Orn and all, Having not lived in Japan, I can only form my opinion of the second hand. One of my sources was a Japanese acquaintance of mine. He came to the USA with his wife and children so that his children could get what he considered a real education. His children were attending a private school that had the goal of eventually teaching them to think for them selves. He told me about the Japanese educational system. It was based almost entirely on rote learning. Unfortunately much of American education is now almost all rote learning. I happen to work as a substitute teacher, so, at least within the schools I work in, this is the case. Hideki and his wife, Yuko, also told me about Japanese after school cram schools. As if six hours of rote learning weren't enough, many children went for another four to six hours of after school "cram school". This leaves little or no time for creative activity such as authentic play (exploration).
Below is another link to an article from 2004 that backs up my statement. I have not taken the time to read more than the abstract, which I have pasted in after the link. I have read other articles about Japan's lack of creativity and also the lack of creativity in some other far eastern nations. One example of this lack of creativity is that although their universities produce first-rate technicians with PhD degrees, they produce few scientific innovators. How are they dealing with this problem? For the most part, they are doing what they always do, which is copy someone else's system that already get the results, In this case it is mostly America's system. In my opinion they are still afraid to improvise, to step into the unknown or even attempt a seriously different permutation of their own current approach. Although studying and copying the creativity developing ways of others is not a total waste, to really be creative one must be willing to fall flat on ones face, rather than proceed with caution. This is true for developing creativity enhancing educational methods also. Without his leap into the unknown, they will only be a modified copy of America, and that is not being creative. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/asiarpt121.pdf JUNE 2004 ABSTRACT: The Japanese government is in the midst of economic and educational reforms to enhance creativity and boost national competitiveness. In this report, three experts explore and evaluate these unprecedented measures.According to Gerald Hane, Japan has already made some progress in removing obstacles to entrepreneurship, allowing innovators to benefit from their ideas, and improving worker mobility—although ample room for improvement remains. Akiko Hashimoto argues that deeply embedded social hierarchies stifle the creativity of Japan’s young people.Youths should be brought into the reform process because creativity cannot be stimulated through top-down regulation, she contends. Misao Hayakawa warns that Japan may go too far in emphasizing choice and individualism at the expense of standards. He maintains that higher education has been more successful than lower education in implementing reforms that are meaningful and measurable. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/asiarpt121.pdf On Jan 3, 10:26 pm, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: > Ish, I was sure that you had some backing for your beliefs…you often > do. And, in general, I have found your posting to be rather even > handed and somewhat insightful. > > This said, in this one instance, I find what I understand to be your > view to be to be far from the case. > > Without belaboring the issue, I referenced your words “they..lack > creativity” as being ‘in some ways’ not close to reality. I also just > referenced your words about the Japanese “…originallity is almost non > existant…”. I will add directly here that such an assertion appears > absurd to me. > > You replied to my using the term ‘Eastern cultures’ with “By the way, > I did not say that all eastern cultures produce few creative > individuals.” I agree. That is not what you said nor what I implied > you said nor is it what you appear to be refuting now. > > I retain my original view and clearly say that what you have > referenced in your last two posts does nothing at all to disparage > this view. I invite all to read them and form their own conclusions. > > On Jan 2, 8:51 pm, Isparklaria <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Here is another highly revealing article about Japanese Culture. It is > > over 16 years old but that doesn't matter, in my opinion. > > >http://www.newint.org/issue231/nail.htm > > > new internationalist > > issue 231 - May 1992 > > > The nail that sticks out > > Conformists belong, non-conformists and ethnic minorities get hammered > > in Japan. > > John Charles and Peter Mallat unravel Japanese groupthink. > > > 'SHIGOTO ARIMASUKA?' pesters the tall, dark-skinned man at the railway > > exit. He bows incongruously, imitating the mannerisms of the culture > > he envies. 'Sir, Sir... do you have a job for me?' > > > He is an Iranian day-labourer, doing the hard, dirty jobs now scorned > > by almost all Japanese. After getting one day's work he prowls > > endlessly in search of the next, before bedding down for the night in > > a local park. Sleeping rough is his only option since the local > > flophouse was closed by the authorities. For the most part they cause > > him little trouble. The indifference of the public is, he says, almost > > worse. > > > He has - or had - a wife in Iran. Is she still there?.., he doesn't > > know. His working conditions?.., a finger-stump is mute testimony. > > Accident insurance?.., the gentleman surely jests. 'We Iranians > > are...' he begins in English, but words soon escape so he switches to > > Japanese. 'We are proud... but war has ruined us.' He shrugs, smiles > > ruefully, and is consumed by the surging crowd. > > > The old man crouches on the granite steps, mumbling to himself and re- > > fighting long forgotten battles. The salarymen weave wary circles > > round his stinking nest. Nobody has spoken to him here - he says - for > > 20 years. In his sad delusion he imagines that his wealthy wife drives > > him out of the house each day 'to avoid gossip' and picks him up at > > night. In this most group-oriented of societies even the dropouts > > cling to rags of respectability. Wa means 'harmony' or 'proper place': > > the executive in the office and the Little Woman minding the hearth. > > The consequences of social deviance are so alarming that office > > workers between jobs are sometimes forced into masquerades of leaving > > home in the morning to return at the end of the working day. You see > > them snoring in theatres and glumly clock-watching in coffee shops. > > > Japan is unthinkable without groups. Perhaps they developed from the > > co-operative labour needed in the scattered villages of a rice-growing > > culture. To this day the threat of Mura Hachibu ('rejection from the > > village' or ostracism) by family, university alumnus league, company > > or even golf club would be enough to bring the most determined social > > deviant to heel. It can sometimes seem as if the only escape from the > > demands of the group lies in madness. > > > The boy shakes his fist and menaces the train guard through the glass. > > He suddenly begins to weep. Everybody on the train is desperately > > playing the game of 'pay no attention'. One passenger - fluent in > > English from residence abroad - feels it necessary to apologize to the > > foreigner for such a wanton ruffling of the 'perfect face' of his > > country. 