Shogun's Ghost: The Dark Side of Japanese Education

by Ken Schoolland

In most accounts of the struggle for economic supremacy between the United States and Japan, the inferiority of the United States' education system is continually pointed out. Here, Ken Schoolland, who taught in Japan at the college level, tells a different story about Japanese education. Schoolland gives a first person account of a side of Japanese education rarely seen in the West. Having spent five years teaching in a Japanese university, he writes of pervasive problems with the system of lower level colleges; unruly classrooms where discipline is a myth and cheating is a fact of daily life. Schoolland uses this new knowledge to redefine what he terms the new cold war between United States and Japanese systems of education.



Schoolland begins by sharing his experiences as a professor at a Japanese university. He then explores some of the attitudes on education that are typical of publications that seem to be fueling a race between the economic superpowers. He describes some of the changing, relevant characteristics of Japanese society and how these shape the education system. Turning up the dark side of Japanese educaion, Schoolland elaborates on punishments in the schools and reveals the challenge that has come forth against physical punishment, the debate over students rights, court battles, and models of leadership. Finally, Schoolland shows the extent of student violence in the schools, he dissects the myth of Japan as unified, harmonious, homogeneous society, and reaches into Japanese history to show the roots of group responsibility in Japanese society.

Genres: Japan

207 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1990

Reviews

[Connie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this way back when it first came out, a time when I was traveling in Japan and had some adult Japanese students. It was startling for me to hear about the extremely difficult process for getting into schools, including kindergarten, and the stress of trying to compete. The way the family and psychology were involved was all fascinating and i haven't forgotten it.

This book doesn't try to discuss the Japanese educational system as a whole, assuming everyone knows the system has performed well in creating successful students. So if you're curious about the wonderful and creative teaching techniques used in (at least elementary) schools in Japan, find a different book. I love so many of the ideas they've applied in early education, and whatever books explore that would also be fascinating.

[Marina Sinelnikova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the first book about this topic that I read, and so it felt a bit too journalistic for me - and also perhaps too... maybe libertarian (the author's word) in the author's approach to education (for example, I personally don't believe that fairness requires adults and children to be subject to the same rules, and that compulsory schooling is bad). However, I liked that the author offers ideas about the origins of the violence and bullying in Japanese schools as well as sketches of what is being done to change the situation.

[Rizu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought that japanese education is cool, till i read this book and found out that it wasn't really cool at all.

[Yupa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha i suoi anni, e un titolo un po' sensazionalistico, ma è comunque ancora un libro molto utile e attuale per capire alcune cose sulla scuola giapponese e sulla scuola in generale.