Kristen Wolf
To get a better understanding of how the Japanese culture prepares their adolescents for the transition from school to the workforce, I interviewed a Japanese male named Teru. I asked Teru a series of questions related to the concept of cooperative learning and the school to work transition program He provided me with a great deal of insight into his personal experience with the Japanese school system and his transition into the American school system. The following paragraphs will discuss the responses Teru gave to the five questions asked.
The first question I asked Teru was if he had a school to work program in his high school that was similar to the one talked about in the Transition from high school to work in Japan web site. He did not have a strong school to work program in his high school. Teru instead discussed the Japanese school system, in particular, the examination system. He said that Japan is quite well known (or infamous) for the college and university examination system. That in order to get into a good university or college one must go to a good high school. To enter high school, one needs to study hard in junior high school or even in elementary school. They have (and Teru took) exams for entering high school (for both private and public high schools). Teru recalls that some of his friends from junior high school had a hard time passing their exams for high school. His friends then had two options: One was to start working (i.e., giving up going to high school for the rest of their lives, or just for a year and then reapplying for a high school the following year); the second option was to find any school which accepted students after the regular exam season, which was from February through the beginning of March. This was an option because high schools usually need to have a certain number of students every year for financial and other reasons; therefore, they kept accepting students after the season until they could obtain a certain number of students. When enrolled into high school, one could enter into the college track or the vocational track.
The second question I asked Teru was if, after reading the Transition from high school to work web site, what he felt were the positive aspects of the program. He expressed two main positive elements. The first element was the amount of information that the schools provided for their students. Teru opinion was that today it is becoming more difficult for many parents to help their children's career choice without professionals' help in a society where new technology changes the nature of occupations so fast. What this means is that information on what kind of occupation is available or not available for students becomes more crucial than it used to be. The second positive element was career development was not something that was done just 6 months before one gets a job. It often takes some time. Also, in order to decide a good career path, one needs to explore and make some type of commitment. If students could utilize this kind of program, they could get a better handle on what they need to think and do to consider their future career.
Question number three asked of Teru was, did he utilize cooperative learning in the classroom at the high school level. He did use the concept of cooperative learning in his high school classes in Japan. Teru remembers doing many activities with his classmates. The concept of cooperative learning , was one of the characteristics of Japanese classrooms, compared to American classrooms, and was implemented not only in the high school level, but also in the junior high school and elementary school as well.
The fourth question I asked Teru was, did cooperative learning help him in his career. Teru has had the unique experience of being involved in two cultures of workforce (Japanese culture and American culture). Teru believes that the skills he has learned through cooperative learning would benefit him greater in his career in Japan then in America. One benefit of cooperative learning was that people develop skills for working well in a team. His does understand that there is a concept of team/group learning in this country as well. To Teru, the development or the products of the "group' itself is not as important in this culture as in Japan, although he 'never' means that people do not consider group products in this country.
To follow up what was indicated in the previous question, I asked Teru if he thought that the American schools should integrate the cooperative learning strategy. He believes that it would be a positive step in American schools and therefore, in the American workforce. He feels that in order to raise the average of children's school performance in this country, it may be good idea that American schools integrate the cooperative learning strategy. By doing this, American schools could improve the level of children's school performance on average, which means that the schools could produce workers with better skills and abilities. However, one must think about what type of issues that the American society regards as more important. Usually, in American educational context, the idea of enhancing the average level of skills or abilities of people in a group may not be considered important. Also, being able to work collaboratively in a team was a very important skill in Japan society. In Japan it was important because because companies usually expect their employees to have this ability. Japanese society in general also expected their employees to have that ability. Japanese society in general was also expected people to behave that way. What children are expected to learn was strongly related to what work world expected from these workers. That was what society was all about, and still is today.
The
interview with Teru was very beneficial in learning the experiences he
had with the Japanese school system. The five questions ranging from the
program implication to the possible benefits to the cooperative learning
could have on the American schools was very helpful in better understanding
what Teru felt about the topics. His opinions provided insight and possible
ideas for programs. Thank you, Teru for your wonderful interview and great
knowledge.