1. "In contrast to the Asian practice..." (p55-56). Here, Nisbett talks about the different ways of teaching in US/Canada and China/Japan. When you were younger, in which way were you taught? How has it affected the way you are today?
2. pg.63 "Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars asked the managers...but in which everyone works together". Which one would you choose? Why do you think that way? What kind of experience have you had that influenced your answer?
3. On pg. 73, Nisbett explains the word awase. Give an example of an awase and give its merits and demerits.
Group Leaders:
Yu Kominami
Naoko Inadome
Madoka Kubota
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1. When I was a child,I was educated in America, an International school in Tokyo and in Australia so the way in which I was taught was mostly the western way.However, high school was the only time I was educated in Japan, in the eastern way. From this experience, it has made me understand the different education systems in countries or regions and also understand the differences in students.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that surprised me during the time at the school in Japan(high school), was that the classes were mainly taking notes on the board, listening to the teacher speak about the topic and having frequent short tests that most students found it difficult to study since the preparation time was very short. On the otherhand in Australia, there were group activities, question and answer times, assignment presentations and teachers would often question the students in classes. At the school in Japan(high school) from my experience, teachers would mostly communicate or question on whether if the students understand the information or not(Yes or No question). However, I found the Japanese education system different in primary school compared to high school. I have experience in a Japanese primary school because I often came back to Japan and went to a primary school during the summer holidays from Australia. I remember everyone was so active and students would play around freely and also working hard on studying but enjoying at the same time.
I feel that students in Japan tend to change when they become a junior high or high school student because they have stress in entrance examinations and at the same time they lose their activeness. Furthermore, it may be that they start to think was is thought to be 'right' or 'wrong' instead of thinking the good reasons for their own choices.
All these experieces have affected the way I am today because it has made me think about the different cultures in regions/countries and has helped me to understand and except those cultural differences. However, it makes me think that some things could be improved in order to have students to be taught in the most efficient way.
To Uka O’hara
ReplyDeleteThank you for responding so quickly! I agree that what you learn and how you learn it can affect your way of thinking. In the first stage of learning such as primary school however, I think it’s sometimes necessary to give students education that teaches rights and wrongs. It could get the students interested and enable them to cultivate their curiosity, which is important as Morgan says in The ELP Reader. Of course teachers must be careful not to let the students get used to having facts fed to them. That’s where group work and critical thinking can come in.
1.
ReplyDeleteI was taught in the way US/Canada would. I first went to the US when I was nine. My elementary school would focus more on discussions and experiments instead of lecture focused. When I was in Japan, I was only taught to memorize formulas and kanjis, so it was really fun to learn differently. When I came back to Japan for high school, it surprised me how much memorization and studying it takes to get good grades. This has affected me because although I cannot express my opinion as good because my language skills are not sufficient, I still try to. If I had not gone to the US, I would probably not talk as much as I do now.
To Emi Arakawa
ReplyDeleteI went to elementary schools in Singapore and England. I liked thinking in groups because I felt I had reasons for studying. Japanese junior high school taught me how to memorize. I studied because that’s what was expected. It was fun to feel knowledge flowing into my head. Unfortunately I can’t recall much of what I memorized, so I suppose it wasn’t very useful. I enjoyed myself though.
1.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a typical Japanese kid who was taught what to memorize, however, never taught how to build her own opinion or assert herself in classroom. If I had known that I merely had to memorize everything without understanding the material deeply, I might not have attended school at all. Indeed, I did learn a lot of things for the tests, however, I completely forgot everything I learned right after them as if I’d had amnesia. In short, I vividly remember the fact that I forgot everything, but hardly remember what I exactly learned in school. It sounds funny, isn’t it? Then, knowledge is practically something we get and keep in our heads, and it should not be something either we lose forever or even forgot the existence. Frankly, I am wondering if it was ever worth visiting school. And my answer is rather “ No “. My entire education in Japan might have mold me into the person whose brain was almost…well, …“ empty”. While attending school in Germany, I had to realize the fact that my classmates were far smarter than me so that I really had to catch up with their level quickly. In great detail, students could illustrate contents in every subject such as history, geography, and above all, everyone had their own very clear political opinion, which surprised me a lot. This was “a real education” , and what students got was “real knowledge”. I wish I would have spent more time there. Then, who knows in which better way it would have affected the way I am today.
