Japan Education Vs American Education Essay

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There are many notable differences between the educational system of the United States and Japan. The differing ways are shown through what each nation teaches, the quality of education, and what they prioritize in their curriculum. Although Japan and the United States reflect their culture through education in different ways, they both play a great role in ensuring that their students are receiving an education that will help provide them with an evergrowing and stable future even though it is under different circumstances.
Amongst the differences between the educational values of Japan and America, a main distinction is the ideal view of what struggle means. In Japan, they look at struggle as an opportunity and a way to improve on a certain …show more content…

In Japan, the culture of working together and building each other up is strongly encouraged while in America they mainly focus on independence and finding success on your own or not at all. This defining aspect of each nation sets them apart and is further shown throughout the Children Full of Life documentary presenting a fourth-grade class who is going about their typical day in school. Throughout the series the students are presented working through problems together, they are learning about how problems can affect them and the ways that they can solve them. For example, in the series, there is a problem of bullying. Within the process of trying to solve this, the teacher instructs them to write out what actions they took in bullying another student and wants them to confess so that they can acknowledge the wrong and learn from their mistakes. They are also actively engaged in the lessons that are being taught and are taking the initiative to answer and ask questions. This highlights how the teachers deal with any problems or challenges right when it happens and make a learning situation out of any tough situation that may come their way in comparison to …show more content…

In “ Educating the Heart,” Sherry Schwartz notes how both America and Japan are capitalist societies where they aim for high economic achievements. Both focus on outstanding academic accomplishments and take pride in trying to achieve excellent results for their academic performance. Throughout the article, Schwartz also highlights how in Japan they are in school longer than the students are in America and they teach moral education as a part of their regular teachings to encourage cognitive improvement. The advantages for Japan can be the teaching of moral education which provides insight as to how to act in different virtuous situations and the understanding of different values. However, the long school days can be a disadvantage due to the longer the learning period the shorter the student's attention span may become. In America their view on economic success can lead to more educational growth and improvement being pushed for different schools in America. Although this could lead to an increase in student performance, it can show how the lessons being taught may not always go into depth to ensure that each student truly understands. Both Japan and America have different aspects that can determine the outcome of each of their methods of teaching and