Kyoko Mori - School

Mori compares the educational system in Japan to America. She says that in America adults are able to return to college even at the age of 40. On the other hand, in Japan adults are only given one chance to get a degree in college. They are not able to return to college and get a second degree like an adult in America might be able to. In Japan, the only way to get into college is to take entry level exams directly out of high school. If they don't get in, they have to wait for a year and are considered ronin, which means they are floating around. If they don't get in after a year, they usually just settle for a low-paying job. In America, we're able to work for a couple years and then apply to colleges. Japanese adults don't have this priveledge. Mori says that the fact that it is so easy to get into college for people in America makes it seem as if "they are not real or substantial enough." Americans idealize Japan's education for its toughness. Mori says that it may be tough, but she didn't learn very much in her years in Japanese education. She still does not know how to write Japanese, so she cannot translate her novels. Mori talks about her how she didn't understand why she got the grades she did in school. Her teachers didn't tell her or her friends ways to improve. "Over and over again, our Japanese education offered this sort of harsh judgement combined with vague exhortation." Experiencing this must have made her feel helpless. When I was in my earlier education, I always seeked my teacher's approval and comments, and tried my hardest to improve. I would feel frustrated not knowing what to do in order to improve my work. Mori says that when she began learning English, the assignments she got back had detailed comments. She was happy to finally get feedback from her teachers. She was able to go on and learn the many methods of writing. Mori talks about Zen, and how it teaches the overall concepts and does not describe specifics. Many of Mori's friends liked this kind of teaching because it did not require much description. American teaching talks about specifics rather than the overall subject. I believe this method of teaching is better because it specifically lets the student know what they need to do to improve. The method of Zen is so ambiguous and leaves the student confused. If I were to test out both methods of education, I would prefer the method that informs me with the details that are necessary for improvement.