In response to Ryoko
ReplyDeleteA part of me agree with you on the fact that I sometimes question myself, what was the point of school? I dont remember most of what I learnt back in elementary/middle school. Although most of my academic life was spent abroad, there were still lots of memorizing to do. For example, I remember learning "about" Ancient Rome, but I do not remember all the dates, events or people. So what was the point of all those 12 years?
During those years we leanred more than just the academics. We learnt how to get along with other students and how to share. Perhaps it was all done unconsciously. But if we consider these social aspects, school was not 100% waste of time.
ALso, I liked how you used the word "empty" to describe how the education in Japan molded you. It makes sense. You have all these information but what do they all mean anyway? When will you need it? It is the skills that really come in use in the future.
1) I went to elementary school in America and middle/high school in Japan. I do not clearly remember the years I spent in America, but I had the impression that the American way of teaching encouraged students to discuss their opinions more with others.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that surprised me when I came back to Japan was the ways tables were arranged. When I was in America, the desks were always set in a way that put students in groups. They would be facing each other rather than the teacher. In Japan, however, the desks were set in rows facing the teacher. I think this reflects the fact that the American way of teaching puts emphasis on discussions among students while the Japanese way encourages students to mainly listen to teachers.
Thanks to my experience in America, I am not afraid to have an opinion that differs from my friends. I respect my friends' ways of thinking even if it is different from mine.
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ReplyDelete1)If I could choose one from the two ways of work, I would prefer the way in which everyone works toghether. This choice is based on what I told by a man who once worked in an American bank as a programmer. He was still in his 30s but He looked older than his age because his hair had already turned into white because of intense stress from his work. What he experienced was too much individualism caused by ability principle. In other words, everyone was thinking only about how to success in their job and make other people fail. For example, he said other collegus never did works that would not be profitable for them. He was the only person who get these job done and no one helped him. If someone fail, no one was willing to tell him what to do or help him that difficulty. He said that what he felt when he was fired was not sorrow but relieved. I think such way of work is not only bad for mental health of workers but also uneffective, so I prefer the way everyone work together.
ReplyDeleteResponse to Hanna
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, the tables are arranged differently aren`t they?
When I went to school in England, the desks created half a square (does that make sense? like an unfolded staple) So we would be able to see each other and not the back of everyone`s heads. Also even if we were all sitting facing the teacher at front, the desks were for two people. So we would be able to share ideas easily. Although these seating arrangements could also cause students to chat about things other than what is expected in class, I also think that putting emphasis on communicating and sharing ideas among students is a good idea.
I think, because the students in Japan are so used to the teachers up at the blackboard telling them all the facts, they are afraid of having a different opinion; because they think it is "wrong". They do not like it when people disagree with them. Of course not many people do, but because students in America and England get used to it from a younger age , like you said, they are not afraid to have an opinion that differs from others.
1)I’ve been educated in Japan for whole my life. But, during middle school and high school, I went to international school.
ReplyDeleteMy elementary school was typical Japanese public school that whenever we have to do something, we are always put into particular groups and taught to regard “corporation” as a most important factor in the school life so not individual opinion but opinion as a group was always required. This leads us to have less opinion as individual and we hardly argue for other’s opinion. During my elementary days, as same as other students, I was sometimes hesitated to express my own opinion.
However, in my middle schools and high schools, I met with many returnee students and that has changed me. There were many returnee students who can express their own opinion without hesitancy even it is different from others. At first, I was surprised but spending 6 years with them affected me. Therefore, even though I was only educated in Japan, I think the way I am today is not 100% eastern and I became to be also to speak up for our own opinion.
Response to Yoko:
ReplyDeleteI understand how you had a strong influence from the man by looking through his experience. However, I had an impression that the man was just in bad luck working at that office. This is because when thinking about individualism, do people always push others away to climb up high or attack each other to have one's own profit?
It seems like an extreme example, but by typing this, I realized one thing. This is only my assumption, but don't you think the reason of the gap among the students at the top score and lower score in middle and high schools can be one result? I just assumed from my experience that your example of individualism can be shown in how students perform in their study too. How do you think about it?
