![]() ![]() You certainly don't see that in too many other cultures. It's so prevalent in Japanese society that they have come up with extra ways to describe and talk about this type of relationship. But Japanese moms are supposed to take these indulgences to another degree. ![]() Most mothers indulge their children to some degree – feeding them, changing them, calming them when they cry… etc. Let's go back to everyone's first amae relationship: mother-child. If everyone is able to indulge their needs into everyone else then everything will work out, or so Japanese society has been saying for quite a while now. It's the senpai-kohai relationship in a nutshell. It starts with child and mother, but expands out to student and teacher, student and upperclassmen, salaryman and boss, husband and wife, etc. This amae type of relationship is the ideal for all close relationships in Japan. The word amae comes from the word amaeru, which, according to Japanese psychoanalyst Takeo Doi (he's the guy who basically made this term a thing), can be defined as "to wish to be loved." On top of this, it has connotations of a need for dependency and a request for indulgence of one's perceived needs. You see this over and over again, and this dependence is even encouraged by society! "You're creating a society of spoiled brats!" I used to think. One of the most obnoxious things about Japanese children, in my opinion, is how dependent they seem to be on their mothers. Amae and Indulgence Source: MIKI Yoshihito In the end, I believe that it comes down to a concept known as amae. It hints at why the Japanese education system is successful, though in a very indirect way. I think that this extreme stress is our first clue, though. The stress a Japanese person deals with on a day-to-day basis is even infamous throughout the first world. It's no wonder that Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.ĭespite this, Japanese students (and Japanese society on a whole) are able to handle extreme amounts of stress. It's no wonder it's lovingly nicknamed the "hell test." And, if you fall behind and don't get into a good school? Well, extra juku for you then, kiddo. Still though, you go to even more juku in high school to prepare yourself for the test. A better high school means a better opportunity to get a higher score on the college entrance examination. If you can get into a better middle school, then you go to more juku so that you can get into a better high school. Often starting from elementary school a child will begin going to juku, or "cram school." This is school after school with the goal of getting you into a better middle school. The preparation for the test is much worse. Talk about stress.īut, the stress doesn't only come from the test itself. So, you want to shoot for the best college possible that you think you can get into… but if you overshoot it and fail the test, you spend a year as a ronin basically, that's one year where you study and get ready for the test next year, because you didn't get into college. If you don't reach that score you probably don't go to college, and what college you go to decides your future fate and salary as well, much more than it does in America. That college has a certain score requirement. You get to choose one college you want to go to. At the end of high school this single test decides your future. When I think of the Japanese education system, I personally think about the college examination tests that most high schoolers end up taking, probably because I saw what it did to my friends the year or two before they had to take it. Japan's Love Affair With Stress Source: madtea As we'll learn, the parent-child relationship is a very important aspect of how Japanese children become good learners. In fact, if you're a parent you might see things that you can utilize with your child as well. Now, I'm not saying that the Japanese education system is perfect (in fact, it has a whole bunch of other problems, though math doesn't seem to be one of them), but I thought it would be interesting to talk about it while we were on the subject. ![]() The changes we're trying to make to "be more like Japan" (not to mention many other Asian countries) in education just aren't the things that make Japanese education successful. When that didn't work, we turned to the idea of "better math and science teachers," but I'm afraid that's not going to work either. ![]() People think that if America has more math and more science we'll suddenly be able to compete again on a worldwide scale. Rarely would this conversation make it past a skin deep level. "There needs to be more math!" some would yell. Although this has died off in more recent times, there was a period where it seemed like every other American politician would look to Japan for inspiration in order to try and reform the American School System. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |