Oh wait...that would invalidate all the idiocy that the Liberals have piled on our public schools! Silly me...
The US liberals don't know what a can of worms they are opening: the way teaching is done in Japanese schools today are either the same, or more likely far stricter, than the 1950s American high schools.
But wait...going back to the reactionary era is anathema to the folks at the NEA. How terrible!
(PS: Also notice that this article looks like a reprint of another NYSlimes article about Japanese education 10 years ago)
My daughter has been teaching in Japan for the past two years. There is NO WAY she would teach in a public school in the U.S.A. No teacher's union, no disciplinary issues, teachers arrive well before the start of the school day and are there till well into the evening. They also participate in all the students' club activities and eat lunch with the students. Even the brightest, most accomplished students tend to think they are not good enough in their best subjects.
The most startling difference is that she was invited by the school to put up a CHRISTMAS TREE !!!! (not a holiday or wishing tree, either) The staff and students helped cut and trim the tree and enjoyed it so much they wanted a second one in the school. You all can just IMAGINE that in a US public school.
That's a very good idea, and I agree completely. \
Honestly, a lot of the blame falls on the parents, too.
My mom brought a class that had only the year before had 30% of the class pass reading at a level of proficiency and brought 83% of the class to proficiency.
She was singled out and bullied by a group of mothers (i.e. old hens) who said that she was making their babies work to hard, giving them homework (gasp!), and she was GIVING them lower grades than they were used to getting.
End of story: my mother was run out of the school, undermined by a group of parents who NEVER came and brought their complaints to her but rather ran to the administration. Lots of false accusations went around, the mothers, ganged up on her, and she spent the next 3 years looking for a new teaching job.
Now that she's there, imagine the fact that their test scores have gone up substantially!
Parents are a major, major problem. Until they start becoming proactive and fostering a learning environment at home WITH EXPECTATIONS our kids are bound for failure.
But never believe that there is no academic excellence in this country. It's just that it is sometimes difficult to see the wheat because of all the chaff.