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Yilin Yang
Dr. Dykhuizen
Expository Writing
July 19, 1999
The Public Elementary Schools
In China, there is an old saying, �gTruth
is where the teacher is.�h Through
this saying,
we can know that teachers are
regarded as
not only professors but also
men of virtue
(�gPride and Problems, pars.
20). In such a country, China, I have grown up
and have gone to a public elementary
school
in Shanghai for about one and
half year. When I was second grade, I came to Hachoji,
Japan. Then, I went to the Japanese public elementary
school near my house. Therefore, I know both Chinese and Japanese
public elementary schools. In fact, there are three main differences
between Chinese and Japanese
public elementary
schools: tuition fees, English
education
programs, and the standards of
promotion.
At first, tuition fees are different between
Chinese and Japanese elementary
schools. In China, it takes 500 Chinese Yuan, or about
60 US dollars, for a child to
finish 5 years�f
elementary education (Zhang C.,
pars. 7). The fees are not expensive for people in
urban areas. However, the expenses are high for people
in rural areas because their
average salary
is much lower than people in
cities are. In addition, the law of the exemption from
educational fees for poor families
has not
made yet. Therefore, in today�fs China, there are about
85 million people who can�ft
afford to get
education, and about 200 million
people are
illiterate (Zhang C., pars. 5-6). On the other hand, the tuition fees of public
elementary schools in Japan are
for free
because the Japanese Constitution
secure
free compulsory education, elementary
and
lower secondary schools�f education,
in public
schools so that everyone can
get the minimum
levels of education. In addition, poor families don�ft need to
pay any fees of public schools
unlike China
if they make applicants for exemption
from
the fees. As a result, all children in Japan can get
the compulsory education, and
almost all
people are literate.
The second difference is English education
programs. In China, English education starts from about
third grade. One reason why English is taught from so
early time is because people
think that mastering
an international language, English,
is very
important for children to speak
with foreigners
and become cosmopolitans in the
modern society. Also, the other reason is that the younger
children are, the faster they
can learn foreign
languages. What is more, English teachers in Chinese
elementary schools can speak
English very
well, and their ways to teach
English are
good and practical. In class, teachers mainly emphasize the speaking
skill such as the pronunciation. Accordingly, many Chinese, especially the
young, can speak English fluently. However, students never learn English in
Japanese public elementary schools. This is because most Japanese think that
learning their own language is
most significant,
so English education begins when
children
become lower secondary school
students. What is worse, in class, many teachers speak
strange English that is called
Japanese English,
and the ways of teaching are
terrible. For example, teachers particularly emphasize
the old English grammar and techniques
that
are necessary for students to
pass entrance
exams. In this case, students are needed to memorize
the patterns of exams�f solutions. Therefore, most Japanese students cannot
speak fluent and practical English,
and the
average English skill of Japanese
is very
low in comparison to other countries
that
English is not first language.
The most different point is the standards
of promotion. In China, students must repeat the same grades
or one lower grades if they don�ft
pass regular
exams or they have too many absences. This system is used from elementary education,
so once students enter elementary
schools,
they must study hard even though
they are
only 6 or7 years old. Of course, if there are students who can
keep especially high grade and
have the recommendations
of teachers, they can skip one
grade or more. As you can see, this school policy is very
strict for general students because
they
don�ft have enough time to play
with friends,
but genius students can have
advantages and
develop their talents more rapidly. Even though this system is very popular in
China, Japanese public elementary
schools
don�ft have it. Therefore, if students have been absent from
classes for many times or more
than one year,
they can promote the grade and
graduate from
schools. Of course, it nominally needs the agreement
of principals, but in reality,
I have never
known elementary school students
who could
not promote their grades or graduate
from
schools in spite of their poor
attendance
or their low grades. In addition, in Japan, the law decides the
total years of Japanese compulsory
education
must be at least 9 years: elementary
education
is 6 year, and lower secondary
education
is 3 years. In consequence, it is impossible to skip
a grade or more during the compulsory
education. Therefore, elementary school students don�ft
have to study hard, and genius
children might
not use or improve their talents
fully. However, they can enjoy their school life
and learn how to make or keep
friends through
playing with friends.
All in all, Chinese and Japanese elementary
schools are clearly different. Much more people can get elementary education
in Japan than in China. Also, the English education system in China
is much better than in Japan. Finally, China has more flexible system of
promotion in comparison to Japan
does. Although both public elementary schools in
Japan and China have their good
and bad points,
I like Japanese elementary schools
more because
I prefer play to study.
Works Cited
�gPride and Problems in Primary Education:
Visiting Educators from 12 Countries
Speak
Out in Tokyo.�h JICA Newsletter. Volume 2. Participants in Close-Up. ( November, 1996).
<http://www.jica.go.jp/E-info/E-news-jica/E-news-9611/IBp113.html> ( July 15, 1999).
Zhang C. �gRegent Schools�h Regent Schools. Regent Network Services. <http://china-inc.com/rim/group/school.htm> ( July 14, 1999).
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