject. Good bad, neutral, hatred, or love; it doesn't really matter. My personal opinion on this subject is that the school systems are, right now, outrageously  out of shape compared to what they should be. Students are failing left and right, I know plenty of dropouts, and grades can slip very easily due to teachers who don't seem to grade things students do good on.

     If schools were in shape right now students would be on par with those of both  Japan and India and we could easily be #1-3 in the field of education, but as of right now we're #11. Our country is quickly becoming lethargic and lazy as well as the average student becoming less intellectual compared to the average foreign student in most well-developed countries. I say it's time we step up to bat and make a large change to our school systems now.

     Just as annoying to me there is failure and dropouts everywhere these days. Two of my best friends both dropped out in 9th grade and another in 10th grade, so I've come to be incredibly annoyed with the schools as I know that both of my friends were incredibly intelligent, though the school system seems to think otherwise as they both were branded as bad students for their low performance.

     Next we have teachers who don't grade properly. I currently do have a teacher (Names shall not be spoken), who does not grade the work that students do painstakingly and manage to usually get all the answers right. (If you're wondering, the students grade each other's work, though none of us actually get a grade for it....) This annoys me heavily because it implies that both I'm able to do the work in this class, but I fail the class due to some minor assignments that are made incredibly hard to finish. It seems to me like they're purposely trying to make us fail...

Well, that's all I have to say for now, so I hope you felt what I feel through this rant. It feels good the vent everywhere once in a while ^.^