Another example of Japanese courts coming down on the side of the government when it is clear that elected officials have infringed on someone's human rights.
It is unclear whether this applies to public and private schools, but my guess is that it would be difficult to enforce at private schools.
"The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and board of education did not violate the Constitution by requiring school teachers and other staff to stand when the Hinomaru flag is raised and the national anthem sung during school events."
High court sides with Tokyo on anthem | The Japan Times Online
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
How words get the message across : Nature News
This article uses results from a variety of research on words and language to point out that longer words carry more meaning, with some caveats. It also shows how language changes in order to make language more useful and efficient over time.
How words get the message across : Nature News: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
How words get the message across : Nature News: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Technorati blog claim post
Going through the process of claiming this blog on Technorati. Interesting process.
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Report Shows College Students Learn Little During First Two Years-- Misplaced Criticism
"Nearly half of the nation's undergraduates show almost no gains in learning in their first two years of college, in large part because colleges don't make academics a priority."
This article, also published in USA Today, takes the tiresome tack that young people play too much and teachers spend too much time on self-indulgent activities to do what they should be doing, "learning," as defined by another standardized test.
Students enter university after 12 years of government school, and if they are really lucky they have parents who have helped them and encouraged them to follow their passion, a real desire to learn and achieve in their chosen field, and a direction chosen for when they graduate.
The unlucky ones have been drugged into a stupor throughout their 12 years in government schools because they appeared to be fit targets for a new psychoactive drug that would pacify them. They were counseled by buffoons into believing that trying hard won't get them into the school of their choice, and/or they were told that their passion wasn't going to get them a good job, and if they didn't study X, they would be street sweepers.
Institutions profit from the advertising of non-academic activities, and students receive reduced prices on travel and entertainment opportunities made available on and off campus.
Entertainment establishments developed near college campuses were established to capitalize on students, and many would soon go out of business if students turned to monkish study habits, nothing any chamber of commerce wants.
But when election time comes, those people that profit from the campuses turn around and vote for legislators who promise to cut education funding or regulations that have the same effect.
Funding for all education is being cut everywhere, making teachers focus more of their energies on earning grants to fund their departments. How are grants earned? Through research. Even though the investment returns on education are significant according to a Joint Economic Committee Study in January, 2000, "Investment in Education: Private and Public Returns," public funding is being reduced dramatically.
My suggestion to people who think colleges are on the wrong track is to quit watching college sports and drinking beer on the weekends and start thinking how you can help out a struggling student or offer your skills in helping out at a local college or university.
$80,000 For Beer Pong? Report Shows College Students Learn Little During... - StumbleUpon: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
This article, also published in USA Today, takes the tiresome tack that young people play too much and teachers spend too much time on self-indulgent activities to do what they should be doing, "learning," as defined by another standardized test.
Students enter university after 12 years of government school, and if they are really lucky they have parents who have helped them and encouraged them to follow their passion, a real desire to learn and achieve in their chosen field, and a direction chosen for when they graduate.
The unlucky ones have been drugged into a stupor throughout their 12 years in government schools because they appeared to be fit targets for a new psychoactive drug that would pacify them. They were counseled by buffoons into believing that trying hard won't get them into the school of their choice, and/or they were told that their passion wasn't going to get them a good job, and if they didn't study X, they would be street sweepers.
Institutions profit from the advertising of non-academic activities, and students receive reduced prices on travel and entertainment opportunities made available on and off campus.
Entertainment establishments developed near college campuses were established to capitalize on students, and many would soon go out of business if students turned to monkish study habits, nothing any chamber of commerce wants.
But when election time comes, those people that profit from the campuses turn around and vote for legislators who promise to cut education funding or regulations that have the same effect.
Funding for all education is being cut everywhere, making teachers focus more of their energies on earning grants to fund their departments. How are grants earned? Through research. Even though the investment returns on education are significant according to a Joint Economic Committee Study in January, 2000, "Investment in Education: Private and Public Returns," public funding is being reduced dramatically.
There is a strong consensus among economists that formal education is an important determinant of individual earnings as well as economic growth. The importance of formal education has been magnified by recent economic trends underlying U.S. labor market demand for skilled workers. The following is a review of the importance of education to both the individuals acquiring education and of the benefits received by society resulting from increased educational attainment.That means that college teachers are fighting for the very existence of their institutions through their research efforts.
My suggestion to people who think colleges are on the wrong track is to quit watching college sports and drinking beer on the weekends and start thinking how you can help out a struggling student or offer your skills in helping out at a local college or university.
$80,000 For Beer Pong? Report Shows College Students Learn Little During... - StumbleUpon: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Japan's Center Exam: What does it really test?
At 9:30, as determined by clocks synchronized by satellite, 558,984 test takers all over Japan opened their test booklets and began to read their Civics exam, their first subject of the 2011 unified entrance tests sponsored by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations.
These exams are given only once each year and are a testimony to the logistical precision and social conformity that Japan is famous for. But what else, what non-academic features, are tested?
Students who are competing for places at universities around the country start to arrive at their assigned exam centers at around 8:30. There are 828 participating two and four-year colleges taking part this year. Each room and seat is numbered, and registered students each receive an identity card with their numbers on them.
