怠惰！？（ＬＡＺＹ！？）
今日は仕事に行きました。ＦＯＯＴＢＡＬＬ！最後の試合で、対戦相手が同じ州のユタ大学だからか、満員御礼って感じで、疲れました。今日は少し怠けて、日記はこれだけ。自分の書いたエッセイを貼り付けます（英語）！感想、意見等あったら書き込みしてください。☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆Today, I had work at football game. because of last game of this year and against with University of Utah, all tickets were sold out (I heard so). I was really tired. Because I am really tired, I will be lazy today; I mean I finish my diary now. Then I will put my essay. If you have any coments, put subject in "タイトル" and put your coment in "メッセージ". The click "書き込む" after you finish writing.★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ “Which is better?” When I began studying at the English Language Center (ELC), I was shocked about the education styles and systems. Almost everything was different between Japanese schools and American schools. For example, when I was a high school student, teachers usually wrote down everything that was important on blackboard. Also, I did not need to pay attention a lot. Instead of high school, I studied at a prep school for university. On the other hand, I need to pay attention to classes at the ELC. Teachers seldom write anything. I have to take notes when I think these things are important. American education systems and teaching styles are much better than Japanese concerning class participation, relationships between teachers and students, examinations and grade systems, and entrance examinations for universities. At first, I was surprised at how my teachers think about the class participation when I began studying at the ELC. When I was a high school student, there were more than forty students in my class. Because there were many students, when someone asked a question, the teacher said, “Ask questions after this class.” Teachers in Japan just expect students to be quiet in classes. Because classes were so quiet and boring, many students thought of friends, breaks, or taking naps. Actually, I sometimes slept when the classes were boring. However, teachers in the U.S. think different about class participation from teachers in Japan. They require students to give their opinions or ask questions in classes. Of course, because a class size is smaller than in Japan, American teachers may be able to pay attention to class participation more than Japanese teachers. For example, when I ask my teachers many questions during classes at the ELC, they answer my questions and explain about my questions until I can understand. Also, when my classmates and I are quiet, teachers ask many questions and make us think a lot in the classes. Many Japanese students who study in the U.S. learn the benefits of discussing things to develop new ideas, expressing oneself, and learning more through debating (Claire, 1999). Even though both in countries students call teachers by their family names and they are polite to their teachers, the relationship between teachers and students in the U.S. is closer than in Japan. Teachers in Japan call students by their family names. Students need to have formal relationship with and polite speeches with teachers. Actually, I used very polite words when I spoke to teachers even if I was an elementary school student. Also, I seldom talked with my teachers except asking many questions. In contrast, American teachers call students by their first names. Also, American students can talk to teachers in a more informal way than Japanese students do. When I talk to teachers at the ELC, I can talk very informal and talk about not only studies, but also many things that teachers and I are interested in. For example, I said, “I went to a good Japanese restaurant last Saturday. I think you should go!” and so on. The closer relationship between teachers and students, the more they know about one another. Therefore, teachers know what the best way to teach their students is, and then students learn more and more in the classes. In addition, examinations and grade systems are very different between the two countries. I think if I studied the same way as I did to in Japanese schools, I would not have been successful on examinations in the U.S. For example, Japanese students have two things to do to get better grades on examinations. First, they take notes exactly as the teachers write on the blackboard. This is because teachers write in white on the board and then change colors for the most important things that will be on examinations. Also, students check facts on textbooks or handouts that they read for examinations, for example, dates and names of events, and people in the case of history. Then they memorize everything. Even if they do not understand classes, they can answer questions on examinations. When I studied in Japanese reading class, teachers just taught me what the important things for the examinations were. Also my teacher did not ask about my opinions on examinations. They just memorize every important thing, and need to be nice and polite to teachers. A lot of teachers tend to give better grades to students whom they like. In my case, because I worked hard and was very polite to teachers, I could get better grades in some classes. My teachers trusted that I was a “good” student. On the other hand, American students need to understand what their teachers teach in classes. Because teachers want to know how much students understand, the teachers make the students write their opinions on examinations. For example, my reading teacher assigned to read Sadako and the THOUSAND PAPER CRANES. A question on this book’s test asked, “Describe the friendship between Sadako and Chizuko. Why is this friendship important in the book?” Of course, I needed to know who the characters were and the friendship between the two characters from the book. However, the book did not say why the two characters’ relationship was important. Therefore, I had to understand exactly the whole story to answer this kind of question because if I did not understand the story, I could not write why it was important. Because I really understood about the book, I got very good score on the test. I am learning how to develop my opinions more and more. Finally, entrance examinations for universities are quite different between Japan and the U.S. In Japan, if students want to go to a national university, they have to take two examinations. One of them is called the Center Examination given by Japanese government. The Center Examination required students to use just basic knowledge of all subjects. However, other examinations, which are given by universities, give students more advanced problems. Students learn basic knowledge in high schools, but it is not enough to pass the entrance examinations which are given by university. Instead of high schools, most students go to prep schools to prepare for the entrance examinations for universities. “Prep schools are masters at collecting, analyzing and marketing massive amounts of university data such as their difficulty levels, and the trends and counter measures for examinations questions”(Takei, 2001). Because prep schools teach everything about universities, approximately sixty percents of high school students go to a prep school and prepare for entrance examinations (Johnson & Johnson, 1996). In my case, I really wanted to go to a national university. As a result of this, I had gone to a prep school three times a week by the time I decided to go to Brigham Young University. Because students study hard, they fight against one another. Japanese call this situation “EXAM WAR.”Whereas Japanese students have two examinations, the U.S. students just have one examination, such as the ACT or the SAT. For example, all questions ask about basic knowledge of mathematics, English, reading, and science on the ACT. When I saw an ACT textbook, I thought how easy ACT is. Even though I cannot understand whole English sentences on the ACT textbook, I can answer many questions with my knowledge. I think American students just need to study hard at school to understand all basic studies because they are prepared enough by their school works. Actually, university students in both the U.S. and Japan use just basic knowledge from high schools. Therefore, the ACT or the SAT is good enough for the entrance examinations. Because of these great differences, a lot of education systems and teaching styles in the U.S. are better than in Japan. American students can enjoy school and do not think about studying too much more than Japanese students do. If I was from the U.S., I would have enjoyed school more. What do you think? Which country is better for you to study and enjoy schools? Your answer will be “the U.S.”.
出産・子育て
ファッション
美容・コスメ
健康・ダイエット
生活・インテリア
料理・食べ物
ドリンク・お酒
ペット
趣味・ゲーム
映画・ＴＶ
音楽
読書・コミック
旅行・海外情報
園芸
スポーツ
アウトドア・釣り
車・バイク
パソコン・家電
そのほか
すべてのジャンル