Response to Chisato:
ReplyDeleteTo tell you beforehand, I am not denying your opinion, but I have a question of what you said, “opinion as a group was always required” in what way? I have heard so much about the valuing of cooperativeness in Japan (in here, don’t consider other collectivistic cultures!) but I just cannot imagine in particular.
Adding one more, I think my experience is quite a commonplace to set as an example, but when I came back to Japan from Denmark and entered into an ordinary girls’ private middle school for a year, I experienced a terrible “ijime” by expressing my own opinion. I now don’t remember in precision, but I strongly remember the cause for the start of it, because I always said what is “bad” and what is “good”. The bosses of my class totally disliked me because they could not control over me.
I did not want to make this commenting place depressing, but I just thought maybe my experience can have a connection to what you said “I was sometimes hesitated to express my opinion”. How do you think?
We are now happy that we can freely and fully express our strong (maybe biased?) opinions through this blog?!
1. I went to a British school until the age of eight and came back to Japan when I was in my third year of primary school. Since then, I have been in Japanese schools.
ReplyDeleteAs like many other people, I was surprised at the "Japanese style" of education. First of all, I felt that the education did not focus on individual's creativity. Even in such subjects as Art and Music. Especially, when I realized that in Japanese public schools they often use "kits" in Art classes, I started wondering what the purpose of the class was ( Aren't Art classes for students to develop their creativity and originality?). This was because, in my primary school in England, we NEVER used kits and instead, we were allowed to make whatever we wished using anything in the classroom. My friends and I will look for and collect materials by ourselves. Therefore, great creativity and uniqueness was required. And most importantly although it was challenging, I really enjoyed it and I still use what I learned through the process these days. On the contrary, in Japan I was decided what to make and given all the materials I needed as well as instructions. When we all finished making our pieces, there were only some distinguishable things between our works. Moreover, since I just followed the guide, I did not encounter any problems but also did not gain anything particular from the process. Of course, all Japanese schools are not like I mentioned and I know that my British school had unique educational theories. However, generally speaking, I think the Western style tends to focuses more on developing skills that have wide application. This can not only be said in such subjects that I have previously mentioned, but all most anything we do in school. The education style that emphasizes independent thinking, expressing one's own opinion and sharing it, and originality can be more useful in various areas in the future. This may be the reason why Japaneses students tend to get higher scores in world wide academic tests when they are students, but do not flourish as much when they start working.
1) It was when I just came back to Japan in 9th grade that I had actually felt Japanese style of education is somehow different. The grading criteria at my junior high school that I had attended in Japan were according to absolute score on tests. I attended to Japanese elementary school until I was 5th grade as well, and even when I moved to United States and experienced western way of education, I didn’t feel much of a difference. This, I think, is because Japanese elementary schools often respect children’s creativity up until whole elementary school years, which children are expected to participate more in classes compared to junior and high schools in Japan. Schools in the U.S., on the other hand, were basically all about participation in all the stages of school education, meaning elementary, junior, and high schools. Therefore, what I want to point out is that even I had spent most of my elementary years in Japan, the system was more of an American one, and hence I want to say that I was taught in the western style until 9th grade. This has affected the way I am today in that I like discussions. When I was in the United States, there were a lot of discussions within a group or presentations in the classes. This often stimulated my curiosity of wanting to know more about the topic. In addition, these interactions with others led me know more about different values from many different perspectives.