'I am sorry,' he says. 'He is... strange. His behaviour is... > > not Japanese.' Not Japanese. The words evoke the whole mentality of > > group cohesion and rejection and endlessly-interlocking social nets. > > > Who are the Japanese? > > Anthropologically it is not at all clear: a conglomerate of > > Polynesian, Malay and mainland Asian elements, perhaps from Mongolia, > > who imposed themselves on the aboriginal Ainu and gradually drove them > > northwards. The precedence of the Ainu in the islands, like the thorny > > subject of Japanese army atrocities against the Chinese in the 1930s, > > is another point glossed over by the schoolbooks. > > > Culturally it is a different story. Japan has a notion of its own > > uniqueness that many Japanese are convinced an outsider could never > > fathom. The Japanese language ovefflows with words of status, words of > > self-abasement, words of guile and subterfuge - and many words that > > defy accurate translation. Words like Ciri and On translate as 'duty' > > or 'obligation', but the depth of their meaning is quite different. > > Within the tightly-ordered framework of Japanese groups - village, > > family, school, workplace - they weigh heavily indeed. Outside these > > groups they lose almost all meaning. Thus in Japan there is little > > goodwill for someone you don't know and little sense of a broader > > public interest. Peter Tasker, in his book Inside Japan, calls the > > Japanese the 'kindest, cruelest' people in the world. The face > > presented depends entirely on whether you are seen to be part of a > > group or outside it. > > > On April 28 1952 Japan was restored to its sovereignty after the post- > > war American occupation. The nation had miraculously 'endured the > > unendurable', as the Emperor had enjoined it to do, and had proved a > > surprisingly warm host to thousands of US troops. This paradox is > > usually explained in terms of the group system: events had shown that > > Japan's imperialist ambitions were illusory, and the White Man was top > > dog. Thus all ranks and groupings moved down one notch giving > > Americans top status. One of the first acts of the post-occupation > > government, however, was to require all foreigners to carry a > > fingerprinted ID card. Protests were immediate and continue. > > > Jack McIntosh, a Canadian missionary with 30 years in Japan, has no > > doubt this law was directed against Koreans and Chinese - the two > > groups who might pass for Japanese most easily. The 680,000 people of > > Korean ancestry are the largest minority group in Japan. Most were > > born here and many speak only Japanese. Yet they must still regularly > > register as 'aliens' and carry the demeaning ID card at all times. > > Some 12,000 apply to become Japanese citizens each year. Detailed > > investigations of kinship and lineage follow. The assumption that they > > will abandon their cultural heritage and even their family name > > provokes hatred and rebellion. Usually only about half the > > applications are successful. McIntosh is an illegal resident himself, > > on account of his refusal to be fingerprinted in 1985. He therefore > > cannot leave Japan. He believes the real purpose of the Alien > > Registration Law is 'to show 16-year-old Korean youth that they are no > > good'. > > > Hidden Identities > > Many schoolchildren of Korean extraction can give you a harrowing > > description of hiding their backgrounds from their classmates at great > > psychological cost - only to be found out when presenting a different > > passport on a school trip. Their friends melted away before their > > eyes. In Osaka's Ikuno, ward where a quarter of the population is > > Korean, less than five per cent use their real names in business > > dealings. Kim Sung Il, a second-generation Korean, refused > > fingerprinting, was arrested and had his finger prints taken against > > his will. He recounts the story of a school teacher accused of some > > trifling infringement of the Registration Law who was taken from her > > classroom by a hundred police. > > > Prejudice is deeply ingrained and government policy does little to > > alter it. A ministry spokesman, Kawakami Tomimi, hit the right level > > of bland government euphemism: 'If Koreans remain here indefinitely > > without assimilating, maintaining a separate identity, Japan will have > > a minority problem. That is undesirable.' > > > In fact, Japan has had a minority problem for centuries, ever since > > the Yamato peoples drove the Ainu to the inhospitable northern island > > of Hokkaido, where they largely remain. Like indigenous peoples > > everywhere, the Ainu have rediscovered their own identity, and are > > pressing for reform. > > > The Burakumin minority are actually Japanese, the lowest in a pecking > > order of rank that was supposedly abolished way back in 1868. The > > remnants of caste discrimination linger on outside Tokyo or in the > > districts of the capital that tourists never visit. Such people did > > and often still do the 'defiling' tasks of slaughter, tanning, corpse > > disposal and scavenging that society is squeamish about. Despite the > > 'Economic Miracle' labour is still needed to remove human excrement > > especially in country districts - and even in Tokyo itself one on > > eight homes lacks proper drainage. > > > 'Official Japan' is keen to gloss over the case of the Burakumin - it > > detracts from the image of perfect harmony they want to present to the > > world. The word Burakumin means 'community or hamlet people'. But a > > hostile Japanese society often refers to these outcasts as Eta, a > > brutally frank word meaning 'extreme filth'. Semantics aside, a caste > > of untouchables is still clearly in- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text -... > > read more » --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Memphis Freethought Alliance" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/memphisfreethoughtalliance?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
