ProjectE Let's Think about Education

Let's Think about Education

ProjectE > Let's Think about Education

From this website, you will be able to understand the current state of the Japanese educational system and our proposals to change it. For further information you can click the link(s) to our details page.

Title	Portfolio Evaluation > for further information
Problem	In Japan, most teachers evaluate students by their test results. However, we think that focusing solely on results is not good. Teachers should focus on the study process to see if students actually learn something from their studies.
Proposal	How about evaluating students based on a portfolio? A student's portfolio can be similar to a file folder. During their course of study, they can collect things to put into this folder. These items can include idea notes, materials, rough drafts, self-evaluations of an activity as well as results from their study (i.e. papers, tests, etc.). Teachers and students can review the portfolio together and evaluate and advise from it, making it a team effort. Students then can realize the importance of the process and can increase their interest in learning.

Title	Stopping Bullies in the Classroom> for further information
Problem	Bullies in the classroom are a big problem. Many students have committed suicide due to the stress of being bullied by another classmate. Most students who are bullies, justify their actions by saying that they are "only playing" or "I didn't mean to hurt him(her)." This stems from the fact that most bullies are apathetic towards others.
Proposal	How about using a roll-playing game in the classroom? By roll-playing, students think about what they would do or how they would feel if they were either the bully or the victim. They can then realize the importance of thinking about what others think and feel. If bullying does occur in the classroom, teachers must be able to listen to both sides (conflict resolution), as the bully's ideas about what he is doing may be quite different from the victim's point of view.

Title	Interdisciplinary Learning> for further information
Problem	It Is it true that all school subjects like math, physics, social studies, and Japanese should be studied as individual subjects and do not relate to each other? We believe not. For example, finding the shape of the moon from a verse in Japanese poetry is one way we can make a connection between Japanese and Astronomy. We can learn so much more about the world if we can correlate one subject to another.
Proposal	In Japan, we would propose to make all classes interdisciplinary. We think that students should use a portfolio evaluation and making textbooks, covering a wide range of topics.

Title	Making Your Own Classroom Textbook> for further information
Problem	In Japan, most students study very hard, but they do so in a passive way -- that is, they rarely use their creativity to solve problems as they cram for tests.
Proposal	How about students making their own textbooks or study guides? For example, after learning a chapter or a whole textbook, they can choose a topic of interest to them and make a "textbook." This textbook can help them learn how to investigate important issues, how to edit, etc. They can then share their knowledge of the subject with other students in the classroom.

Title	Information Education> for further information
Problem	It is true that the IT bubble has collapsed, but IT itself will gradually change our life style. There is one thing we fear the most; the digital divide. The problem is that not all people can use IT technologies, and there will continue to be a big barrier between a group of people who enjoy the blessings of IT, and others who can't afford to use IT because of the expensive costs of both hardware and software.
Proposal	In Japan, all students must take information technology classes. How about making a webpage as their ID card. They can tell their address to others, and then they can learn what others are interested in, thus making it a community network. It will be more useful to make one page for groups of students.

	Title	Japanese Education> for further information
	Problem	Japanese, as an international language, is isolated. Japanese might be interesting because of it's unique structure. But it is said that more than 80% of the information on the Internet is in English. People using a popular language like English don't want to learn Japanese; they might think that all Japanese people should learn English and communicate with them. How can it survive as an international language?
	Proposal	There is a very good site for people who want to learn Japanese -- "Reading Tutor." This site gives learners some materials to read. They can check the words by a dictionary service, and even check the words they don't know after reading a whole paragraph.

Title	Learning History "Backwards"> for further information
Problem	All history textbooks, so far as we know, begin from the dawn of the human history. Some students don't like history because they think history has nothing to do with them.
Proposal	How about making a textbook starting from current events? They may begin from the election of the current Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi and then go backwards, finishing at the prehistory of humankind. Through this method students can learn how both current and ancient history relates to them.

