'Spoonfed Americans In School' By Kyoko Mori

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Spoonfed Americans

In “ School “ by Kyoko Mori, the styles of American teachings are compared with the styles of Japan’s. But in the end, Mori supported the American system of education and teaching because the American system supports interaction with the students and having multiple chances for students to learn from their own mistakes.

Kyoko Mori compares and contrasts the United States and Japan’s difference in education in schools. Mori begins her essay with the idea of having college accessible for all Americans, no matter the circumstances. And American students can go to college whenever they are ready, taking multiple years before going back to studies. But she states that for the Japanese students are expected to attend college right after their high school studies. And if they don’t pass their entry-level exams, they must wait a year and considered “ronin”, meaning a floating around the person without a plan in mind. If the second entrance exam was also a fail, then they just settle for a low paying job. As the author states “ Being able to go back to school is particularly American opportunity. My Japanese friends will never be able to do the same. In Japan, school does not give anyone a second chance ” ( pg. 130 ). …show more content…

She says it is the idea of second chances that make her like the Western style better. “ In every subject, kids who didn’t do well were made to feel ashamed and yet given no chance to improve ” ( pg. 133 ), students in Japan were never told ways to get better but instead were made to feel ashamed if they did not do well. Mori remembers that her Japanese teachers never gave an explanation for the things she was punished for. But her American teachers helped her step by step for the harder problems rather than letting her suffer on her

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