thoughts from a week's distance
Another TGIF, the last of my promised series on my time in Japan. A week late, but more reflective than it would have been last Friday.
A week and 12 hours ago, I departed from Tokyo's Narita Airport, aboard a Boeing 777, headed for O'Hare, where I would argue with TSA about whether or not 2oz bottles of liquid had to be labeled, and then board a 727 for a very sleepy two hour flight to Providence, my home.
Every day since I've returned I've been asked how my trip was. And rarely at those moments have I had a terribly concise answer, nor do I feel any more capable of giving one now. The short, and entirely non-representative answer is to say that it was amazing. But in my life, I've described many things as amazing: learning to ride a fixed-gear bicycle; learning to build bicycle wheels; working with 15 students for all four years of high school; a dark chocolate cake with orange-infused butter cream frosting and a raspberry compote made for a friend's birthday; sex; the photos captured by my digital SLR.
I find that English falls short of providing me with terms effective for describing my reaction. It's said that the Eskimo language includes some 20 words for snow, and I know that Japanese provides easily 5 different words for tuna: language adapts to include descriptive nouns for things which are most important for a culture. Words I'd like to use for the trip make me think I should have deleted less of the new age music that I got from Charly Adler: life-changing, thought-provoking, inspirational. (Those terms also instill in me a fear of being charged with over-hypenation.)
Thinking about it now, in the hindsight of re-entry into the US, I must approach the topic in pieces. The major areas of my learning and observation were:
The Japanese Educational System
My first introduction to the Japanese educational system came while I was writing my application to the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program, last October and November. I did a bit of research on the web, and I found TIMSS results that showed Japanese students outperforming most of their international peers on standardized math tests. I read more, and found an analysis that Japanese teachers heavily favor spending classtime with students discussing and working to understand the concepts underlying the mathematics they're learning, and that there is a nearly zero interruption rate in Japanese classrooms, by either students or administrators. Needless to say, I got really excited. This sounded like a system where students were encouraged to form their own ideas, to share those ideas, and that this all happens in an orderly environment where everyone is respected and appreciated. Observing mathematics instruction in Japanese classrooms became a part of my goal for the trip, and went into my follow-on plan.
Over the summer and into the fall the Institute of International Education and also the JFMF sent me information on Japanese schools, to provide background knowledge. Compulsory education only goes through 9th grade; senior high school (years 10, 11, and 12) and optional, but attended by 97% of the population. And so on.
The third meeting with education in Japan came in Japan, on a lower level of the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo. The topic was Education Reform in Japan, but the lecture didn't fit that description very well. We heard a lot about the problems in Japanese education: kids who can't think creatively enough, kids who aren't good problem solvers, kids who rebel from the strong traditions of Japan, kids who don't value harmony the way the rest of the culture does. We heard about declining test scores, knew lots or reasons reform is needed, but heard nothing about reform, nothing about their plans or initiatives or where ideas for reform are coming from. This I found strange.
There is an idea still kicking around in my head: how did the US-led rebuilding of Japan after WWII change the Japanese educational system? It seems there are many parallels and similarities in our two countries' educational systems, both problems and strengths. Is this the result our rebuilding the infrastructure of the country? Am I wrong in my observations and deductions of the similarities? Certainly an area of research...
And at that, it's time for me to send this to be published... I'll continue writing my thoughts on my blog, and could publish them in TGIF's, if people are interested. Otherwise, find it on my blog: kipinjapan.blogspot.com.
Finally, one more thing: I owe my thanks, one more time, to the staff of Shepard who supported me and my students in making this trip possible.
Ja mata!
-キップ-
Kippu
A week and 12 hours ago, I departed from Tokyo's Narita Airport, aboard a Boeing 777, headed for O'Hare, where I would argue with TSA about whether or not 2oz bottles of liquid had to be labeled, and then board a 727 for a very sleepy two hour flight to Providence, my home.
Every day since I've returned I've been asked how my trip was. And rarely at those moments have I had a terribly concise answer, nor do I feel any more capable of giving one now. The short, and entirely non-representative answer is to say that it was amazing. But in my life, I've described many things as amazing: learning to ride a fixed-gear bicycle; learning to build bicycle wheels; working with 15 students for all four years of high school; a dark chocolate cake with orange-infused butter cream frosting and a raspberry compote made for a friend's birthday; sex; the photos captured by my digital SLR.
I find that English falls short of providing me with terms effective for describing my reaction. It's said that the Eskimo language includes some 20 words for snow, and I know that Japanese provides easily 5 different words for tuna: language adapts to include descriptive nouns for things which are most important for a culture. Words I'd like to use for the trip make me think I should have deleted less of the new age music that I got from Charly Adler: life-changing, thought-provoking, inspirational. (Those terms also instill in me a fear of being charged with over-hypenation.)
Thinking about it now, in the hindsight of re-entry into the US, I must approach the topic in pieces. The major areas of my learning and observation were:
- the Japanese educational system
- a general overview of Japanese society and culture
- digital photography workflow
- Americans being asked to work within Japanese group-think
- my future life goals and aspirations
- my personal highlights from the trip
The Japanese Educational System
My first introduction to the Japanese educational system came while I was writing my application to the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program, last October and November. I did a bit of research on the web, and I found TIMSS results that showed Japanese students outperforming most of their international peers on standardized math tests. I read more, and found an analysis that Japanese teachers heavily favor spending classtime with students discussing and working to understand the concepts underlying the mathematics they're learning, and that there is a nearly zero interruption rate in Japanese classrooms, by either students or administrators. Needless to say, I got really excited. This sounded like a system where students were encouraged to form their own ideas, to share those ideas, and that this all happens in an orderly environment where everyone is respected and appreciated. Observing mathematics instruction in Japanese classrooms became a part of my goal for the trip, and went into my follow-on plan.
Over the summer and into the fall the Institute of International Education and also the JFMF sent me information on Japanese schools, to provide background knowledge. Compulsory education only goes through 9th grade; senior high school (years 10, 11, and 12) and optional, but attended by 97% of the population. And so on.
The third meeting with education in Japan came in Japan, on a lower level of the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo. The topic was Education Reform in Japan, but the lecture didn't fit that description very well. We heard a lot about the problems in Japanese education: kids who can't think creatively enough, kids who aren't good problem solvers, kids who rebel from the strong traditions of Japan, kids who don't value harmony the way the rest of the culture does. We heard about declining test scores, knew lots or reasons reform is needed, but heard nothing about reform, nothing about their plans or initiatives or where ideas for reform are coming from. This I found strange.
There is an idea still kicking around in my head: how did the US-led rebuilding of Japan after WWII change the Japanese educational system? It seems there are many parallels and similarities in our two countries' educational systems, both problems and strengths. Is this the result our rebuilding the infrastructure of the country? Am I wrong in my observations and deductions of the similarities? Certainly an area of research...
And at that, it's time for me to send this to be published... I'll continue writing my thoughts on my blog, and could publish them in TGIF's, if people are interested. Otherwise, find it on my blog: kipinjapan.blogspot.com.
Finally, one more thing: I owe my thanks, one more time, to the staff of Shepard who supported me and my students in making this trip possible.
Ja mata!
-キップ-
Kippu
posted by kip at 09:41
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