In France, it is generally considered that the earlier children start, the greater their head start. Many parents presume that it’s better if their children learn to read from the age of 5.
The Japanese are less impatient. To enter elementary school, children must have reached 6 years of age on 1st April. Elementary school continues till the age of 12 (during the last two years, lessons are given by subject teachers who move about from class to class, while the class teacher stays with his/her pupils to help them). Extra classes given after school are where pressure is felt more acutely.
In both cases, the result is feelings of self-depreciation and pessimism in children who are very conscious that they have failed to fulfil their parents’ desires. However Japanese children fare better than French children.
PISA evaluations show that results of Japanese children are clearly superior to those of French children. Generally, people in France attribute this to a relentless work rate that drives some children to suicide - perhaps they are confusing Japan with the reality in South Korea. For me, the success of Japanese pupils can be explained by other reasons, which are more credible because they are consistent with observations I made in Finland.
First, it seems that Japan is not (yet?) a victim of the safety obsession and of the paralysing surveillance that characterize French schools.
This playground in a school near to Osaka contains footballs, climbing frames, bicycles… and no adults to monitor the children. If any children hurt themselves, they went to the sick room by themselves, and en route proudly showed me their wounds. This is a far cry from our 2008 School Programme that stipulates on page 67 of the Practical Guide for Parents "[children] perform daily activities without any risk of hurting themselves" !
Also, it is not considered exploitative that the children contribute to the maintenance of their environment. Every week, half a day is set aside for cleaning the school and tending to the plantations and flower beds.
Every day, at noon, some pupils distribute meals to their classmates.
As can be seen, Japanese children go far beyond what is stipulated in the French 2008 programmes, which limits children to the distribution and storage of class material.
Japanese children demonstrate astounding manual dexterity. These boys, aged 3 to 6 years, are making supply bags during an after-school class.
Minako is advising a 6-year-old boy who is using a sewing machine, while younger children sew using needles. All she does is talk- the boy does everything.
In the final years of primary school, specialist subject teachers move between classes to give lessons. The class teacher remains among his/her pupils, observing how they work and intervening when necessary. In this way, the transition to secondary school is less traumatic than it is in France.
Although the classes seem to be overcrowded — from 30 to 36 pupils per class, according to what I saw —, the simultaneous presence of several teachers at important times makes it possible to conduct complicated activities, such as this guitar-making workshop led jointly by the crafts teacher and the music teacher.
The fact that the guitars are different and at different stages of manufacture demonstrates the level of autonomy accorded to the pupils.
This autonomy, and the inherent risks in its implementation, ensure the "Minimum Recognition of Self" espoused by Jacques Lévine. Again, it is a far cry from the situation in France where an inspector can reprimand a teacher by remarking "I don’t want to see children anymore; I want to see pupils".
Social recognition is another aspect of the importance accorded to the children’s’ work. Thus, the collections of Inuyama museum include objects created by children of the local college on the theme of movement. What struck me was the extreme diversity of the objects made by the children, and in the materials used and mechanisms employed (see photo below).
I am not saying that the Japanese school system has no problems. I am only trying to detect which practices can explain the better results of Japanese children in international evaluations. I doubt that mechanical and repetitive exercises, that I too have experienced, are highly effective. More plausible explanations seem to me to be the acceptance of risk-taking, the autonomy accorded to children, their involvement, and recognition of their work.
Thanks to all the Freelang translators
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