Proctors read from scripts provided by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, and manage the classrooms where the exams are given. they read instructions and cautionary marks, distribute and collect test booklets and answer sheets, maintain environmental controls like light and heat, and attend to problems that may arise.
In 2006 the National Center for University Entrance Examinations instituted a listening exam for the EFL exam. This required the organization to develop a delivery system that was fair, effective, and affordable. They decided on individual electronic, digital audio players with headphones, something like a very low tech i=Pod with the audio portion recorded on IC data cards.
During this section of the exam, students receive the test booklet, answer sheet, and their audio player. This year the students were given written instructions on operating heir players in addition to audio instructions which were prerecorded on their data cards.
But what is the test actually evaluating? Does it test a student's knowledge of the disciplines ostensibly being tested? For example, does a History test assess a student's knowledge of History? The Education Ministry censors all textbooks used in Japan. History texts are written and prepared by publisher and writers, and then vetted through the Ministry. The exams may be returned to an author for revision, or rejected outright. The Center Exam reflects this scrutiny, and so is a test of discrete facts students are to have learned in 12 years of Ministry schools.
The test is also an examination of financial liquidity. The exam itself costs ¥12,000 if they are taking two or fewer subjects. For those taking three or more subjects, the fee is ¥18,000. It costs money for transportation to the test site. Many parents send their children to cram schools to prepare for this test. In Japan high schools cost money, because secondary education is not mandatory, so someone, usually parents, must pay for high school education. This is an exceptional burden, because those young people rely on their caregivers for support when they could be supporting themselves.
It is a personal management test. The test must be registered and paid for in a timely fashion. Students must arrange transportation to and from the test center in of the most climatically challenging months of the year. Snowfall in January is the greatest, causing transportation delays and accidents every year.
Students must maintain their physical and mental conditions. January is the coldest month of the year, insuring that colds and flu are common. The exam is only offered once a year, so maintaining a healthy body at test time could mean the difference between the college of one's choice and a less desirable outcome.
It's a test of emotional well being. The pressure is on. This day is the product of 12 years of government education. In from one test, lasting 60 minutes, to ten tests totaling 11 hours over two days, students pour out the contents of their academic minds to create patterns of black dot on computer-graded answer sheets that will determine their academic future and thus the directions of their lives. For some the pressure is too great.
Finally, it is a test of their unquestioning faith in the state, the education system, the economic system, their parents, teachers, technology, social infrastructure and never, never in themselves, because in Japan personal achievement never is. It is always someone else's doing. Success is never their doing, but failure always is. If these students measure up to someone else's standards over the weekend, it is because of the hard work of others. If they fail, they alone shoulder the burden. Everybody else did their best.
Over those two days hundreds of thousands of young people will gather at test centers around the country in order to show what 12 years, 10488 hours ( my estimate based on UNESCO statics), of government schools has taught them. The content of the academic portion of the evaluated test, however, has little do do with what is actually being evaluated.
These exams are given only once each year and are a testimony to the logistical precision and social conformity that Japan is famous for. But what else, what non-academic features, are tested?
Students who are competing for places at universities around the country start to arrive at their assigned exam centers at around 8:30. There are 828 participating two and four-year colleges taking part this year. Each room and seat is numbered, and registered students each receive an identity card with their numbers on them.
Proctors read from scripts provided by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, and manage the classrooms where the exams are given. they read instructions and cautionary marks, distribute and collect test booklets and answer sheets, maintain environmental controls like light and heat, and attend to problems that may arise.
In 2006 the National Center for University Entrance Examinations instituted a listening exam for the EFL exam. This required the organization to develop a delivery system that was fair, effective, and affordable. They decided on individual electronic, digital audio players with headphones, something like a very low tech i=Pod with the audio portion recorded on IC data cards.
During this section of the exam, students receive the test booklet, answer sheet, and their audio player. This year the students were given written instructions on operating heir players in addition to audio instructions which were prerecorded on their data cards.
But what is the test actually evaluating? Does it test a student's knowledge of the disciplines ostensibly being tested? For example, does a History test assess a student's knowledge of History? The Education Ministry censors all textbooks used in Japan. History texts are written and prepared by publisher and writers, and then vetted through the Ministry. The exams may be returned to an author for revision, or rejected outright. The Center Exam reflects this scrutiny, and so is a test of discrete facts students are to have learned in 12 years of Ministry schools.
The test is also an examination of financial liquidity. The exam itself costs ¥12,000 if they are taking two or fewer subjects. For those taking three or more subjects, the fee is ¥18,000. It costs money for transportation to the test site. Many parents send their children to cram schools to prepare for this test. In Japan high schools cost money, because secondary education is not mandatory, so someone, usually parents, must pay for high school education. This is an exceptional burden, because those young people rely on their caregivers for support when they could be supporting themselves.
It is a personal management test. The test must be registered and paid for in a timely fashion. Students must arrange transportation to and from the test center in of the most climatically challenging months of the year. Snowfall in January is the greatest, causing transportation delays and accidents every year.