Title	The University System> for further information
Problem	Universities in Japan have now become a place of play and not study. That is, when Japanese high school students want to enter a university, they must cram for and pass a very difficult entrance exam. If they are accepted, their unwillingness to further their education is evident and they tend to disregard their studies altogether.
Proposal	We suggest a new system in which students can choose their teachers, as well as teachers selecting their students. In the beginning, all students who are 18 would take the college entrance exam. After completing the exam, students would then search for teachers that they would like to be taught by. Those specific teachers would choose the students based on their test results or willingness to learn. By this pick-and-choose method, students have the chance to be taught by a variety of teachers, who may live in different parts of Japan and communicate via the Internet(Distance Learning). We believe that students will study harder as they will have to choose new teachers each time a new term starts. Also, their lesson results will be cumulative from the previous classes, thus they must work hard toward their degree. With this system, we believe that universities will become institutions of higher learning which will attract both students and teachers alike who are enthusiastic about education.

Title	Charter Schools> for further information
Problem	Parents have the right to have their children learn in any way that they see fit. If a parent has a religious belief, they may want to teach their children to respect the same morals and values as they do.
Proposal	Charter schools began as religious schools, but now are schools that listen to what parents want their children to be learning. This is beneficial to everyone as private school tuition can cost a lot of money and public schools might be not good at providing an overall education. A charter school system's base is made up of an educational committee that guarantees parents that the school will meet their expectations. This group finds good teachers who teach as they want to. Overall the charter school provides a more liberal environment for both parents and students.

Title	"Free" Schools> for further information
Problem	In Japan, many teenagers can't adapt themselves to their school. They usually spend most of their time at home. They don't usually do social activities, and lose their confidence about living with others. This downward spiral is characteristic of Japanese kids who dropout of school.
Proposal	There are many kinds of "free" schools in Japan that dropouts can attend. There are school similar to cram schools and others that have a more liberal environment. Whatever the style is, they are places where dropouts can attend. We propose that as long as students who attend these school complete their work, they should be given graduate status and be able to attend a university like traditional school graduates.

Title	Creativity> for further information
Problem	Without creativity, one can only become a part of a big gear wheel. With creativity, one can decide their own way in life and have a chance to be a leader. Unfortunately, the Japanese educational system does not do much to improve a student's creativity.
Proposal	Creativity is fostered in an environment which is absent of fear. Most people choose not to say their creative ideas for fear of being laughed at by others. One good way to improve creativity on the Internet is the OM2 way. The OM2 way is started with one simple email. This email contains one idea and it is then passed on to others to elaborate on. This dicussion can go on and on and make each person realize the importance of getting their ideas across.

Title	Netiquette> for further information
Problem	Everyday, the number of Internet users is increasing exponentially. However as these users get online, many of them do not know how to use "netiquette."
Proposal	Netiquette is an unwritten rule that all the users must obey. The most fundamental idea about this is to think what the other person might think if I do this. Some people can use computers very well, but know little about netiquette. This is unacceptable and these people lose the respect of others. It is important for all people using the Internet to keep this in mind and discipline themselves.

Title	Volunteerism> for further information
Problem	In Japan, part of the new education plan is for students to get involved in their community as volunteers. Many students see this as service that they are unwilling to perform.
Proposal	Service and volunteerism are two different things. Being a volunteer requires a person to be willing to do something. It also helps an individual grow in mind and spirit. This volunteerism is important for students to take part in.

Title	Class Collapse> for further information
Problem	About half of the elementary schools in Tokyo have one or more classes which can't continue to study normally. This is because classes are continually being interrupted by students who leave their seats, wander around and speak loudly.
Proposal	Shools need to make parents aware of their children's bad behavior and work with them to help their children understand that the bad behavior will not be tolerated.

Title	Incompetent Teachers> for further information
Problem	Some teachers in Japan are not good. We refer to them as "M" teachers. They regard their job as a way to get a salary and nothing else. They don't realize that their real job is to inspire students to learn.
Proposal	Teachers need to be evaluated by their peers, students and school administrators on a constant basis. They must also evaluate their own performance to see how it compares with others. If they do not perform their job well, they are given a grace period to try and change their teaching strategy. If this fails, they are treated as any person in a job that fails to perform and are let go.

	Title	Theme - Based High Schools> for further information
	Problem	High schools that teach students technical and trade skills are not as popular as they once were. They need a marketing-type strategy to get students to attend.
	Proposal	These schools should become places where students can learn practical skills. As most students tend to learn by their head, they should also learn hands-on skills. We propose that these schools should be have a theme and that the goal is to complete their educational requirements to present to the community at an end of the year festival. This gives students incentive to complete their project and to get future students interested in the school.