For six years of my early life, I had the fortune of partaking in a unique educational journey that spanned two countries, giving me a bicultural perspective of public school systems in Japan and the United States.
From the age of six through 12, I lived with my grandparents in Okinawa, Japan, for two months every year, attending the local elementary school. The rest of the year, I was in California, USA, attending school there.
This experience showed me first hand the differences between the two education systems straddling the Pacific Ocean, and I’ve come to believe that the Japanese public school system, particularly at the elementary level, offers some valuable lessons for the United States.
Japanese students learn about more subjects
In the Japanese public elementary school, a typical week was dedicated to covering standard subjects such as math, Japanese language, social studies, and science. However, we did more.
We had a fairly comprehensive music class, learning to appreciate classical Western composers like Brahms, Dvorak, Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach. We also explored traditional Japanese folk music, learned to play instruments like the recorder, and engaged in guided listening sessions with our music teacher. Home economics class taught us essential life skills, including preparing dishes like miso soup, stir-fried vegetables, curry rice, and, in my case, traditional Okinawan cuisine. Each morning began with caring for the school’s rabbits and tending to our morning glory flowers.
These classes and morning routines provided me with a skill set and appreciation for healthy hobbies that I still reference and cherish to this day.
In Japan, teachers came to us
A typical day in my Japanese public elementary school primarily revolved around a single classroom, as teachers came to us, sparing us the burden of lugging heavy textbooks around.
This arrangement fostered a sense of community and responsibility within each class. During lunchtime, students took turns on “lunch duty,” wearing hairnets, gloves, and aprons as they served the entire class. We arranged desks into tables and, as a group, learned table manners from our teacher every day. After lunch, our entire class will collectively mop down, dry off, and clean our classrooms, hallways, and restrooms. This practice instilled a strong sense of communal responsibility, from serving food to cleaning the classroom, hallway, and restrooms.
In contrast, I vividly remember an incident in the US where a student thought it was funny to throw food and garbage all around the hallway, declaring, “I’m creating jobs for the janitors!” Such a lack of uncouth behavior is less likely in Japan, where you and your fellow students are responsible for a clean and orderly environment.
The US education system forced me to have my own opinions
However, it’s important to acknowledge that the US education system also has its merits, especially when it comes to middle school and beyond. The Japanese system, in my opinion, tends to shift toward rote memorization, with a heavy emphasis on preparing for college entrance exams. On the other hand, the American education system prioritizes essay writing, critical thinking, and the formation of individual opinions, producing students who can articulate and defend their viewpoints.
An ideal educational system blends the best of both worlds. The Japanese system could benefit from fostering individual creativity and celebrating original ideas, moving away from the rigid collectivist mentality of “the nail that sticks out gets hit.” On the other hand, the US system could focus more on holistic education, introducing practical life skills.
Why not teach US students basic nutrition and cooking or financial literacy, including topics like filing taxes and retirement planning? The investment in such skills could ultimately yield significant societal benefits, offsetting the costs of health issues caused by unhealthy diets and financial illiteracy.
While each system has its strengths and weaknesses, my view is that there is a wealth of valuable lessons to be learned from both. In particular, at the elementary school level, there’s a lot to be gained by incorporating elements of the Japanese school system that teach students valuable essential life skills and a respect for communal responsibility.