ReplyDelete(2) If I had to choose either (a) or (b), I would choose (a), jobs in which personal initiatives are encouraged and individual initiatives are achieved. If our actions did not have an effect on the results that we get, or the judgements that we receive from others, we would have less motivation to work, or to do well. Also, in this question, it doesn`t say that valuing individual opinions means that you have to sacrifice working as a whole. It is possible to work together while retaining individual qualities, and in many situations, it may even be better if people have their own opinions, apart from the general consensus. Although to do this requires a lot of self control, since no one really likes to have their opinions and ideas turned down, even when they are rejected for perfectly reasonable reasons. It is important in any situation where you have to solve a problem to have perspectives and opinions apart from your own. Problems are problems because at that particular point in time, there are no answers to them. If you only needed to follow other people`s directions, then there`s no point in you doing that work. Anybody could do it. Even if you perform well on the tasks that are given to you, as long as you are working under a manager who has chosen (b) in the initial question, you will still get the same amount of payment as the others around you who may or may not have worked as hard as yourself. This is a normative statement, but although this is important too, “working with each other” shouldn`t mean that we cover up for other members of that particular group to grind out results that are acceptable when you average them out. To truly work together, the results of teamwork should be better than the sum of its parts. Each of us has particular fields that we perform well in, and to make use of these abilities fully, it is vital to accept that we are different. From here, it is a short step to individualism. “Everyone working together” seems like a good thing if you take these words at face value, but it has the possibility of interfering with the thought processes of those involved. If you can leave your work to other people, and expect to be paid the same wages, motivation to work can easily go down. In fact, I believe this is one of the reasons why socialism didn’t work out as well as people hoped it would. This is an example about business, and in answer (b), it says that “no one is singled out for personal honor”. Does this mean that wages and changes in rank would be the same for everyone regardless of the results that they have gotten? If it does, we may be in for some problems. The statement that “all men (and women) are created equal” is a famous one, but this statement was talking about basic rights as a human being. We need to face the fact that some people can do better on some things than others, and that although everyone has individual abilities, how those abilities will be judged by society is a different matter from the fact that those abilities are on equal standing with each other. Those abilities that are more useful are judged to be “better” by others. Also, in this question, individual initiatives have a relation to the work that these people are do. For instance, if you were working at a certain company, “individual initiatives” would point to a particular work you did that yielded good results, from the point of view of the company. No one would really care how well you played in the golf tournament the other day, even if you played very well. From this, I think you can say that trying to achieve personal initiatives can benefit the entire group that you are working with, as long as they don’t become a hindrance in working together with other people.
ReplyDelete[2]
ReplyDeleteI choose (a) and there are two reasons.
First reason is about our responsibility. I think when we work or do a task, we should keep in mind our own responsibility.If there isn't the concept of responsibility, we are never blamed and can be easy in our mind. However, obviously, that has some bad influences on the efficiency of our task, the motivation to make an attempt to take a new approach in order to improve the present situation, and so on. That's why I thought it is important to be aware of our responsibility. If people take their own responsibility, it is natural that each people are singled out for personal honor, and given the right to use some initiatives. Thus I think (a) is the better idea. Second reason is about my growth through doing a work. The work in which no one isn't singled out for personal honor is not likely to improve our creativity or independent mind. However, in this age, machine is replacing our work which doesn't require a creativity or the ability to think what one want to do in order to meet a situation. Therefore I think it is better for us to choose the job with responsibility and reward and try to develop such ability.
That's all.
[1] I spent all my school life in Japan. When I was in junior high and high school, I was not so much learning but taught by teacher. During the class, I took notes everything teacher writes on the board and says. Most of the Japanese students do so because exams are based on it. The purpose of the exams is to see how much students memorize the notes, not to see how much they understood the contents. As grades are based on the score of the exams, students memorize every page using green pen and red sheet in order to get good score on the exam. Not knowing the core of the subject, they forget what they memorized after the exams. This way of learning made me take for granted whatever teacher says is true and not to cast doubt on anything that is taught in the class. Japanese students are like robots in that they take notes without thinking by themselves.
ReplyDeleteresponse to Miyuki
ReplyDeleteI think it is true that because of the Japanese education system, students (middle school/high school)have memorized all the information that "they should know" so they tend to get higher scores on world wide academic tests. However when they start working, only few succeed. I have always found that weird. So many Japanese kids go to juku, extra lessons after school, but when we grow up, people in America are just as successful, some even more.
Although I have also had experience at a British school, we didn't get as much freedom as you did. Of course, that could have been due to the fact that I was in year 9 + GCSE and had to do more "serious" work. In Japan, history and science classes would require memorization. In England, even those classes required long answers. In history class we had to know what the sources told us and how useful it was. It was not enough to know the who did what when. This way of thinking certainly helped gain skills useful in the future.
From the age of six to fourteen, I lived in America and attended a public school there.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, on Saturdays, I went to a Japanese “Hoshu-kou” which taught in the Japanese way, so I experienced both ways of education while I lived abroad. Going to school six days a week was sometimes hard, with both schools assigning homework, and I considered quitting “Hoshu-kou” many times although my parents didn’t allow me. However, when I returned to Japan and entered a public middle school, I was really glad that I had attended “Hoshu-kou”. By having the experience of being taught the Japanese way, I was able to adjust fairly easily, in terms of academics, to the real Japanese school.
