Customer Reviews

The Japanese Educational Challenge: a Commitment To Children

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I work in Japan, in a Japanese high school. I've only been here for a year and a half. I bought this book because it was recommended very highly to me. I was NOT impressed with it. The author -- "Merry White" -- it almost sounds like a gag, once you're acquainted with her perspective -- waxes enthusiastic about the system here to no end, talking about how devoted everyone is in Japan to producing perfect little studiers. The book proceeds from a faulty premise -- that because Japanese students score very high on tests worldwide, they're actually in some way better prepared for life by their schools than are kids in western institutions. This isn't the case. As Karel van Wolferen, a much more insightful observer/critic of Japanese society has noted, in his ENIGMA OF JAPANESE POWER, it really isn't so surprising that Japanese students should get good results on tests, since it's one of the prime things they're trained to do in school. They AREN'T, however, asked to do much creative or critical thinking, and generally aren't asked to take initiative for their own learning. They're trained to remain dependent on the system and their teachers, and to fit in with the group at all costs. White DOES deal with these things a bit, and makes mentions of problems such as bullying (ijime), but I thought the whole book generally far too gushy and positive, belonging to a time when America was looking at Japan, at the height of the bubble economy, and either worrying or fantasizing about the place. Neither perspective seems particularly useful now; nor does this book. Maybe the (by no means first-rate) school I'm working at has something to do with my not being so impressed by White's writing, but, well... my perspective is the only one I can see from, at present. It's understandable, given the conditions in American highschools, that educators should look to Japan in hope of finding different ideas about teaching, but there's quite a danger that such a bias will taint ones observations, make everything seem far rosier than it is. I think Merry White's book is guilty of this...

I have been curious about the Japanese educational system ever since I began teaching in 1985, two years before this book was written. White's book contains lots of useful answers to many of the questions that Americans might have about the Japanese system. White begins by examining the differences in Japanese/American family structure and values. The family is actually the key to the whole educational process in Japan. The reader will run across many other interesting differences between the two education systems. The book is not, however, a "which system is better, theirs or ours?" study, although systems are compared and contrasted. The study shows us how and why the Japanese get the results they get. The Japanese parents, however, will be the first to tell you that the system is far from perfect. Would their system work in America? Would the adoption of Japanese methods at least improve our system? Read and decide for yourself. A very interesting study.

I have been fascinated by Japanese culture and people for quite a while now, but it was not until I read this book that I felt I could understand what makes the Japanese tick as a society, that they produce such a form of culture, commerce, and attitude. Seeing how they are formed as chilren and the environment they live in explains what they later go on to value and create. I sense that White intended to relay as factually and accurately as possible how child-rearing is done in Japan; I don't sense that she tried to make Japan's education out to be more than it is. This is only one person's perspective, but there is enough unbiased information here to come to quite an understanding of one's own. Through her book I discovered some really wonderful concepts the Japanese have perfected, and others I view with deep skepticism, which are nonetheless revealing. Too many insights can be gleaned that I should single just one out- the whole picture she presents is what is really important, insasmuch as there are dozens of little nuggets. I laud Ms. White highly for this book- it doesn't contain everything, but what it does contain rings true.

If you are interested in education, read Merry White's bookabout Japanese education. After reading it, I had a betterunderstanding of how present-day problems are affecting an educational system that has been so greatly influenced by its peoples' history and culture. The issues and problems are covered in great detail. The book is well written and is easily read.