Intended Audience: Parents, grandparents, educators, who may be interested in hearing how one of the top educating nations in the world differs from the US concept of education. This is meant to be an informative speech, rather than persuasive.
Introduction
(Audience Hook)When someone shows a chart of the top 10 scoring nations and economies worldwide in the field of education, the USA doesn’t even reach the list. According to the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) the US scores below average in Math; Science and Reading scores don’t look all that impressive, either.
(Thesis) If we take a look at the differences in education standards between the US and Japan, which scored second on the test worldwide, we might see a few differences, not just in the standards, but in teaching, learning, and how people see and experience school life.
(Preview of Main Points)
The graduation rate in Japan is over 94%, compared to a graduation rate in the US of only 83% according to Wikipedia. That’s more than a 10 percent difference.
While the United States spends more on education than Japan (United States: $12,995; Japan: $10,739 per student in 2014), students still fall far behind in capability compared to students in Japan, as scored on the PISA.
II. Main Point 1: Three Differences in Results.
Higher graduation rates in Japan can easily be linked to student satisfaction at school. While the classrooms are more conducive to learning than the average (PISA 2012 results
Japanese education is very influential to the youth of Japan. It can affect students future and plays a big role in society today. Some people believe that students in Japan are better educated than the students in United States. While some people think this is not true, there are many strong reasons that prove this is accurate.
The author proves how our present school system is based on an old-fashioned model designed for students who would finally work in factories. Provided that simple abilities to young pupils might have been enough by the turn of the 21st century, but it is absolutely not satisfactory in the 21st. The several and cumulative things of a broader base of knowledge and rapidly proceeding technologies need extension of access to education and overhaul of curricula, teaching styles, and learning assessments. Darling-Hammond discovers imaginative changes in Finland, South Korea, Singapore, and other places that have kept up with the rising needs for educating school children. She poignantly shows how California pales in comparison to these places.
A con of America's schools is that morals are not usually taught and students often disobey their teachers because they don’t learn self discipline. A pro of the Japanese school systems is that morals are taught and students are obedient and kind. A con on the Japanese schools is that some students probably feel over worked. Another pro of America's schools is that diversity is valued, compared to Japan where all students are expected to act equally. A pro to Japanese schools is that with stricter rules, Japanese students behave much better than
Lizeth Galindo May 27, 2015 APWH/Period 2 Japan vs. United States How was the relationship of Japan and United States after Pearl Harbor? The whole world was thrown into wars in the late 1930’s. Countries fought one another with devastating consequences. Thousands of lives were ended in a matter of seconds and numerous generations were scarred for an eternity.
In the world, countries are competing to have the best education system. Some countries such as America spend thousands of dollars per student during the school year yet have average test score. America should focus in a different system to help students raise their test scores and education. America should look at Finland education system. Finland grants equality education to all, have a better education structure system, and Finland comes to the top in test scores. While some people might say Finland does not have a large population, which helps the country with less education cost.
As a result of this, the system is constantly receiving criticism concerning the quality of the American system. (U.S.D.E. The Educational System in the U.S…) In fact, a recent study done by the National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum, and Assessment, states that in fourth grade math, Japan ranks third out of twenty-six countries while the U.S. ranks only twelfth, and that in eighth grade math, Japan keeps the ranking of third out of forty-one, while the U.S. drops to twenty-eighth. As result of these criticisms, sets of voluntary guidelines and standard achievement tests have recently been introduced as an effort to “catch up” to the other
For instance, in Korea their “pressure cooker”(24) style of education “school never stopped”(57). In comparison, Korean student typically went to school from 8am to sometimes 10-11pm, while in the United States generally school is from about 8am to usually at the latest 4pm. With this style of schooling the Koreans never use excuses found commonly in the United States such as, “the test was unfair or not everyone can be good at math”(57) instead their mindset was “You didn’t work hard enough”(57). While Ripley and Korean Education minister Lee Ju-Ho think this method is extreme she uses this comparison to show that their is no denying that working harder in school whether it be more rigorous or lengthy improves scores tremendously. In Finland the utopia of education, many comparisons were linked to the teachers as well as students. In Finland “all education schools were selective”(85) meaning that most finnish teachers had received “the highest levels of education in the world”(85), in comparison to the United States where an Oklahoma algebra one teacher’s college had “low standards and little rigor”(88). This comparison also shows how seriously foreign countries take teaching compared to the United States where “jobs were protected by powerful unions”(84). Many finnish kids also were
Education is one of the most important assets a country can offer in terms of the future. Education is what drives technical advances and helps form the general structure of the country. As the United States’ monetary deficit grows, one may forget about the pending problems in education. These problems in education may led to the downfall of the once great global powerhouse the United States once was.
