Japan education system in fanfiction

[JadeSpear]

I'm find some story like to talking shite about Japan education system. Is it that bad? It seem a lot better than where I'm from at least. I really don't know why people writing about it in story.

I'm want to hear you opinion.

Spoiler: why i'm post this

https://youtube.com/shorts/I6h-EmnqOps?si=f1V8AYwfS8ejHy_t

 

[Sandstone]

Couple of factors I can think of.
One: the first plot of Persona 5? Basically woven / ripped from news. Kamishiro is an exaggeration, but... an exaggeration that's based on things that happened. Haven't done a search for how many stories he's a combination of. (If you don't know the plot, short of it? Gym teacher who abuses students, and focuses on females. Not out-rite stated, but favors of a specific sort are demanded by him are implied.)
Two: They are incredibly regimented. To the point where there are tales of girls having to dye their hair to 'not distract boys' if it isn't the typical dark / black.
Three: Same as above. Supposedly to the point that some schools have what types of underwear are appropriate on their books. And again, tales of it being checked / enforced.
Four: Face saving. I know face is very important in Japanese culture, but I do recall several cases where nasty shit occurred, and got buried to save face. Shit eventually got exposed after more students were hurt (ties in to one, but it's systematic rather than bad actor/s).
- Yeah, I know, name an organization that doesn't do that, but still valid.
Five: Again regimentation. But this is more along the lines of the leaders of the system having data showing that it's actually hurting them but being determined to stick to the course if not double down. At least, I recall a documentary, article, and a few youtubers talking about it (don't ask for names, that was a few years ago).

And more generally? All the mangas and anime that show students doing things that are fairly wild? Odds are the writer / mangaka daydreamed of doing that while stuck in a monotone. The system seems to be good for STEM and those that want that, poor for the more artistic that want to march to the beat of their own drum. And if the writer is that sort of type, they'd see it as bad.

Ah, and six: could just be casual racism / 'we're better than you because I say so'. Can't count that out as being a reason.

 

[Zerak]

I think a good way to look at it is what it is exactly that you wish to provide for your kids and what are your financial means.

From what I understand of the Japanese education system they have school 6 days a week and the school load is very intensive. I read somewhere that Japanese people use their college/university years as a way to unwind from all the pressure of HighSchool.

In America you have a white variance in the quality of education, from schools where the teachers say their 7th graders can't read or have the maths skills of a 3rd or 4th grader. But on the other hand you have some well funded public schools or good private school that would have amazing education.

One thing to keep in mind about the USA is that it has more than 330 million people, and the actual landmass of the country is massive. And each state has its own laws and regulations that can be different than the other states.

What this means in practice is that you will have a very wide variation in quality of services based on region. Plus I believe the schools in the USA get the vast majority of their funding from property tax, which means that in wealthier ares the schools will be more funded, while in less well off areas the funding is much lower.

Throw in the home situation for those less wealthy areas probably being not good, you end up with some students needing help in their home life more than they need help in their studies (which they probably won't get).

A quick search shows that 23% of children in the USA are from single parent households, which isn't necessarily bad, but if it's also in a not well off area you probably have kids worrying about what to eat rather than studying (though I think some schools provide free food for kid's who's families are under a certain income threshold, but some parent don't use it as they don't want to appear poor).

So I wouldn't say that Japan has a better or worst education system, I would say that Japan has a more consistent education system.

So it would probably come down to the environment, what values you want your kids to have. This is a very complex topic, and the answer to which is better will vary based on what you are looking for.

Back to topic, most fanfic do not capture Japanese school well. They use the anime depiction of Japanese schooling (which is not accurate) and then modify it even more. Most seem to forget that there are 6 days of schooling. Though I think they stoped that in 2002. But a lot of fanfic are set before that time. Or around it.

It would be hard to answer this unless you specify which aspects of schooling in fanfic you are referring to or a specific fanfic.

 

[Soupervan]

The previous two posters have most of my knowledge of Japanese schools but they didn't mention it gets worse; after school, on their one supposedly free day and during breaks they may also have to attend an extra school called a cram school, and if not that the parents might have you take instrument lessons, calligraphy or some such thing.

It doesn't get better after you graduate. Long hours and even after you get off work many companies will have overtime and even after that mandatory dinner meetings leaving very little time for anything else.

So most Japanese fiction including fanfiction would never happen as nearly no one there has the spare time or energy to do much of anything interesting.

 

[Zerak]

The previous two posters have most of my knowledge of Japanese schools but they didn't mention it gets worse; after school, on their one supposedly free day and during breaks they may also have to attend an extra school called a cram school, and if not that the parents might have you take instrument lessons, calligraphy or some such thing.

Click to shrink...

They had that in Egypt too in the 8 months I lived there. Except people wouldn't attend Highschool and would go to cram school (which is sometimes run by their teachers from schools), and this is not because they need to study more, but because the teachers need to make more money as they aren't paid enough (or at least I think that's the reason).

I attended school with me being the only person there sometimes for the grade. I decided to try a tutoring school next to my house, and it had the same teacher from school. The teacher was good though, I'll give him that. I studied in 9 different schools (public, private, and UN sponsored schools) across 4 different counties (so I have a scale of what a good teacher is like), and he was good.

It doesn't get better after you graduate. Long hours and even after you get off work many companies will have overtime and even after that mandatory dinner meetings leaving very little time for anything else.

Click to shrink...

I actually saw a comment by a guy living in Japan saying that the way schools are depicted in anime is their way of telling people it's a work of fiction. As the Japanese would look and see it's not accurate so won't take things from then on to face value.

The school you go to can play a big role even in the same country/city.

Also growing up around the same people would allow the kids to build friendships that last a lifetime which can be as important as good education.