Japan's Education compared to the U.S

I started thinking about how everyone was talking about what the U.S has or doesn't have compared to other countries.

I found something really interesting comparing in detail Japan’s educational system compared to the U.S.

“This document presents a comparative analysis of education in Japan and the United States. The report explores differences between U.S. and Japanese culture. While the United States may be characterized by its diversity, Japanese culture is distinctive in the extent of its uniformity. Japan, moreover, has a highly centralized educational system; U.S. education is extremely decentralized. Education is compulsory in both countries, until age 16 in most U.S. states, and until 15 in Japan. While many students in the United States work or participate in other activities, Japan tends to view schooling as a student's job. Japanese students face a longer school year and a more rigorous, government controlled curriculum than do their U.S. counterparts. In Japan, teaching is a more highly respected and rewarded field than it is in the United States. There are major attitudinal differences concerning schooling in the two countries. The United States tends to emphasize students' abilities, while the Japanese place greater emphasis on persistence and personal responsibility. From the Japanese system, the United States can learn: (1) the true value of taking education seriously; (2) the need to raise academic standards; and (3) the ability to spend wisely on education.”

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/13/a7/47.pdf

I highly recommend that if you have the time, to read the whole thing. It talks about how it all begins with Japanese culture having deep roots in Confucian ideas and values, with a large respect for learning. In Japan they are taught how to conform to social structure where as in the U.S we test the boundaries and pursue our own wants and desires. The U.S is characterized by our individualism and we hold high our countries freedom of individuality. Our life pursuits are more often spent on personal endeavors only thinking about our own well being and happiness. In Japan the harmony of the society as a whole. An interesting point the author made was about our geographical differences. Japanese live in an area equivalent to the size of California while the U.S has wide vast amounts of land to build a society in. The openness of our land makes it better for experimentation, moving around, being open to new ideas, and growing individually. The crammed society of Japan learns from early on that life is easier to get along and share common values and outlooks on things. There are so many other things that set us apart including our families and the way we are raised. In America discipline is nothing compared to that of Japanese culture. Children in Japan are taught at a very young age to respect and listen to their elders. They are influenced by their family more than anything else. Here in the U.S it’s as if children are more influenced by their peers and in some cases parents aren’t even around enough because of jobs which leads to us not wanting to listen or respect their authority at a young age. We learn how to take care of ourselves and form our own opinions. The paper I read is really interesting and shows how the U.S really needs to raise their education standards to change where education falls on Americans priority lists.