A comparative analysis of Japanese and British educational models.
The brutal competition of private schools
Use the train carriage as a classroom and play games with the lovely and generous principal ... Many readers who have read the famous Japanese children's literature "Little Doudou by the Window" may have the impression of Japanese primary schools as a relaxed teaching model as Ba Xueyuan;
Pay attention to sports, storage and etiquette ... In the eyes of many Japanese, China attaches great importance to children's quality education, and children grow up in a relaxed learning environment. But in reality, are Japanese children really that relaxed?
For work reasons, the children of Global magazine reporters also came to an ordinary public elementary school in Tokyo.
After one semester, apart from holding two parent-teacher conferences, it conveyed the overall teaching focus at this stage and showed the children's handmade works. It seems that there are not many schools to communicate with, and the whole school and school atmosphere are relaxed and happy.
However, not long after happiness, the reporter began to feel a little flustered. Is it really possible to study so easily? Are all Japanese children so easy to get into college? With all kinds of questions, the reporter began to inquire about the whole picture of Japanese primary education through various channels.
At the Tangdao Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, people hang wooden signs on the wishing wall to pray for students' exams.
All the way from private to elite
Primary education in Japan is mainly divided into public and private. No matter whether it is a district or a city, public primary schools do not need to take exams. As long as they live in the school district, they can be admitted without exams. However, private primary schools not only have several times higher tuition fees than public schools, but also have to pass the entrance examination, and the better private primary schools, the higher the threshold.
In terms of course content, good private primary schools generally teach English from the first grade, and the course content is rich and practical. The public primary school where the reporter's children are located didn't offer the course of "international communication" until the third grade, and the content was very simple. In other subjects such as Putonghua, mathematics, social studies and science, there is also a huge gap between the teaching contents of private and public schools.
The length of class hours is also different. Public schools usually finish school at 15, and private primary schools 17, with all kinds of homework. After six years of primary school, the overall competitiveness of students in public primary schools and private primary schools is far from each other.
In addition, starting from 1995, Japan began to implement "consistent education for junior and senior high schools", and many good junior high schools were tied together with good senior high schools. Therefore, in order to be admitted to a famous university, Japanese children have to fight from "junior high school". Because if you don't get into a good junior high school, it means that you will miss a good high school and it is difficult to get into a famous university.
Going to private primary schools-going to key private junior high schools-going straight to key private high schools-and entering key universities has become a way for many Japanese parents to train the next generation of elites.
However, private schools have been studying all the way, and the high tuition fees are difficult for ordinary families to support. Of course, parents of children in public primary schools will not give up their investment in children's education just because their children have not embarked on the private road. They turned their attention to another road to strength-private schools.
Britain, England
Parents have no "group" to retreat from, but it does not mean that they are completely letting go.
The overall educational atmosphere in Britain is relaxed, and most schools will pay attention to keeping a reasonable distance while strengthening communication between home and school, so as to avoid transferring too much teaching pressure to parents.
Communication mainly depends on mail.
English people are used to writing letters. They prefer to send an email first, rather than calling or texting. The same is true of British schools, which communicate with parents mainly by email rather than mobile phones, and will not choose social media groups.
There are also "parent groups" in British schools, but worthy of the name, the group is formed spontaneously by parents, and the members are limited to parents, which are basically used to invite children to birthday parties and chat between parents.
In Britain, e-mail plays a very important role as a bridge between home and school. If parents have any questions about the school, they can send an email to the school office or principal during working hours, and usually get a timely email or telephone reply on the same day. E-mails sent by schools to parents are sometimes printed out for children to take home, which is an important way for parents to grasp the students' usual situation at school.
However, the number of emails sent by the school to parents will vary according to the management style of the principal. The children of Global Magazine reporters have attended two public primary schools in Britain, and they have obvious feelings about this.
Although there are many school emails, the content of the emails is by no means focused on children's academic performance and academic performance, and it will not appear in the emails to assign homework to students and ask parents to correct their homework.
Keep a reasonable distance
Communication between parents and schools in Britain can also be achieved through teachers' parents' associations.
This is an organization that serves the teachers and students of the school, such as collecting money for the school, organizing a weekend charity sale for the school, rehearsing small theater performances, and enriching students' after-school arrangements.
After students enter school, parents automatically become members of this organization. Willing parents can be elected as representatives in each academic year to serve their respective grades or classes.
Because the work of the Teacher-Parent Alliance is purely service-oriented and takes up a lot of time, only parents who really have time and are keen on public welfare affairs will consider acting as representatives.
While maintaining communication with parents, British schools usually keep a reasonable distance from parents to avoid increasing the communication burden between teachers and parents.