1.I was taught in both US/Canada way and Japan/China way.I entered elementary school in the US and 2 years later, came back to Japan and went to a public elementary school.
ReplyDeleteAs many people mentioned, how the students attend class were very different.In Japan,the students didn't say anything to what the teacher said if they were not asked any questions.I kept talking to the teacher in class like I did in the US until I noticed that was a strange thing to do in Japan.
When I noticed that, I started to notice many other differences between America and Japan around myself.
Not the way of education itself, but experiencing the difference between the way of teaching in two countries countries has affected me a lot.
I think it made me good at adjusting myself to the others when I need to.
(1)
ReplyDeleteJust like Miki said, I was also taught in both US/Canada system and Japan/China system. I went to an elementary school in Japan, junior high school in Singapore(international school), and high school in Japan.
At an international school in Singapore, students are often required to write essays for examination, do presentations, discussions and debates. Because I have never experienced these in a Japanese elementary school, it was hard for me to get used to. Writing an essay for world history exam is rare in Japan. Japanese students are expected to memorize the names of events, dates and names of important people. Students try to know 'what' happened. However in my international school, we were supposed to know 'why' something happened. Therefore we had to write an essay on what led to French Revolution and why.
When I came back to Japan, I was very surprised at the differences in the education system. Students stay up all night before the exams to memorize what they are taught. Once the test is over, they forget. I often asked myself: 'Why am I doing this? What is the point of memorizing all these?'. Still, some of the classes were just like US/Canada way in ICU high school. In English, we had discussions every class, wrote and read alot. In Ethics class, we had debates. Not all of the classes were in Japanese style.
I prefer the US/Canada way better than Japan/China way, because it makes us think a lot. I still remember what I learned in the US/Canada system but I hardly remember what I was taught in Japan/China style.
1),
ReplyDeleteI had been taught in Japanese way until the 11th grade. Every schools I attended in Japan were public. So, an education I got was very affected by Japanese system. In Japanese schools, I was not a "good" student. I skipped classes many times and I hated memorizing the materials I'm not interested in. I naturally thought that Japanese way of education is inferior to Western way. So I decided to go to America and expected something "better." The senior year of high school was the first time I got American way of edecation. There were tons of differences between Japanese and American high schools. American high school students had a lot of time to do what they want. They seemed to have freedom. However, I couldn't say that American school is "better" than Japanese one. Because, except requirements, American students don't need to take classes if thay don't want to, some of them are very poor in some subjects. Even after high school graduation, many Americans can't calculate simple sums without a calculator which is "almightly." In Japan, we can't use a calculator for math problems, so generally Japanese are not bad at calculation. Japanese education such as memorizing tons of formulas is not the best way, but in some point, it gives advantages to students.
1) I have been taught in Japan for whole my life, so I cannot compare the way of teaching in Japan and that in America/Canada. But I found some differences between elementary school and junior high and high school. I went to a public elementary school and a private junior high and high school. When I was in an elementary school, I often had a class where students worked together and gave something like a presentation in front of the class. But in junior high and high school, I did not have any class like that. We just sat, listened to teachers and take notes. Also we were required to memorize what teachers said in exams. So I guess, after reading others' comments, education in elementary school is more like an American/Canadian way of teaching than that in junior high school and high school is. Thanks to education in elementary school, I learned how to work together with others. I may not be good at expressing my own opinion in front of the class, but I think I am a good listener. When discussing something, I tend to listen to others speak first, then think about it well, and finally express what I think. Therefore, thanks to education in elementary school, I think I have become good at cooperating with others.
ReplyDelete1
ReplyDeleteI have spent most of my time in Japan except for the one year when I was 9 when I lived in Britain.
Because it never even crossed my mind that education could be different, I felt difficulties getting used to the British way.
First, in Britain we were grouped into levels and mainly the classes were discussions and brainstorming with the group.
We weren't given tests like Japan and I don't even remember being given a report card.
I'm not sure yet how this education influenced me right now, but it sure game me a great experience and made me become aware of how cultures can be different in a way you didn't even expect.