Looking forward to seeing that interview. The Japanese obligatory public schools (particularly the last two years of elementary school and three years of Jr. High) are heading in a centrally controlled digital direction, and of all subjects, English is the experimental canary in the coal mine. The central government has announced its intention for all students in that age range to be relying primarily on school-issued laptops and digital textbooks. As a semi-retired Assistant Language Teacher, I am not optimistic.
Just in the last few months, I've seen 10 and 11 year old students graded on a bell curve for displays of rote memory and mimicry while going through the motions of power point presentations — nothing really communicative involving real problem solving or bridging information gaps. Conversationally, most have a hard enough time getting through 'How are you today?' No wonder there is a drastic drop in interest and motivation in almost all subjects between elementary school and high school.
Other parts of the central government must be aware of the problem with such a plan because they are also pumping a little tax-yen into NPOs addressing the problems of micro-management. I plan on hooking up with one such NPO in the next few months, possibly going full-time next year, but I see big limits in what such a 'left hand minding the right hand' approach can do. Cognitive dissonance at its bureaucratic worst.
Japan was one of the nations that imported the Prussian model earliest. If there is a new globalist model, it is not surprising to see it rolled out there.
Sep 30, 2022·edited Sep 30, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford
My pleasure Mathew.
And yes indeed ... though preschool through elementary school can be pretty good here, once they hit Jr. High, it is military boot camp all the way. The employers have been calling for creativity and diversity since the Meiji era, but "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". Compliance is what they really want, and with a few exceptions, that's all they get. Though generally well-read, the few truly educated I've met here tend to be educated despite the system, not because of it.
Cheers, and hopefully I will be picking your brains for school building within the next year or so.
I'd be happy to talk about education sometime. Usually, it's my primary focus. The world powers have oddly put a lid on educational improvement, but if world powers break down, there is a chance to achieve a golden age. I want to help set that in motion, where possible.
Oct 1, 2022·edited Oct 2, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford
Great Mathew! Will be returning to the token foreigner stage in public schools from Monday, but in the meantime, I will start digging into your past posts for what you've said and done about education. My NPO thing is still in the wings, but will know more in a couple of weeks.
My own research, publications, and presentations were a bit more than a decade ago, and were centered around what I called an 'Event-driven Curriculum' in lieu of typical, bell curve standardized testing. Having given up on regaining employment in Japanese colleges, I haven't put the publication into a pdf format for on-line sites such as Academia yet, but I've changed enough in the last 10 years (hopefully progressed) so that rather than the base of a workable curriculum in Japan, it is more appropriate as some psychology of group dynamics in maximizing learning opportunities by emphasizing real, problem-solving social contexts.
...a world that wants hegemony centered elsewhere, and the architects of such a world would see her canceled for "enacting whiteness," which is how we manage to unperson someone of a celebrated melanin profile.
Sep 30, 2022·edited Sep 30, 2022Liked by Mathew Crawford
> One of the things I like most about Magatte is that she promotes and participates in the positive aspects of market capitalism while pushing back against the terrible aspects of corporations and their relationships with corrupt governments.
I agree. There are pros and cons of capitalism. Corrupt crony capitalism is what is poisoning the US has now. They work with legislators to exclude themselves from certain legislation or regulations. And yet more red tape keeps killing jobs in small business. 99% of people work in small business, 99% of businesses are small business in the US. A law that increases regulations, expenses or taxes kills jobs for the small guy. Nepotism leads to corruption and poor corporate performance. Too much pollution can be problematic. Dirty tricks to gain market share is also a problem. But the worst corporations are just a fraction of 0.1% of the corporations out there and they are also generally the largest corporations in their own industry.
What an excellent interview. So glad I watched the video. Love her descriptions and attitude. If more would realize the harm from ‘free’ programs, as she explained with Tom Shoes as an example, we would see that foreign aid and charities only help the dysfunctional or corrupt governments more than the intended people. I’m not against charity, but the big picture needs seen. Helping a community build a resource or a water well is better than throwing money at their government officials.
Qadafi? He was killed by his own people, but there was a lot of weird stuff going on in north Africa like the Clinton administration shooting what might simply have been an ordinary hospital or medicine factory in South Sudan (IIRC).
"What world would not want Magatte building businesses?"...the current tyrannical WEF and it's tentacles who only want wealth for themselves and their ends. And they also don't want education to enlighten people to become critical thinkers. That would definitely not serve them. Makes you realize how important education is, and by education I mean teaching process of thinking more than memorizing.
