HOW OLD ARE YOU?" one of my seventh-graders asked recently.

From long experience, I knew this question came from curiosity rather than rudeness.

"Almost 54," I answered, hesitating not from reluctance but from a need to calculate the numbers. Keeping track of age means more, after all, to a 12-year-old than an almost-54.

I explained to my middle school student that age is nothing to be ashamed of.

In fact, in some countries, old age is celebrated. In Japan, Sept. 15 is the national holiday of Keiro No Hi (Respect for the Aged Day). It is a day to thank older people for their contributions to society and celebrate their longevity.

Last month, I was one of 200 educators from across the United States who visited Japan for three weeks as Fulbright Memorial Fund scholars to learn about its culture and educational system. I had the opportunity to observe firsthand other differences - some expected, but some surprises.

Americans tend to have the idea that Japanese students are all very diligent and perfectly behaved. We visited schools at all levels, from elementary through university, and at a junior high I observed some of the behaviors I see daily at my middle school in Anne Arundel County.

I saw pupils who forgot textbooks or who, off in their own worlds, had their books turned to the wrong pages. There was an occasional sleeper. Some pupils talked with one another while the lesson was going on. And I caught, out of the corner of my eye, one impish young man playfully throwing something at a classmate.

It was a relief to find out that kids are kids, even in Japan.

However, I never saw any sign of student disrespect toward a teacher - or toward another student.

At the beginning of class, students stand, bow and greet the teacher. At the end of class, students stand, bow and thank the teacher for instructing them.

Like the honors accorded the elderly, respect seems to be ingrained in Japanese society.

I must admit that after three weeks of witnessing such respect, I found it difficult to return to students who inform me that I have an attitude problem because I ask them not to interrupt, or who say "Why?" when I ask them to return to their assigned seats.

There was another fundamental difference - the Japanese view of responsibility.

Teachers generally ignored students who were not on task. The prevalent Japanese attitude is that it is the student's responsibility to listen and do the work, and the teacher's to instruct those who are receptive to learning. Attendance is mandatory in Japan only through ninth grade.

In the American system, teachers seem to have all the responsibility. We are told that every student who fails is also our failure.

Student responsibility

This Japanese idea of student responsibility goes beyond academics. Students there are responsible for cleaning their schools daily. There is a noticeable absence of graffiti, trash and writing on desks.

The display of student responsibility is interesting to observe. American teachers, by contrast, feel as if they are nagging their students all the time.

In some Japanese schools, students take weekly turns being leaders. They have the responsibility of helping the teacher with homeroom duties such as taking attendance, running homeroom goal-setting sessions, and leading the class in greeting the teachers who come to their room. (In Japan, it is the students who remain in one room and the teachers who move from class to class.)

Students also take the responsibility for cleaning up at lunch and running their own after-school program. There appears to be little teacher direction of these activities.

The Fulbright teachers were divided into groups of 20 and sent to prefectures (the equivalent of states) across Japan. One group reported observing elementary students taking care of their class after the teacher went home sick - completing the work assigned to them without adult supervision.

Japan has a national education system, the Monbusho, while in our country the local school systems set policy and curriculum. Both have interesting aspects. Because of our country's diverse population, local districts seem to know best how to educate their students. Japan is much less diversified.

There is a national exam for which Japanese students prepare to get on the right track for acceptance into a high school that will lead them toward a good university, and then a lifetime job with a good company. This exam determines the quality of their future. It is given only one day each year. If a student is sick, he must take the exam or wait a year.

'Cram school'

Because of the test's significance, many students prepare by attending "cram school" after the regular school day. Parents sometimes put their children, as young as kindergarten age, into cram school.

Much stress is produced by all this studying. One Fulbright teacher told me of staying in a host home with a teen-ager who was studying for the exam. The teen returned from school at about 6 p.m. to eat, study, wash and then go to bed at 10 p.m. She got up at 3 a.m. to study more and left for school at 7 a.m. No wonder we saw students sleeping in class.

If a student fails and does not make it into the public high school, then either he gets a job or his parents pay for a private education. Many students feel that if they fail the exam, they have let down their parents.

A discussion among parents, teachers and community members indicated that they were alarmed by a high suicide rate in the teen population, supposedly related to stress caused by the emphasis on the exam.

The Monbusho is rethinking testing, with a belief in exerting more effort educating the whole child. The schools are redirecting their thinking toward "encouraging the development of young people who possess richness of heart," and emphasizing exams less.

It is difficult to assess an outcome such as "richness of heart," but teachers in every culture know that it is at the core of real education.

While Japanese schools are realizing the error of their ways, American school systems are focusing on testing. Much of the curriculum in American schools includes teaching the jargon of the tests and taking one practice test after another to prepare students for assessment testing.

I explained to the Japanese teachers that some of my very bright students are reluctant for other students to know they are bright. Instead of aiming for their best, they often go for the mediocre so they will be accepted by their peers.

American students respect those who are good athletes while labeling the scholastically able as "nerds." Often the good students' lives are made miserable.

When I asked the Japanese if they see this attitude in their classes, they didn't understand. Their students respect those who do well on the high school entrance exam.

Asking my group of 20 Fulbright teachers about curriculum, professional duties, teacher hours and retirement, the Japanese received 20 different answers. We were all from different states and school systems. In Japan, with the Monbusho system, all teachers could answer those questions the same way.

We found other surprises. Most Japanese students begin studying English in seventh grade. Students are interested in the United States. In contrast, few of the Americans' schools taught Japanese.

One of the Fulbright teachers was approached by a Japanese student who named five Americans she admired. The girl then asked the teacher to name five Japanese she admired. The silence was loud.

We all noticed the lack of locks within schools. Most of us come from schools where all classrooms are locked when we are not there, and students secure their lockers and bikes. Some of our schools have security guards.

Since Japanese students remain in the same room nearly all day, they have open cubby holes in the back to store belongings. We were told there is little theft because they are taught to behave for the good of the group.

My seventh-graders have a difficult time working as a class or in a group of four. There is constant whining about somebody taking somebody else's pen, or someone calling someone else a name. We're working hard on cooperative attitudes, but it will be a long time before we are able to match the team spirit of the Japanese children.

After reflecting on my experience last month in Japan, I've concluded that one nation's school system is not necessarily better than the other - but we can learn a lot from one another.

With such an emphasis on the role of the group and with such little diversity, Japanese students have a long way to go before they can match the joyful, individual creativity of American students. But we can learn a lot from them about cooperation and the two Rs - respect and responsibility.

Bonnie Schupp teaches language arts at George Fox Middle School in Pasadena.

Pub Date: 11/22/98