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Essay

Cherry blossoms or falling leaves?

Japanese students may soon be staring out the classroom windows on the first day of classes to see falling leaves instead of cherry blossoms if Tokyo University has its way. The university has proposed starting the school year in the fall instead of April. That will not be an easy change. So ingrained in Japanese life is the April start of school that moving the first day feels like rescheduling Christmas or celebrating New Year's Day in July!

The reasons for the change are sensible. Putting Japan's academic schedule in line with the rest of the world makes it much easier for Japanese students to study abroad and for foreign students to come to Japan. Most Japanese students are afraid of stepping outside the rigid schedule of graduating on time and job-hunting with everyone else. They need encouragement.

Critics of the plan worry that free time between entrance exams in February and the start of school would be a problem. However, Japanese students can fill that time with important pursuits like volunteering, traveling or joining work-study programs abroad. A break from the competitive atmosphere of exam preparation will give students time to develop themselves, broaden their experience and mature.

Opponents of the Tokyo University plan are probably also worried about changing such a cherished tradition. Schools, along with most workplaces, have traditionally started April 1. That day, the whole country seems to be dressed in freshly pressed uniforms heading off to their first day. The scenic background to this important first day, of course, is the blossoming of the cherry trees, which lends an air of celebration.

Starting school with autumn leaves falling will be quite different. It took me a long time as an American to adjust to Japan's academic calendar. In America, I was used to the feeling of cooler evenings and tree leaves helping to reorient me from the simple freedoms of summertime to the serious work of studying.

Even after several years teaching in Japan, I still find it hard to concentrate inside the classroom while the cherry blossoms are dancing in the wind outside the window. It's too wonderfully distracting! If the change happens, I wonder if future students will have the same feeling about autumn's purple-red maple leaves and bright yellow gingko leaves as students now have about cherry blossoms.

Making such a cultural and psychological shift will not be easy. Japan is a schedule-loving nation. This change is really more than a change of schedule; it is a change of mood, mindset and culture. Changing the schedule is a serious challenge that Japanese schools will have to tackle, though, if schools are to become more internationalized. The cherry blossoms, after all, are beautiful no matter where one is in the school schedule -- or in one's life schedule!

Shukan ST: FEBRUARY 10, 2012

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Essay Cherry blossoms or falling leaves? By Michael Pronko Japanese students may soon be staring out the classroom windows on the first day of classes to see falling leaves instead of cherry blossoms if Tokyo University has its way. The university has proposed starting the school year in the fall instead of April. That will not be an easy change. So ingrained in Japanese life is the April start of school that moving the first day feels like rescheduling Christmas or celebrating New Year's Day in July! The reasons for the change are sensible. Putting Japan's academic schedule in line with the rest of the world makes it much easier for Japanese students to study abroad and for foreign students to come to Japan. Most Japanese students are afraid of stepping outside the rigid schedule of graduating on time and job-hunting with everyone else. They need encouragement. Critics of the plan worry that free time between entrance exams in February and the start of school would be a problem. However, Japanese students can fill that time with important pursuits like volunteering, traveling or joining work-study programs abroad. A break from the competitive atmosphere of exam preparation will give students time to develop themselves, broaden their experience and mature. Opponents of the Tokyo University plan are probably also worried about changing such a cherished tradition. Schools, along with most workplaces, have traditionally started April 1. That day, the whole country seems to be dressed in freshly pressed uniforms heading off to their first day. The scenic background to this important first day, of course, is the blossoming of the cherry trees, which lends an air of celebration. Starting school with autumn leaves falling will be quite different. It took me a long time as an American to adjust to Japan's academic calendar. In America, I was used to the feeling of cooler evenings and tree leaves helping to reorient me from the simple freedoms of summertime to the serious work of studying. Even after several years teaching in Japan, I still find it hard to concentrate inside the classroom while the cherry blossoms are dancing in the wind outside the window. It's too wonderfully distracting! If the change happens, I wonder if future students will have the same feeling about autumn's purple-red maple leaves and bright yellow gingko leaves as students now have about cherry blossoms. Making such a cultural and psychological shift will not be easy. Japan is a schedule-loving nation. This change is really more than a change of schedule; it is a change of mood, mindset and culture. Changing the schedule is a serious challenge that Japanese schools will have to tackle, though, if schools are to become more internationalized. The cherry blossoms, after all, are beautiful no matter where one is in the school schedule -- or in one's life schedule! Shukan ST: FEBRUARY 10, 2012 (C) All rights reserved