Japan Society of Fairfield County
Culture Watch, Society Watch (10)
by Dr. Ikuko Anjo Jassey
When I went back to Japan in May, I met
my publisher for
my latest book in Tokyo for lunch. Soon after we started the meal, one
of the two editors asked, "What do you think about the teaching of
English at elementary schools?" A few days later, again I was
asked exactly the same question by the president of my former
workplace, who had been a provisional Council Member of the Central
Council for Education. Having been concerned about the quality of
Japanese education that had been deteriorating for some time and about
the fact that no active and efficient measure had been taken by the
Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, I replied, "The teaching of
English at an elementary school itself is not a bad idea; however, if
we have to reduce teaching hours of major subjects in order to teach
English, I believe we should reconsider this idea thoroughly." Thus,
whether elementary school children should be taught English at their
schools is a hot topic in Japan now.
The ratio of Japanese people who
disapprove this idea
accounts for forty-nine percent, which means almost half of the nation
does not consider that the teaching of English at elementary schools is
a good idea. What is an eminent reason why half of the nation is
opposed to the idea? As represented by Professor Masahiko
Fujiwara who claims Language Arts and Mathematics education is the key
to a nation's prosperity with reference to culture and economy and that
there is no need to teach English to elementary school children,
Japanese people are greatly concerned with a further reduction of
teaching hours of basic subjects at the elementary schools. In fact, it
is said that Japanese children's education level has been drastically
deteriorating since the late 1980s, mainly because of the reduction of
the amount of teaching hours and content of
subjects.
Still, astonishingly enough, the
Ministry enforced the new
guideline for elementary and middle schools in 2002, regardless, in
which as much as thirty percent of content of major subjects was
eliminated from the elementary as well as from the middle school
curriculum under the policy of providing children time "to nurture
thinking skills and creativity." Believing apart, the yearly teaching
hours for all subjects in Japan as of 2006 is about forty hours less at
elementary schools and ninety hours less at middle schools, compared to
those in Connecticut(CT). Let's look at Language Arts and Mathematics
for the sixth(fifth in CT) grade as well as the ninth(eighth in CT)
grade: Japan allocates 175 hours for Language Arts and 150 hours for
Math, at the 6th grade and 105 hours for Language Arts and 105 hours
for Math, at 9th grade, while CT distributes 294 hours for Language
Arts and 147 hours for Math, at the 5th grade and 150 hours for
Language Arts and 150 hours for Math, at the 8th grade. (As for 1985,
the teaching hours for those subjects in Japan were 210 hours for
Language Arts and 175 hours for Math, at the 6th grade and 140 hours
for Language Arts and 140 hours for Math, at the 9th grade, whereas in
CT, the teaching hours on those subjects are the same as those of
today.) Therefore, it seems no one in the Ministry came up with some
common sense that without acquiring substantial basic knowledge,
neither "thinking skills" nor "creativity" would be nurtured.
Furthermore, the dumbfounded news that the Ministry of Education
reduced middle school English class hours from five to three weekly in
1972, which went against the world trend of English education
enhancement, is still fresh in our memory, although it happened almost
25 years ago.
Thus, while reducing English teaching
hours at middle
schools, the Ministry is now trying to teach English at elementary
schools, another act of folly. What the Ministry of Education is
planning to do is nothing but incoherent. Isn't rebuilding the quality
of compulsory education far more crucial than the teaching of English
at elementary schools? Certainly, the timing of implementing English
education at elementary schools is premature.
Notes:
(1) Unlike Japan, in the United States, since each state has
autonomy in terms of education, teaching hours
differ from state to state.
(2) In Connecticut, a majority of
public schools are divided into three levels of schooling: The
elementary school(K-5), the middle school(6-8), and the high
school(9-12).
On the other hand, in Japan, the elementary school is comprised of
1st-6th
grade, the middle school 7th-9th grade, and the high school 10th-12th
grade.
Therefore, Japan's 6th grade is compared with CT's 5th grade and
Japan's 9th grade with CT's 8th grade.
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