Education II

Discussion with Superintendent and School Board of Isehera

Isehara contains 10 elementary, four lower level secondary, two upper level secondary, one private, one six-year combined, and one disabled school.

The Superintendent, Hisao Osada, stated that the two pillars of their educational philosophy were:

1) Full development of the person, knowledge of the basics, education for humanity, and involve the parents and the community.

2) Lifeline education combined with education in the arts, athletics, and emotional activities.

According to the Board President, Masonobu Horie, four stages of educational development have taken place in modern Japan:

1) Pre-Meiji to Early 20^th Century: Japan divided into districts with village schools run by the local temple. While not compulsory, most children attended some level of schooling where reading, writing, and morals were taught – but not topics such as natural sciences – and as a result, Japan enjoyed a relatively high literacy rate. However, compared to Western education, it was still behind in many areas. In the mid-19^th Century, the Meiji Restoration took place, and the national government began to send excellent students to the West, especially the U.S., to study Western education

2) Early 20^th Century to End of WWII: After Meiji Restoration, education was made compulsory, and schools began to get more current. However, there were some disadvantages as the system stayed in place too long without change, and as a result, it became controlled, uniformed, and standardized. After WWII, these lags in education were even more pronounced.

3) Post-WWII to End of 20^th Century: Fulbright Program begins and Japanese are invited to the U.S. to study. At the same time, Japan adopts the U.S. model for education, including ideas such as PTA and school boards. Due to this, the Japanese can predict what will happen to their educational system based on what is taking place in the U.S. However, advantages and disadvantages exist in such a system, and some disadvantages include an increase in class disruption, drug use, sex, and a decrease in scholastic performance. These developments have only recently begun in Japan, in large part due to the following of the U.S. model.

4) 21^st Century: There is a need to reform the system and make changes. That is where we exist today.

The Board, whose members are recommended by the mayor and then selected by the city assembly, has responsibility to discuss and administer education. Yet because the national government makes all major decisions on education, their influence is limited to things such as building schools, managing teachers, and paying 50% of teacher salaries (national government pays other half). The Board, which is numbered at five members, is designed to be made up of at least one teacher, one PTA member, one administrator, and one expert.

Discussion Topics:

• To support the schools, most of the money comes from corporate taxes.
• While some schools exist to accept students with emotional or drug issues, the public schools are attempting to accept more of these students.
• Regarding classroom size, the national government sets the number at 40 students per classroom, but in Isehara, they try to keep the number closer to 20.
• In Isehara, teachers are allowed freedom within the course of study to use materials they desire to teach the students, so there has been a relaxation of the curriculum over the past few years.
• The salary of a beginning teacher in Isehara is about 4,000,000 yen, which is roughly $40,000, with pay raises based on experience.
• Students are in school for roughly 200 days a year.
• The specific average monthly salaries in Japan:
1. High School – 435,986 (average age is 45.7).
2. Elementary and Junior High – 404,964 (average age is 44.3).
3. The average yearly salary (multiplied by 16.5 to include winter & summer bonus) = 7,580,000 (43.7 + 2 kids).
4. These figures do not include fringe benefits.
5. Average taxes are 15.7%.