Interview With Katsu Hibino, Nagoya, 6/17

We spent the afternoon in Nagoya at Kawaijuku, a vocational school Japan.  We interviewed Mr. Katsu Hibino, a former teacher and executive for the school.  We have many, many thoughts on the interview, but I thought it best to first post my notes (we find that people don't want to go on camera.)

-- The Trident Schools (Kawaijuku) have been around as a "prep school" for 75 years.

-- 30 years ago, they spread all over Japan.  At that time, they founded the vocational program.  The vocational program offers courses in architecture, English, Computer Science, Hotel Service, Athletic Training, and Acupuncture.

-- The school has two parts: the vocational students are 18 year olds, graduates of high school.  90% are 18, 19, and 20 years old.  Programs are two years, except for acupuncture, which is three years.

-- Job placement is critical to guaranteeing the company's (school's) success, so it is guaranteed.  The design school remains a headache when it comes to placement.

-- They accept all applicants that properly apply to their program.

-- They do offer scholarships.

-- The gender balance depends on the vocation: for English, 80% of the graduates are female.  For computer science, 80% are male.

-- There are no mechanical schools.  Students who wish to pursue jobs at factories go to industrial high schools.

-- The recent economic downturn has lead to a decrease in students.  This has been problematic for the school, since they derive most of their revenue from tuition.

-- The economic downturn has had minimal effect on the students, who are committed to the program, and have not yet sought to be placed in a job.

-- In general, young people have changed in the last 10 years: they no longer stay with the same company for very long.

-- Alumni who have lost their jobs may return to the school for additional placements.

-- The government provides minimal cash supports to the school: 1% of the revenue comes from the government, with strings attached. [ed. note: later we confirmed what we find to be an important subsidy of the company, that educational institutions, even private ones, are tax-exempt.]

-- Japanese companies to do not aid universities or vocational schools: instead they often give money to the top American universities (who actively seek their funds, with offices in Tokyo) to recruit the best and the brightest in the world.

-- The government does not directly control the curriculum, they only control how donated funds are spent (example given was that computers must be accessible, etc.)  The vocational school does prepare students for licensing examinations.

-- Vocational schools service 18% of the Japanese population, following high school (by comparison, universities service 50%, and colleges (like our community colleges) service 8%.)

-- Many of the 15% or so of the young people who do not pursue an industrial job, or some sort of schooling after high school do so out of being unable to afford one of the other options.  However, concerns about the "parasite" generation of young people who do not wish to pursue any career and continue to work in menial jobs while living at home are on the minds of many Japanese.  The 15% is growing rapidly.

-- Prep schools in Japan prepare students to take the college entrance examinations (similar to SATs.)

-- Students go to a Prep school either full-time after graduating high school, or part-time before graduating high school.  Some students will attend prep schools for 2 or 3 years before obtaining the scores necessary to obtain entry into a top university (often medical schools.)  Tokyo and Kyoto Universities are considered the top schools in Japan.

-- Seven subjects are on the exams (we weren't clear on exactly which ones were required, and which ones you had the option of choosing from): Math, English, Japanese, Chemistry, Physics, History/Society, Geography are among them.

-- The gender balance is equal in the prep schools.

-- Companies often don't want to hire PhD's because they are "over-qualified", so Trident Schools are able to hire PhD's as a result.

-- Test preparation focuses heavily on the fundamentals.

-- Tests are given in the middle of January.  The school year begins in April.

-- English is most important, with conversation skills becoming increasingly part of the curriculum (he identified the written language as more important when he was young.)

-- Having spent time in the US, Mr. Hibino felt that the US teacher had far greater autonomy in the classroom: teachers could assess the mood of the class, and adjust their plans accordingly.

-- Japan has always been governed by rules, with large class sizes and little room for personal interaction.  That is changing, and classes are getting smaller with student discussion being introduced as a valid pedagogical technique.

-- A "juku" is a K-12 private school.  Essentially, tutors to help students along and get them ahead for entrance into competitive schools.

-- The perception of the world is that the Japanese are remarkable for their students' success despite the government spending comparatively little on education.  While the government spends less money, the Japanese people spend quite a bit -- private yen supplement the child's education very often.

-- Taxes on citizens include: income taxes, "citizen taxes" (this sounds like poll taxes,) property taxes, and sales taxes (which will double in three years, supposedly.)

-- There are no formal barriers to impede women from entering the workforce.  They are allowed one year of maternity leave.

-- In the political arena, women have lagged behind in participation.