Academic Differences

 My students learned a bit about American school systems.  The overall structure is similar, but every school in Japan will teach the same content in the same grade during the same week.  One school in a town in the US may be teaching one thing on a day, and another school in the same time could be focusing on something else at the same time.  It's probably a manifestation of the "group" vs. "individual" mentality of the two nations.  

They were also pretty shocked to learn we begin driving at 16.  "Isn't that dangerous?"  Yes, it is, but we value the sense of freedom provided by driving.  That and it is next to impossible to function in much of the country without being able to drive.  One student requested a discussion of laws, particularly driving laws.  If they think driving at 16 is dangerous, wait until I tell them about turning right on red.

Another question that was asked was about meals at school.  How does it work?  Where do students eat?  I talked about cafeteria structure being very similar to here.  I also said many school districts offer breakfast and lunch.  One student asked me why, and I said I think it's covering a failure in our society.  One major sticking point with teaching fully remote last year was many (far too many) students only eat when fed at school.  For a country as wealthy and resource rich as America, that we have children going hungry is a travesty.  

I didn't tell them this, but the truth is I think this is by design - a feature in the system, not a bug.  It is important that we have a large group of people desperate for work so they are willing to take a job for very little pay.  That is how modern capitalism functions, and it is why I am anti-capitalist.

I pointed out that one advantage of the American system is students who do not fit in are not automatically prevented from succeeding.  Here I get the sense that if you are an outlier any hope of doing well is very dim.  When schools approach functional in the US most students can find a group of other "outsiders" that provide some support.  It doesn't always work, but there's a chance.  

Here's the thing.  I know many people who come from public schools in many different states.  Most of these people are decent, caring individuals who try to put the needs of others high up on their list of Important Considerations for Making Decisions.  In spite of our flaws and the concomitant frustrations, I think we can help students learn how to practice compassion.  From here we can try to solve problems.  And, at the end of the day, whether you know how to tell the difference between an integral and a derivative, or if you can name all 50 states and capitals, or if you know the underlying themes of Ethan Frome isn't terribly important.  Necessary, yes, but not from everyone who graduates high school.  What's necessary is figuring out how to respect the humanity inherent in all of us.  In that case, though, I guess Ethan Frome is way more important than doing calculus.

In the words of Oscar the Grouch, "Why don't you go read a book or something?"