The future of education
Seinan-Gakuin-University-Fukuoka-Japan
reset video
Chris Smither Origin of Species
"you and your cat named Felix, both wrapped up in that double helix"
A Little Learning
by Alexander Pope
A little learning is a dangerous thing ;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring :
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
Fired at first sight with what the Muse imparts,
In fearless youth we tempt the heights of Arts ;
While from the bounded level of our mind
Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind,
But, more advanced, behold with strange surprise
New distant scenes of endless science rise !
So pleased at first the towering Alps we try,
Mount o’er the vales, and seem to tread the sky ;
The eternal snows appear already past,
And the first clouds and mountains seem the last ;
But those attained, we tremble to survey
The growing labours of the lengthened way ;
The increasing prospect tires our wandering eyes,
Hills peep o’er hills, and Alps on Alps arise !
Compulsory Education
Education in Japan is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels. Most students attend public schools through the lower secondary level, but private education is popular at the upper secondary and university levels. Education prior to elementary school is provided at kindergartens and day-care centers. Public and private day-care centers take children from under age 1 on up to 5 years old. The programmes for those children aged 3–5 resemble those at kindergartens. The educational approach at kindergartens varies greatly from unstructured environments that emphasize play to highly structured environments that are focused on having the child pass the entrance exam at a private elementary school. The academic year starts from April and ends in March, having summer vacation in August and winter vacation in the end of December to the beginning of January. Also, there are few days of holidays between academic years. The period of academic year is the same all through elementary level to higher education nationwide.
Japanese students consistently rank highly among OECD students in terms of quality and performance in reading literacy, math, and sciences. The average student scored 540 in reading literacy, maths and science in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the country has one of the world's highest-educated labour forces among OECD countries. Its populace is well educated and its society highly values education as a platform for social mobility and for gaining employment in the country's high-tech economy. The country's large pool of highly educated and skilled individuals is largely responsible for ushering Japan’s post-war economic growth. Tertiary-educated adults in Japan, particularly graduates in sciences and engineering, benefit economically and socially from their education and skills in the country's high tech economy.
Spending on education as a proportion of GDP is below the OECD average. Although expenditure per student is comparatively high in Japan, total expenditure relative to GDP remains small. In 2015, Japan’s public spending on education amounted to just 3.5 percent of its GDP, below the OECD average of 4.7%. In 2014, the country ranked fourth for the percentage of 25- to 64-year-olds that have attained tertiary education with 48 percent. In addition, bachelor's degrees are held by 59 percent of Japanese aged 25–34, the second most in the OECD after South Korea. As the Japanese economy is largely scientific and technological based, the labor market demands people who have achieved some form of higher education, particularly related to science and engineering in order to gain a competitive edge when searching for employment opportunities. About 75.9 percent of high school graduates attended a university, junior college, trade school, or other higher education institution.
Japan's education system played a central part in Japan's recovery and rapid economic growth in the decades following the end of World War II. After World War II, the Fundamental Law of Education and the School Education Law were enacted. The latter law defined the school system that would be in effect for many decades: six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, three years of high school, and two or four years of university. Although Japan ranks highly on the PISA tests, its educational system has been criticized in the US for its focus on standardized testing and conformity; bullying problems; and its strong academic pressure on students.
Wikipedia
Origin of Species - Chris Smither
(intro guitar riff)
Well, Eve told Adam
Snakes? I've had 'em!
Let's get outta here!
Go raise this family someplace outta town
They left the garden just in time
With the landlord cussin' right behind
They headed East
And they finally settled down
One thing led to another:
A bunch of sons
One killed his brother
And they kicked him out with nothin' but his clothes
And the human race survived
'Cause all those brothers found wives
But where they came from
Ain't nobody knows
(guitar riff)
Then came the flood
Go figure...
Just like New Orleans only bigger
No one who couldn't swim would make it through
The lucky ones were on a boat
Think "circus"
And then make it float
I hope nobody pulls the plug on you!
How they fed that crowd is a mystery
It ain't down in the history
But it's a cinch they didn't
Live on cakes and jam
Lions don't eat cabbage
And in spite of that old adage
I ain't never seen one
Lie down with a lamb
(long guitar riff)
Well, Charlie Darwin looked so far
Into the way things are
He caught a glimpse of God's
Unfolding plan
God said: "I'll make some DNA"
They can use it any way they want
From paramecium
Right up to man."
"They'll have sex
And mixed up sections of their code
They'll have mutations...
The whole thing works like clockwork over time."
"I'll just sit back in the shade
While everyone gets laid
That's what I call
Intelligent design."
Yeah, you and your cat named Felix
Both wrapped up in that double helix
Is what we call
Intelligent design
