World And Culture By Kyoko Mori

Journal #3 World and Culture

Culture impacts educational value through opportunities that are offered based on the culture. Kyoko Mori writes a very descriptive and reflective piece that studies and compares the differences between Japanese and American schools. Mori reflects on the few years that she spent in the Japanese school system, and compares them to the years that she spent at Wisconsin University. Mori’s education in Japan consisted of both attending a public institution for the first several years of her education, and then transferring to a private Japanese school for the rest of her educational years. One comparison that Mori makes between the American and Japanese educational systems would be their ability to go back to school. Mori writes that, “Being able to go back to school is a particularly American opportunity...In Japan, school does not give anyone a

In Japan, it is very uncommon for someone to go back to school, whereas here in the United States, many citizens find themselves going back to school for any number of reasons. At any age, it is acceptable for Americans to go back to school, and they could be getting a second degree, finishing a degree, or just starting a degree. WGU Indiana University, an online University in the state of Indiana, recently had a student, at the age of seventy-one, graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree. Because American society finds it perfectly acceptable to go back to school, and puts an emphasis on obtaining a college degree, the value of education increases. In Japan, if you do not get into college after two years of finishing school, you move on with your life and accept the kind of life that you are going to have to live. Mori also argues that the opportunities that are offered to people vary based on the culture, and thus shape the value of the education that one is receiving. When discussing extracurricular activities that do not require returning to school or