Fulbright Japan Trip 2006

Today we visited a Japanese high school.  Actually there are two highs schools contained in one facility.  The first school is a traditional high school curriculum while the second is a "sports" high school where  traditional curriculum is modified.  Students enrolled in the sports high program take academic courses in the morning and devote many hours in the afternoon practicing their particular sport.  The sports include everything from American baseball to Japanese karate.  The most noted feature of this high school facility includes 4 different gymnasiums which appear to be in constant use.

In the academic side of this high school there is the standard Japanese academic curriculum with a heavy emphasis on students learning English.  Again, students are in self contained classrooms and most teachers lecture students from a raised podium.  Japanese high school students study many long hours and frequently attend extra cram sessions, referred to as "crammies" in order to pass their final exams.  Ninety percent of a students grade for each class is based on only one exam.  Academic failure in Japanese culture carries with it great shame so Japanese students are under intense pressure to excel in school.

Our afternoon meeting with the high school faculty included only male teachers and the principal selected each teacher who would answer our questions.  When our group inquired about the very limited use of technology in their high school again the answer was cost.  The principal explained further computers are for "information processing" and  not a tool for school.  He went on to say teachers are responsible for teaching and children are responsible for  learning.