In all levels of schooling, Japanese students face a great deal of stress, from school, peers, and family. This post is intended to highlight some of the issues that many Japanese students face along with some extreme social issues that exist among students, to raise awareness of what Japanese students go through, especially in contrast to Canadian students.
Education in Japan is very competitive, and students are under constant pressure to study hard for entrance exams for prestigious schools and universities. Often, this pressure comes from certain mothers, who will drive their child to study regardless of their physical and emotional well-being. Some mothers are more extreme than others. In the late 90s, a woman murdered her neighbor's two-year-old daughter because she had been admitted into a prestigious kindergarten that her own daughter failed to enter (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jun2000/jap-j19.shtml). Many Japanese students attend cram schools during the evening to give them further time to study. In addition, all high school students are required to register with an extra-curricular club that meets year-round, adding even more to their schedule.
Because of all this pressure on Japanese students to succeed, suicide is very common among Japanese students. In 2005, 886 students committed suicide, many of which were school-related. (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20070615a2.html) Suicides are especially prevalent during entrance exam season, when a student receives unfavorable marks. Currently, Japan's suicide rate is one of the highest in the world.
Many youth in Japan suffer from a unique condition called hikikomori. This is a condition in which youth, mostly young men, from early adolescence to mid-thirties, will shut themselves in their room and avoid social contact with anyone for a period of six months to several years. They go to such extremes because they are afraid of others, and cannot handle the pressure society places on them. (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/15/magazine/15japanese.html)
Ijime, or bullying, is a very major social problem in Japan, often more so than in North America. Usually, students who are bullied stick out in some way, and the entire class participates in bullying these students, often by ostracizing them. Teachers will often encourage bullying, as they see it as an effective means of "behavior modification," and parents tend to place the responsibility on the victims rather than the bullies. Bullying is another major contributor to both suicide and hikikomori. (http://legacy.lclark.edu/~krauss/advwrf99/causeeffect/akikocause.html)
In an interview with Paul Suzuki, who works with Japanese students, he identified the main concern Japanese students have as, "They are longing for a place of belonging... where they can feel at ease, feel accepted, know they would be welcomed, and belong." Many Japanese students do not feel they have a place of belonging, even at home.
Wednesday, June 3, 1970
Monday, June 1, 1970
Japan-AB Archive
Vjm1-logan/charlie said...
We believe the canadian style is more effective than the Japanese style of teaching. But in canada we still do encounter some bullying but there have been no suicides we have heard of.
We believe the canadian style is more effective than the Japanese style of teaching. But in canada we still do encounter some bullying but there have been no suicides we have heard of.
Friday, January 2, 1970
Archive of Old Versions of Historical Places to Visit
The following is an archive of all the old, un-updated posts of historical places to visit in Japan that correspond with the grade 8 curriculum. [note: currently this is incomplete]
Tokyo Posts:
Tokyo Posts:
Nagasaki Posts:
Kyoto Posts:
- Kyoto Imperial Palace
- Nijo Castle
- Fushimi Castle
- To-ji
- Heian Shrine
- Kinkaku-ji
- Ginkaku-ji
- Nanzen-ji
- Five Great Zen Temples of Kyoto
- Ryoan-ji
- Kiyomizu Temple
Hiroshima Posts:
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
- Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome
- Itsukushima Shrine
- Hiroshima Castle
Himeji Posts:
Nagoya Posts:
Yokohama Posts:
- Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History
- Perry Park
- Yamate Seiyokan
- Yokomizo Yashiki
- Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery
- Yokohama Chinatown
Hokkaido Posts:
An Introduction to Canadian Student Life 2010 pilot
This post will be a summary of comments made by Canadian students. Once we have two or three classes of students making comments. Students will be assigned the task of summarizing the comments. The best summaries will be posted.
Instructions:
Read the comments of others and then add a unique comment of your own. You may comment on what others have said or disagree with what they have said. Remember this post is for Japanese students who are learning English so use simple English that does not have slang in it.
How to comment:
Use the Name/URL option to identify your comment. The name used for your comment should put your class code followed by a "-" then your first name and last initial (Anonymous comments may or may not be posted and if you are being marked, you will not get a mark).
See vjm1 comment below
Instructions:
Read the comments of others and then add a unique comment of your own. You may comment on what others have said or disagree with what they have said. Remember this post is for Japanese students who are learning English so use simple English that does not have slang in it.
How to comment:
Use the Name/URL option to identify your comment. The name used for your comment should put your class code followed by a "-" then your first name and last initial (Anonymous comments may or may not be posted and if you are being marked, you will not get a mark).
See vjm1 comment below
Issues Faced by Japanese Students Today - An Interview With a Japanese Student
Following the interview with Hikari about Japanese student life, we asked Nozomi about what is important to Japanese students, and what issues Japanese students face.
In junior high, many students were preoccupied with how to look better and how to be accepted by friends. In high school, the main concern is admission to university. There is a pressure on students to do well in their studies by teachers, students, and peers. In a sense, there is peer pressure to study. In addition, students form clicks in both junior high and high school, and students who don't find a group of friends when school begins often find themselves lonely.
In both junior high and high school, bullying is frequent, which leads to suicide and hikikomori (See Issues Faced by Japanese Students for a description of hikikomori). Many students skip school so they will not have to be bullied. Stress is another factor that leads to suicide. Many Japanese parents place exceedingly high expectations on their children, and they study far too hard. In addition, parents are often busy, and there is little family time. Frequent divorces also lead to single-parent families.
See Woon's blog Excerpt from japantoday.com
See Woon's blog Excerpt from japantoday.com
FACTSnet Alberta/Japan Summer projects 2010
In 2010 the projects focus on developing relationships between St. Albert Alberta and Tokyo Japan as well as developing a structure to facilitate province wide participation. During May, June we are developing a blog and getting feedback from teachers, students and others on the usefulness of the blog in establishing longer term relationships between Alberta and Japan. Grade 8 students would learn about the history of Japan as it relates to the grade 8 curriculum and help Japanese students with their English. Either Japanese or Canadian students or both can participate in the pilot project as follows:
- Sites to visit in Japan
- Some of the members of our summer team will be visiting Japan in July. In preparation, for the visit, we are getting feedback on sites that would be of most interest to Alberta students see Instructions for providing feedback.
- Introductions:
- Places to Visit in Alberta: (Capital, Centralta) - This project is under development and is primarily for Alberta grade 7 students to share information about Canada.
- Resources for Alberta Curriculum - This project would find and evaluate resources that could be used in the grade 8 Social Studies Curriculum and/or Japanese Language and Cultural studies.
Thursday, January 1, 1970
Oldest Post and Archive Index
Historical Sites Indexes
These indexes list a number of important sites in Japanese history. The Locations index sorts the sites by their geographic location, and the Historical Periods index sorts the sites by the time period that the site relates to.
Cultural Indexes (to be added)
These indexes contain posts that are related to elements of Japanese culture.
Curriculum Indexes
These indexes follow posts that are related to the Alberta curriculum outcomes related to Japan, including both the grade 8 Social Studies and High School Japanese Language curriculae.
Other Posts Not in Index (Archive)
FACTSnet Alberta Japan Summer projects 2010
Issues Faced by Japanese Students Today
Issues Faced by Japanese Students Today Interview
Introduction to Canadian Student Life Pilot
Japan-AB Archive Comments
Other Posts Not in Index (Archive)
FACTSnet Alberta Japan Summer projects 2010
Issues Faced by Japanese Students Today
Issues Faced by Japanese Students Today Interview
Introduction to Canadian Student Life Pilot
Japan-AB Archive Comments
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So far I haven't heard of any school related suicides.