 |
I am very interested in issues related to education. I will link to articles related to education in both the USA and Japan.
|
 |
 |
Tuesday, October 29, 2002 |
Interns find more revved-up roles. Firms still have youths fetch sandwiches, but many plug top prospects into key positions. [Christian Science Monitor | Work/Money]
This in an interesting idea that Japanese universities and companies should explore. There has been talk about having public school teachers work in other fields during their school vacations to give them an idea of what is happening in the real world. This idea was first put a few years ago, but I haven't heard anything more about it recently.
9:00:26 AM 
|
|
|
Wednesday, October 23, 2002 |
Cooperative learning as been one of the strong points of Japanese elementary school education, but it seems, watching Kai's junior high education, that it is being used at that level too. Listening to the high school teachers that I know it sounds like there isn't much done. I wonder if it would work with the passing the exam mentality that dominates the academic high schools.
7:40:08 AM
|
|
|
Sunday, October 6, 2002 |
By YOKO HANI
Staff writer
Japan's universities are at a crossroad. The notion has been voiced in some quarters for many years, but now -- by common consent -- the fact of the matter is impossible either to deny or to ignore.
This is the beginning of a series of articles that should be interesting. I will link to them in future. This article does outline some of the points facing secondary education in Japan, but how the universities deal with them will have an impact throughout the system. Which includes schools like JOY.
8:44:49 PM
|
|
|
Friday, June 7, 2002 |
We hung the most dimwitted essays on the wall. The biggest case against standardized testing might be the people who score the tests -- people like me, for instance. [Salon.com]
I guess this really doesn't surprise me, but you would think that the companies or states would require some kind of quality control. I will have to check back at the Salon site to see what the follow up comments are like.
10:01:17 AM
|
|
|
Wednesday, May 8, 2002 |
Where Did Our Heroes and Heroines Go to College?
Washington PostBy Jay Mathews
Tuesday, May 7, 2002; 9:52 AM
Didn't get into Princeton? Poor baby. Wait-listed at Stanford, Williams and Rice? Big deal.
In Japan there is a great importance placed on the university or even the high school you graduated from, so there is the exam hell to get in the right high school or university. I have always thought it would be interesting to see what percentage of people from top Japanese universities actually go on and do something memorable or worthwhile.
9:20:50 PM
|
|
States Teeter When Balancing Standards With Tests. A study has found that most standardized tests are poorly matched to state standards. By Richard Rothstein. [New York Times: Education]
This article adds an interesting point to the testing debate. I reminds me of a comments made by Professor Gerald Brown, an expert on testing, at a JOY TEFL Forum a few years ago. He said many teachers in Japan were blaming the tests for forcing them to focus on grammar instruction, but he believed that the entrance exams had been changing and the teachers were just using it as an excuse for not changing their teaching methods.
8:41:57 PM
|
|
|
Friday, March 1, 2002 |
Letters on Students' Weight Ruffle Parents.
As health officials have become increasingly worried about growing obesity among the country's children, a number of schools are taking action. By Bonnie Rothman Morris. [New York Times: Education]
This is an issue that is starting to come out in Japan. We were watching a TV show that had elementary school children from throughout Japan. The Hokkaido kids were much bigger than the ones in Honshu and the other islands. It will be something parents will have to worry much more about.
1:16:07 PM
|
|
Well, as of today I am the parent of a teenager-- Kai turned 13 today. These are supposed to be the interesting years.
In the last several years there have been many sensational crimes committed by teenagers in Japan so when I saw this article yesterday in The Atlantic about the random acts of violence committed by teenagers in Vermont and the possible causes I was intrigued. It was a sobering article. The issues the author presented seemed similar to those here, but it is hard to know if we are doing the right things when raising our children.
4:50:52 PM
|
|
|
Thursday, February 21, 2002 |
This is an intereting take on kindergaten and one Japanese parents might find strange. In the States kindergarten is just the year before a child enters 1st grade of elementary school. In Japan, it is usually a three year program with a lot more struture than in the States. Attending kindergarten or daycare (a different type of school) has become so common that parents who don't send their kids have a hard time finding other children for them to play with in the morning or early afternoon.
1:33:50 PM
|
|
Test Season in Japan
It is entrance exam season in Japan now. This ia a high pressure time for Japanese kids and somethng most kids have to endure. I have been following the trend for testing in the States and after seeing what happens in Japan I wonder if it is the way American education should go. Don't Panic Over Poot Test Scores, from the Washington Post talks about the testing situation in Maryland and the test described sounds much better than most. In describing the reasons why the test scores were lower it sounds like it came down to the teachers not doing as good a job teaching for the test. I am not totally against testing, but I do think America needs to move slowly in this area.
12:42:06 PM
|
|
© 2002 David Campbell
Last Update: 12/23/02; 3:16:27 PM
|
|
|
|
 |
| December 2002 |
| Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| 8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
| 15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
| 22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
| 29 |
30 |
31 |
|
|
|
|
| Oct Jan |
|
|
|
|
|
|