Students must maintain their physical and mental conditions. January is the coldest month of the year, insuring that colds and flu are common. The exam is only offered once a year, so maintaining a healthy body at test time could mean the difference between the college of one's choice and a less desirable outcome.
It's a test of emotional well being. The pressure is on. This day is the product of 12 years of government education. In from one test, lasting 60 minutes, to ten tests totaling 11 hours over two days, students pour out the contents of their academic minds to create patterns of black dot on computer-graded answer sheets that will determine their academic future and thus the directions of their lives. For some the pressure is too great.
Finally, it is a test of their unquestioning faith in the state, the education system, the economic system, their parents, teachers, technology, social infrastructure and never, never in themselves, because in Japan personal achievement never is. It is always someone else's doing. Success is never their doing, but failure always is. If these students measure up to someone else's standards over the weekend, it is because of the hard work of others. If they fail, they alone shoulder the burden. Everybody else did their best.
Over those two days hundreds of thousands of young people will gather at test centers around the country in order to show what 12 years, 10488 hours ( my estimate based on UNESCO statics), of government schools has taught them. The content of the academic portion of the evaluated test, however, has little do do with what is actually being evaluated.
Keio Univ. to stop using standardized entrance exam : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they decided to stop using this exam at Keio.
Keio Univ. to stop using standardized entrance exam : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri): "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
However, from the 2006 academic year, Keio stopped using the English exam portion of the center test for its medical department, and the same test will be abolished for the other two departments from the next academic year, which will leave Keio free from any part of the National Center Test.This is the reason that a cram school teacher gave.
A member of a cram school staff said, "The National Center Test only reveals slight differences in abilities among examinees who apply for top-notch universities."If this is true, then my guess is that a similar phenomena occurs at the lower end of the scale, too. If a test taker marked the same answer for each question in the test, it is likely that the student would get somewhere around a 25%. (There a three questions with more than six possible answers in this year's test. The rest had four.) The closer a test taker comes to making a perfect score or a 25%, the less discriminative value it would have.
Keio Univ. to stop using standardized entrance exam : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri): "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Most favor making English study mandatory for 5th, 6th graders: poll › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
According to this article from Japan Today, 87% of the respondents to a questionnaire favored a new government policy to make learning English mandatory of 5th and 6th grade students beginning next year.
When responding about why they responded in favor, 55% said that it would help children get jobs.
The Education Ministry themselves list their goals as, "'Foreign Language' will be a required subject at lower and upper secondary schools, and in principle, English will be the one at lower secondary school. In order for students to develop practical communicative competence in the target language..." http://www.mext.go.jp/english/news/1998/07/980712.htm
There is no definition of practical communicative competence or how success will be measured, and it certainly says nothing about jobs.
My question is, jobs where? And if everyone is taking the same classes, doesn't that mean that the pool of workers is going to be generally the same, making it a similar situation to the present?
Of those in favor "corporate managers" were the highest proportion, 95%. My guess is that either they see that there are business opportunities outside of the country, so they want their employees to have foreign language skills, or they see that Japan itself will become more ethnically diverse and wish to have workers that can communicate in a common language.
These results show that in general, people are unable to think objectively about education and ask critical questions about the institution.
Most favor making English study mandatory for 5th, 6th graders: poll › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
When responding about why they responded in favor, 55% said that it would help children get jobs.
The Education Ministry themselves list their goals as, "'Foreign Language' will be a required subject at lower and upper secondary schools, and in principle, English will be the one at lower secondary school. In order for students to develop practical communicative competence in the target language..." http://www.mext.go.jp/english/news/1998/07/980712.htm
There is no definition of practical communicative competence or how success will be measured, and it certainly says nothing about jobs.
My question is, jobs where? And if everyone is taking the same classes, doesn't that mean that the pool of workers is going to be generally the same, making it a similar situation to the present?
Of those in favor "corporate managers" were the highest proportion, 95%. My guess is that either they see that there are business opportunities outside of the country, so they want their employees to have foreign language skills, or they see that Japan itself will become more ethnically diverse and wish to have workers that can communicate in a common language.
These results show that in general, people are unable to think objectively about education and ask critical questions about the institution.
Most favor making English study mandatory for 5th, 6th graders: poll › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Monday, January 03, 2011
Eide Neurolearning Blog: Curiosity and the Creative Drive
When I first saw this posting, I thought, "In how many ways does production line education destroy this"? But I reframed it into a positive question, "Is there a way that production line education can encourage this"? My opinion is that it cannot, and that if curiosity and creative drive are to be discovered at all, it will have to be done outside of a school environment.
Eide Neurolearning Blog: Curiosity and the Creative Drive: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Eide Neurolearning Blog: Curiosity and the Creative Drive: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Psychologist Shows How The Accent Shapes Our Perception Of A Person
Saw this article, and thought, I don't help my students at all with pronunciation. This makes me wonder if I should help them change their pronunciations, or to just help them become aware of this issue. I'll probably do the latter.
Psychologist Shows How The Accent Shapes Our Perception Of A Person: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Psychologist Shows How The Accent Shapes Our Perception Of A Person: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
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