给迷信日本教育的人，敲了一下警钟
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http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700063161/Japan-fattens-textbooks-to-reverse-sliding-rank.html?pg=1
Japan fattens textbooks to reverse sliding rank
Officials say students are falling behind peers in South Korea and Hong Kong
TOKYO — When Mio Honzawa starts fifth grade next April, her textbooks will be thicker.
Alarmed that its children are falling behind those in rivals such as South Korea and Hong Kong, Japan is adding about 1,200 pages to elementary school textbooks, bringing the total across all subjects for six years from 4,900 pages today to nearly 6,100.
In a move that has divided educators and experts, Japan is going back to basics after a 10-year experiment in "pressure-free education," which encouraged more application of knowledge and less rote memorization.
"I think it's a good move. Compared to the education I got, I'm kind of shocked at the level my children are receiving," said Keiko Honzawa, a Tokyo resident and mother of Mio and her seventh-grade brother.
Japan's near-the-top rank on international standardized tests has fallen, stunning this nation where education has long been a source of pride.
Only on msnbc.com Democrats can maintain control, Plouffe says Laughs from the road: Readers' funny travel pics Family of copper heiress asks court to protect her Some cities sink boozy parties on public waters What can Mickey Mouse teach you about yourself? The textbook debate mirrors one in the U.S., where new Common Core State Standards for math and English adopted by 37 states aim to strike a balance between teaching content and how to use that knowledge in everyday life and unify different state requirements. In both countries, sliding scores on tests such as the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, given every three years to 15-year-olds around the world, have helped drive changes in educational guidelines.
For Japan, the debate reflects a deeper anxiety as the country struggles to find direction in a world where its influence has waned. Its once-powerful — and now stagnant — economy has been overtaken by China's, and political leaders are grappling with how to deal with a bulging national deficit and an aging, shrinking population.
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本帖最后由 三月雪 于 2010-9-7 12:56 编辑 ].
