Among the major benefits of being a teacher in a foreign country are the opportunities it provides for meeting and speaking with the “natives”. Over my “career” in Japan, I’ve interacted with a broad spectrum of students: from 2 year-old children (and younger) to people in their 80’s, from office ladies and blue collar workers to professionals and company presidents. Students’ motivations for studying have ranged from being forced to study by their parents (or company) to viewing the acquisition of a second language as a vehicle to a better life. During these 15 plus years, I’ve spoken to hundreds of Japanese about a vast array of topics, including education. As a former teacher in my native country, education has always been a topic of profound personal interest. Recently, I spoke at length with a young student, whom I have been teaching for 5 years, about his educational experiences, first in elementary school, which he attended in North America, and his subsequent experiences upon returning to Japan. The conversation was very enlightening, for several reasons.
DON’T ASK WHY!
The first example of the difference in education “styles” occurred shortly after he started school back in Japan. About 1 month after school started, his parents received a letter from the school instructing them to instruct their son to stop asking “why” questions during class. Basically, the letter said that their son was asking too many questions and was a disruptive influence in the classroom.
“WE”, NOT “ME”
My student’s first major “social” adjustment was the necessity of being aware of, and thinking about, the “feelings” of others. He spoke of becoming physically ill due to the stress caused by having to “learn” to restrain himself from speaking or acting “impulsively”, how he had to constantly reign in his “normal”, natural “impulses, and instead, reflect on how his actions might potentially “hurt” someone. Essentially, he said, his initial response was to become almost paranoid about speaking or “participating” in class.