Studying Too Much In Japan: Kids Too Tired To Smile
By billywest • Jun 16th, 2008 • Category: Society, The Latest
Let’s call him, Yuji. That’s not his real name, but you know the deal. He was 11 years old when he studied English at the Yokohama conversation school I worked at, and a student of mine. Every time I greeted him in the school lobby with a “Hi, Yuji! How are you, today?” he responded with “Sleepy,” a blank expression on his face. I would then usually tell a joke or two and something resembling a smile would appear on his sagging face. “Come on,” I would say, “You can smile better than that.” His usual reply was, “I’m too tired to smile.”
Why was he “too tired to smile” all the time? Well, I suspect that it was due to his almost-daily participation in regular elementary school, juku (cram or prep school), music lessons plus his twice-a-week English lessons. He was always a good performer in my classes and even managed to enjoy them when they were game-heavy. However, I couldn’t help thinking that the kid was smart enough without having to participate in so many endless after-school activities. I mean, he rarely got home before 7 p.m. most evenings, according to him.
Of course, I saw this in many of my students. If not, I wouldn’t have bothered considering this article. While, in general, I’m not critical of the education system here in Japan, I do worry that too many parents are manipulated into thinking that their kids will turn out to be failures if they aren’t made to go to juku, Eikaiwa lessons, and the like. I mean, for average students, participation in these after-school activities are a way to gain an edge against the brighter, gifted students when it comes to high-school and college entrance exams.
But, where does it all lead to in the end? How many of these kids go on to light the academic world on fire, or land amazing entry-level jobs? Each year in April, most soon-to-be college graduates land the first full-time jobs of their lives, often in fields unrelated to their university majors. While it is said that many graduates of prestigious universities like Tokyo, Waseda, or Keio are likely to land better jobs than graduates of more average schools, it is also said that things are changing. Companies are starting to implement merit-based promotion systems and some Japanese people actually change careers in mid-life.
There’s a lot of talk in the news lately about how too much time studying and not enough time socializing is breeding generations of socially-inept, emotionally disturbed individuals. The fact that Tomohiro Kato, last week’s knife-wielding Akihabara attacker, spent an inordinate amount of time participating in after-school studies has been cited as one possible factor in his twisted character development. He’s actually being referred to as a “social terrorist,” who took revenge on the society that created him. I’m not sure how much of this is media sensationalism, but one thing’s for sure, if the media keeps this kind of reporting up, parents will start to reconsider the necessity of enrolling their kids in cram schools and other popular secondary classrooms.
What do you think? Is all this outside-school education and study really necessary? Are people being manipulated into paying exorbitant amounts of money to give their kids what they believe is a proper education that will prepare them for the real world? Or is this what’s necessary for Japan to remain an economic powerhouse?
If you ask me, a lot of parents need to rethink what they’re forcing their kids to go through. Kids deserve a chance to be kids.
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billywest is a resident of South Tokyo and lives on the Toyoko line.
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Japan’s Kids - Too Much Study?…
How much is too much when it comes to studying for kids? Many Japanese kids are so busy with studying, they don’t get home until late, some elementary school kids included. Check this story out and take the poll….
I’ve stuck my neck out and voted yes. As far as I understand, Japanese kids learn the fundamentals at school, but not the specifics needed for the entrance exams of their desired junior high, high school, or university. I think each school has its own entrance exams and cram schools are geared towards those exams. So, if the kids didn’t go to cram school, they’d have a hard time getting into their chosen schools but, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting the current system is the right way to do things.
I actually think Japanese people have fonder memories of their childhood than us Brits do. We don’t have that “groupiness” that spawns lifelong friendships quite the same as in Japan. So maybe the Japanese do study too much, but they seem to enjoy it even if it makes them too tired to smile
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I see this quite often as well and, while I might not be an expert on Japanese education or civic expectations, it’s clear that these little people are being wound so tight from such a young age that they’re bound to snap at any point after they get into a boring-as-hell desk job after 15+ years of having “benkyo-benkyo-benkyo-benkyo-benkyo-benkyo-benkyo-benkyo-ganbarimasu!” shoved down their throat.
To be completely honest, I’m surprised there aren’t more suicides among the, already low, under-20 population
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I feel sorry for those children who have nothing to look forward to but cram schools and endless other activities. I am not suggesting that these kids would be better off playing video games all their free time, but they don’t need to spend almost every waking hour studying, training, and practicing.
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That’s why i choose to raise my kids in Australia. At least i know they will have play time while being raised in a bi-lingual family life. I don’t have too many expectations on them, if they are happy with their life that is all that will matter to me, bugger anyone else’s expectations.
I agree with Nick Ramsay in that Japanese students are very group orientated and almost family like when thinking back on their school days. My husband still is in contact with all his high school friends who regularly come over to visit and vice versa. I on the other hand don’t have that relationship with my high school friends in aus, i only see about 2 people from those days and don’t have many fond memories.
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This is my first year teaching at public schools, and I have been surprised to see how easy the kids have it sometimes. Basically, anything goes. The teachers have no power, so the kids can run roughshod all day and typically seem pretty happy. However, the students who are subjected to cram school and other activities appear half-alive at times. So I do think they are pushed a little too hard. You don’t want to grow up and feel you were robbed of your childhood. It only comes once. The country needs to re-examine its educational structure to place a larger emphasis on critical thinking and new ideas rather than the same old, same old. Likely won’t happen, but it’s what I feel would help.
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Well it all depends on the child I think. Some kids respond well to the challenge and enjoy all the studying. Other kids however learn in a much different manner and too much time with their heads in a book can actually damage their ability or desire to learn.
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The education system in this country is SOOO f’ing broken it’s pathetic!!! Yeah….my school had metal detectors ….but in the classroom it was about learning and anything bothering that was QUICKLY removed.
If they got through the metal detectors.
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The Japanese Schooling system needs to be fixed. True, some kids make lifelong friends through all the work they put in, then again, some kill themselves because of all the work they come in. I think the real problem with all this focus on exam prep and mechanical one-minded thinking is that they have no where to go once they’re in college. If they get into a good school, then they get a good job so long as they don’t flunk out, and I’d be as lazy as possible if I’d been busting my ass since grade school. This is why Japan has so many salarymen that are exactly the same and so few revolutionary thinkers. It makes me want to throw up.
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