Teaching around the world

Japan

Though traditional Japanese society has undergone rapid changes due to the influ­ence of Western culture, many ancient ways continue. One is the kyoiku mama, or "educa­tion mama." All schooling for college-bound youth inevitably ends in the highly competitive, university entrance exams, so it is typically the mother's duty and responsibility to encour­age, prod, and at times, force her children to stay education­ally on track. And it's not only the high school students who face stiff competition: Even three-year- old children take entrance exams for the best preschools. Thus, in the traditional Japan­ese family, the mother is the first and often foremost teacher. Within the elementary and high school system, teachers are typically shown great respect. Students often avoid eye contact with their teacher as an acknowledgment of the teacher's superior status and -classrooms are silent-except for the sound of the teacher's voice. For college-bound stu­dents, though, the school day doesn't end with the final bell. More than half of all high school students (and about 40 percent of fourth- through sixth-graders) attend inten­sive "cram schools" that add up to five hours per day to the student's academic workload.

Latin America

Because of the wide eco­nomic spectrum in Central and South America, general­izations about education-and about teachers-are difficult to make, but it is safe to say that secondary and university edu­cation are available to only a very small percentage of the population. Most Latin American coun­tries require three to six years of elementary school, but in rural areas, potential students are often unable to attend at all. High schools (called middle schools in Latin America) gen­erally charge tuition, which limits enrollment. And even in the most industrialized coun­tries, the percentage of stu- dents able to pursue a college education ranges from i to 7. Given these factors, it is no surprise that most Latin American countries suffer from a severe shortage of trained teachers. Elementary school teachers typically have the equivalent of a high school education, although, in many isolated areas, these teachers have completed no more than elementary school themselves. And while some secondary school teachers have a univer­sity education, elementary school teachers are commonly promoted to teach alongside them because of the shortage of properly trained teaching professionals. Salaries are low, and the majority of teachers must take on second jobs to make ends meet. But respect for learning- and teachers-is high. The work itself and the satisfaction of being addressed respectfully as "Teacher" bring their own rewards to the dedicated teachers of Central and South America.

India

In multilingual, multicul­tural India, providing basic education is a daunting daily challenge faced by nearly four million teachers. But this com­mitment to learning-and par­ticularly, literacy-is fairly recent. In historical terms, about fifty years. Today, in a country of eight hundred mil­lion people, more than half the adult population is illiterate. The teachers of India are using their limited resources to help ensure that this grim statistic does not carry over to future generations. Education in India is both free and mandatory until age fourteen. About 85 percent of children attend grades one through five, and classes are typically conducted in the dialect of the region. In grades six through ten, however, the percentage of stu­dents attending drops to about 35. Reasons for this are com­plex. Many children quit school because they must secure jobs to help support the family; others drop out because many of the secondary schools (and almost all the institutions of higher learning) conduct their classes exclusively in English. Only about 6 percent of students attend college or university. The government of India has made education a priority and committed funds to build- ing schools, training teachers, and purchasing books and other educational materials. But demand still far outweighs supply. Despite such formidable odds, however, India's teach­ers rise to the occasion each day, bringing literacy skills to both urban and rural areas and helping India and its people meet the challenges of the next millennium.

Kenya

Most of the formal educa­tion in Africa, and cer­tainly in Kenya, was pioneered by eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Protestant and Roman Catholic mission­aries, who viewed literacy as a necessary tool for Bible in­struction. Opportunities for education were extremely lim­ited during this time and hinged upon acceptance of Christian doctrine. The school system grew during the colonial period, which spanned the latter half of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century, though classrooms were typi­cally racially segregated. Ken­yan education took a huge step forward after independence was declared in 1963, when the government attempted to re­spond to the popular demand for more and better schools. Kenya still has no system of mandatory schooling. However, modern Kenyans tend to see education as the primary means for social advancement and they send their children to school. Over three-quarters of Kenyan children attend free public elementary schools. Unfortunately, at the high school level where students must pay tuition fees, the attendance rate drops drasti­cally to just over 13 percent. The government helps finance about half the schools in the country; the rest, called haram-bee (the Swahili word for "pulling together"), or self-help schools, are privately run. While there are many tech­nical training institutes in Kenya, there are only three national universities. As in other underdeveloped countries, teachers are in great demand. While the working conditions and the remunera­tion are often less than desir­able, these teachers forge courageously ahead, improv­ing their country and the lives of their people.