A Factor impacting on Education

Thinking back to my own school years, I was very fortunate to have received a high quality education. Even though more than 90 percents of all graduates of junior high school progress to high school in Japan, it is not required to go to high school and college. After graduated from public primary and junior high school, I entered a private high school and college, which cost more than double of how much it costs other public schools. Moreover, I studied abroad twice for a month without a scholarship when I was a high school student and once for 10 months when I was in college. I’m sure that my parents (especially my father) worked very hard to send me to private schools in Japan along with my brother who went to a private high school and college as well.

In order to receive a high quality education, a person needs money in the United States as well as Japan. However, I can see a difference between these two countries, which is financial aid. There are a lot of opportunities for American students to continue their education in the United State by receiving financial aids or/and scholarships. Thanks to those scholarships, I also can continue my studies in the United States as a graduate assistant. I am sure we do have scholarships and a financial aid system in Japan, but people are not familiar with it.

It seems that the payment that educators receive is one of the largest problems in an educated society as well. In Japan, there are a lot of discussions about the amount of payments teachers are to receive. Some people in Japan say that teachers hired by the government get paid too much compared to office workers or other teachers teaching at private schools. This would be the case if teachers were paid based on how long they stayed in their classrooms or at school, but teachers have extra work that needs to be done outside of the classroom that they are never compensated for. Public teachers in Japan don’t get paid for the outside work they do along with their classroom, such as coaching club activities. Teachers cannot concentrate just on teaching, but on other activities related to school. So, considering those extra works that teachers put in, they should be paid enough to live stable lives.

Because money spent on school and payments for teachers comes from taxes, tax payers have the right to observe how they are used. To develop better environments for children’s education, reforming or/and establishing new schools may be important, but governments should make a well-developed plan to make it successful without wasting money. When I read one article, Green School Doesn’t Make the Grade, I thought it was a good idea as long as it meets the goals set by the government. It becomes a problem when it does not show the results people expect. Why do people get mad at the Government? It is because they cannot utilize our money to promote growth for the sake of good.

I believe that education is the base of all societies. A Strong education program can only help further develop our country. Teachers should be paid according to their work load and activities, and all children should be allowed equal opportunities to learn at schools with a higher quality of education taught by certified teachers.