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21st Century Shape of Japan Series, No. 5
EDUCATIONAL REFORM IS A NATION'S LONG-RANGE
PLAN
| Q |
Educational reform has become a national strategy.
The government is holding an "educational reform national assembly"
under the Prime Minister and is seriously considering the ideal
form for 21st Century education. What about elementary education
for starters? |
| A |
The government guidelines for teaching elementary school and
middle school state as follows: (1) "aim for education that
draws out the students' ability to learn and think for themselves
and the individuality of each student"; (2) "strive for the
creation of a culture rich in individuality and the development
of a democratic society and nation"; and (3) "cultivate a self-directed
Japanese who will contribute to international society and open
up the future." I completely agree. The problem is concrete
measures toward these ends. Let's examine these one at a time.
As for (1), first of all, this means to teach the basics of
"reading, writing and arithmetic" completely. Next, moral education
is to implement the "respect for the individual and individualism"
of the Constitution together. It is essential that legal education
deals with the trend toward selfishness and not thinking of
others. In particular, conduct that violates criminal law and
the punishments therefor should be clearly taught. Expecting
the family to teach morals or discipline is fairly futile. Further,
classes should be formed for each subject according to the degree
of advancement. In an era permeated by the Information Society
and Information Technology, the schools are not the only places
to acquire knowledge. Moreover, there are many opportunities
to learn one's abilities and personality from early on. Formal
egalitarianism should be put to an end.
Regarding (2), to begin with, we need education that cultivates
Japan's traditions and a sense of solidarity among Japanese.
There is no abstract "culture rich in individuality" divorced
from tradition. Here too, an understanding of "freedom and democracy"
under the Constitution is necessary. In Japan, politics is conducted
by our representatives. This is what is called "representative
democracy." Thus, though we speak of sovereignty residing with
the people, this comes down to the quality of the politicians
we elect. The greatest goal of compulsory education, then, is
simply this: to teach the discernment that elects not politicians
guided by their own self-interest, but those who are truly suitable
as politicians in the complex, diverse and advanced society
of today's Japan. Since the Meiji Era, there have been many
politicians who risked their lives for the nation. Their biographies
should be taken up. So long as there are citizens who can identify
true politicians, Japan's future is bright.
So what about (3)? This issue is easy to misunderstand. This
is not education towards unarmed neutrality or pacifism. On
the contrary, such education would be misguided. In order to
contribute to international society, it is first necessary to
be a patriot who loves Japan and its people. Children must learn
the traditions of Japan and the history that created present-day
Japan, and become Japanese who thoroughly understand pride and
patriotism. Through this understanding can they become self-directed
Japanese in international society for the first time. Peace
in international society is achieved through people like this,
who each love their own nations and peoples, respectfully maintaining
their own national interests. Securing one's country's defense
and safety with one's own abilities, maintaining this and taking
an active part in international society is to "contribute to
international society." To enter international society advocating
naked pacifism without this sort of spirit, mettle and safety
guarantee would be, on the contrary, to give rise to an evil
desire among other countries and cause international insecurity.
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| Q |
How should high school education be, then? |
| A |
High school education is not compulsory education. First
of all, [1] one ought to go on to high school in order to develop
one's individuality and strong points. Students must stop the
present practice of deciding to go on to high school because
their friends are going. To that end, [2] high school should
be converted to multiple tracks in order to draw out and let
flower diverse abilities with schools such as music school,
industrial arts school, performing arts school, information
school, foreign language school, science school, literature
school and ordinary school. Forming classes for each subject
according to the degree of advancement up through middle school
enables consistency. In the 21st Century, all of the various
intellectual creations brought forth by the brain will become
the core of a society's wealth. Present-day education, with
its emphasis on cramming in knowledge, probably has an adverse
effect on active participation in international society.
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| Q |
What sort of university education is desirable? |
| A |
At one time, university was the only institution to search
for and clarify philosophy, culture and the laws of nature.
It was a palace of science. Nowadays, however, society itself
has become advanced, complex, diverse and scientific. Institutions
other than universities (for example, government research institutes,
private enterprise research institutes and the publishing, mass
communication and education industries) as well as individual
researchers and critics have become able to provide the level
of science that society demands. Thus, nowadays, the university
has become one of many providers of knowledge. Consequently,
[1] in order to secure their significance, universities need
to introduce the principle of competition and secure new roles
for themselves. The university reform presently in progress
should be carried forward all the more. Next, [2] it is necessary
to respond to the popularization and generalization of the university
and focus efforts on education for occupational and specialty
faculties and research and development. In order to fulfill
such demands, [3] new scholarly research and education in culture,
philosophy, ethics and religion are needed at the university.
As Max Weber once pointed out, present-day capitalist economic
society is turning into "an iron cage that has begun to lose
the spirit of abstinence and mission-duty." In the present day,
after the collapse of the socialist system -- the ideology intended
to overcome this problem -- we must again remember Weber's prediction
of 100 years ago and sincerely deal with it. He predicted three
possibilities. The first was the appearance of a new prophet.
The second was the strong revival of former ideas and ideals.
The third was that the capitalist system would become a tighter
iron cage than ever and an automatic machine lacking a spirit
of mission and abstinence. Thus, people "become specialists
without spirit and hedonists without feelings," and fancy themselves
to have "reached a stage that humankind has never achieved before."
We of the 21st Century are walking through the remnants of Weber's
third prediction. The capitalist system's contradictions and
consideration towards humanity, the weak and minorities are
still as unresolved as ever. External economic and environmental
problems and our understanding of the problem of the existence
of living things other than people cannot be overcome through
capitalist theory or the Christian ethics that support it. Scholarly
study of just this sort of aporia is the mission of the university
of the future.
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| Q |
What about so-called "lifetime learning"? |
| A |
These days, one cannot live a human life without continuing
throughout one's lifespan to learn how to live. Once, it was
sufficient for people to acquire the minimum amount of knowledge
and technical skills to secure food, clothing and shelter. However,
nowadays, various added value and fashion are demanded with
respect to even food, clothing and shelter.
Further, various service industries and "soft" industries have
risen up in the name of "comfortable and affluent life," and
our lives have become complex, diverse and advanced. In particular,
due to changes in industrial structures, increasing employment
fluidity, and the rapid development and diffusion of information
technology, workers are required to train and study on a day-to-day
basis in order to develop and improve their human resources.
Especially in Japan, in order to overcome the recession of asset
deflation, the occupational training of workers is essential
in employment and economic policies.
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(Author: The form of question and answer was taken to clarify the
issues.)
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