Since the release of the annual report by Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in December of 2010, many in the government and community are searching for ways to reform the American education system to give American students a greater opportunity to succeed. According to the report, one cannot ignore the fact that American students are not testing as high academically as other nations in the world (Duncan, 2010). There are many contributing elements that have brought America to her knees in the education system, however, the obsession with standardized testing is found to be more of a stumbling block than a stepping stone in the education system. To understand how to rectify the problem, we must look at all the facts
America’s test scores are barely average compared to other countries. 470,000 15-year-old students took the OECD test in math, science, and language arts. The test was scored on a 1,000 point scale. The U.S average score in math was 487 meaning that 24 out of the 34 countries ranked higher. This includes Finland who scored a 541. In science, America scored an average of 502 which placed them at 17th. Once again Finland was a leader on the scoreboard. Finally, in language arts the U.S scored a 500 putting them in 14th place. Finland still ranked higher; they were in the ranks with places like Shanghai. “The brutal fact here is there are many countries that are far ahead of us… this should be a massive wake up call”, says U.S Education Secretary Arnie Duncan (Hechinger). So why is education so important?
The United States is lagging behind the rest of world in terms of our educational system. We seem to put more emphasis on sports while we cut teachers, defund programs, and neglect making improvements to our schools. This point is highlighted at the very beginning of the article by pointing out the fact that on a critical thinking math test, countries such as Shanghai and Singapore scored the highest while the United States ranked thirty-first. We must acknowledge the disconnect in our education systems to see how we can improve our teaching methods. Most of the top ranking countries put education over everything else which can put overwhelming pressure on its people, but they still value the fact that education equals
In an intelligence-based economy, education is important to national prosperity and individual success. Huge achievement gaps and opportunities must shrink to non-existence, and every student must receive a well education that prepares them for college and careers in the world as it is today. Comparing the United States education system to other countries shows that the United States scored lower than nineteen other counties and education systems in reading in the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment. Germany and Poland in particular are two countries that have now surpassed the United States. During the same study, scores showed that twenty-nine nations outperformed the United States by a large amount in mathematics, and in science, there have been twenty-two education systems that scored higher than the United States (Heitin).
The educational system differs throughout the world; its viewed and taught differently because of cultural differences. Many cultures view education as a necessity of life therefore family are strict and get more involved in there child’s education. Around the world, education is given to students to prepare them for their future. The American education is considered one of the strongest systems of education therefore many countries the American system. The American education system contains many differences and similarities to the foreign system of education; however, students in the American system are not as successful as those in foreign countries like Japan.
With the development of the modern state, education has been a decisive factor in affecting the international status and impacts of a country. People pay more attention to education quality and provide advanced study facilities so that their country can have a faster development. With many conflicting different education forms, it is necessary to compare and contrast them for getting a better understanding of the education system in the world. The education here refers to teaching quality, different education level system, the policy and the well-being from the government about education. I will explain the similarities and differences about the education in Finnish and Japan.
Have you ever wondered why our country is ranked low in comparison to other countries when it comes to education? Our country is said to be the best country in the world; yet when one takes a closer look on our system, defects are bound to be found. Take a look at our education for instance. We have the least productive schools in the nation. The truth is that the board of education has dumbed down the system due to a decrease in testing averages.