Hi again Mathew,
Looking forward to seeing that interview. The Japanese obligatory public schools (particularly the last two years of elementary school and three years of Jr. High) are heading in a centrally controlled digital direction, and of all subjects, English is the experimental canary in the coal mine. The central government has announced its intention for all students in that age range to be relying primarily on school-issued laptops and digital textbooks. As a semi-retired Assistant Language Teacher, I am not optimistic.
Just in the last few months, I've seen 10 and 11 year old students graded on a bell curve for displays of rote memory and mimicry while going through the motions of power point presentations — nothing really communicative involving real problem solving or bridging information gaps. Conversationally, most have a hard enough time getting through 'How are you today?' No wonder there is a drastic drop in interest and motivation in almost all subjects between elementary school and high school.
Other parts of the central government must be aware of the problem with such a plan because they are also pumping a little tax-yen into NPOs addressing the problems of micro-management. I plan on hooking up with one such NPO in the next few months, possibly going full-time next year, but I see big limits in what such a 'left hand minding the right hand' approach can do. Cognitive dissonance at its bureaucratic worst.
Cheers,
— steve
Thanks for the education news.
Japan was one of the nations that imported the Prussian model earliest. If there is a new globalist model, it is not surprising to see it rolled out there.
My pleasure Mathew.
And yes indeed ... though preschool through elementary school can be pretty good here, once they hit Jr. High, it is military boot camp all the way. The employers have been calling for creativity and diversity since the Meiji era, but "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". Compliance is what they really want, and with a few exceptions, that's all they get. Though generally well-read, the few truly educated I've met here tend to be educated despite the system, not because of it.
Cheers, and hopefully I will be picking your brains for school building within the next year or so.
Fingers crossed.
— steve
I'd be happy to talk about education sometime. Usually, it's my primary focus. The world powers have oddly put a lid on educational improvement, but if world powers break down, there is a chance to achieve a golden age. I want to help set that in motion, where possible.
Great Mathew! Will be returning to the token foreigner stage in public schools from Monday, but in the meantime, I will start digging into your past posts for what you've said and done about education. My NPO thing is still in the wings, but will know more in a couple of weeks.
My own research, publications, and presentations were a bit more than a decade ago, and were centered around what I called an 'Event-driven Curriculum' in lieu of typical, bell curve standardized testing. Having given up on regaining employment in Japanese colleges, I haven't put the publication into a pdf format for on-line sites such as Academia yet, but I've changed enough in the last 10 years (hopefully progressed) so that rather than the base of a workable curriculum in Japan, it is more appropriate as some psychology of group dynamics in maximizing learning opportunities by emphasizing real, problem-solving social contexts.
https://www.campfire.wiki/doku.php?id=rounding_the_earth:the_education_wars
...a world that wants hegemony centered elsewhere, and the architects of such a world would see her canceled for "enacting whiteness," which is how we manage to unperson someone of a celebrated melanin profile.
> One of the things I like most about Magatte is that she promotes and participates in the positive aspects of market capitalism while pushing back against the terrible aspects of corporations and their relationships with corrupt governments.
I agree. There are pros and cons of capitalism. Corrupt crony capitalism is what is poisoning the US has now. They work with legislators to exclude themselves from certain legislation or regulations. And yet more red tape keeps killing jobs in small business. 99% of people work in small business, 99% of businesses are small business in the US. A law that increases regulations, expenses or taxes kills jobs for the small guy. Nepotism leads to corruption and poor corporate performance. Too much pollution can be problematic. Dirty tricks to gain market share is also a problem. But the worst corporations are just a fraction of 0.1% of the corporations out there and they are also generally the largest corporations in their own industry.
What an excellent interview. So glad I watched the video. Love her descriptions and attitude. If more would realize the harm from ‘free’ programs, as she explained with Tom Shoes as an example, we would see that foreign aid and charities only help the dysfunctional or corrupt governments more than the intended people. I’m not against charity, but the big picture needs seen. Helping a community build a resource or a water well is better than throwing money at their government officials.
Didn't Hillary chop the head off of an African guy who built up enough wealth to back a new currency?
Qadafi? He was killed by his own people, but there was a lot of weird stuff going on in north Africa like the Clinton administration shooting what might simply have been an ordinary hospital or medicine factory in South Sudan (IIRC).
His own people after a NATO strike
https://www.hrw.org/report/2012/10/16/death-dictator/bloody-vengeance-sirte
She seemed pretty proud of his demise...
Altho, this is a minor point on the periphery of your article, which is about GOOD WORK
"What world would not want Magatte building businesses?"...the current tyrannical WEF and it's tentacles who only want wealth for themselves and their ends. And they also don't want education to enlighten people to become critical thinkers. That would definitely not serve them. Makes you realize how important education is, and by education I mean teaching process of thinking more than memorizing.