Shocking differences of growing up in Japan vs USA

[@JoshIbbotson]

Scott I have been following you since I was I think 18, and i'm 28 now. I'm also now married to a Japanese woman, not planned at all, long forgot about the idea of being an english teacher in japan and escaping a miserable depression I was in haha. I just wanted to say thanks for being you, I've never tired of your videos always super insightful and fun. We live in the UK but after my first trip to Tokyo two weeks ago we're looking to move there, I think just how safe it was for kids is a large factor. Iam kind of worried about prejudice about halfu kids though as we're planning on trying for a child soon

[@unrested]

Thanks for sticking with me long term. Yeah Japan is definitely way safer when it comes to raising a child

[@harukaru84]

I always wondered how is the grade system in the US in my country is pretty much like Japan's: 6 years of elementary, 3 middle school, 3 high school, and then uni(4 years for bachelors of regular stuff, 5~6 for medical doctors, then masters, then doctorates), or other post high school institutes that teach you a job(normally 2 years) how popular is that one thing in japan where parents send their 5 year olds to the market for the first time to buy simple groceries? (I know that there is a TV show for that LOL, but I'm not sure how common it is)

[@unrested]

It’s like pre school then 3 years of k1-k3 kindergarten then elementary school 1st to 6th, then jhs 1-3, hs 1-3, and then college can be different depending on subject

[@aiden9586]

Always good to see you Scott

[@unrested]

Thanks for sticking around!

[@yodaru]

I've never used this KZbin membership thing before, just joined :) -- great vid as always!

[@unrested]

Hey thanks a bunch for joining happy to add another friend to our tight knit membership group! Join our discord here discord.gg/4DDxFuD8

[@TheCajunGaijin]

wow Scott, you've got so much hair. When we lived in Texas, as a teacher the school district had a Daycare that was only for the teachers children. No problem getting in there. Since we moved back to Louisiana, we had to start applying to daycares up to 30 minutes from the house up to four months before we moved. One daycare called us back eight months after we moved here. So almost a year from when we applied. Before we got in my son was in two different "home cares" that were setup as daycares but weren't official or licensed daycares. Pre-school here in Louisiana is similar to Japan in that you have to apply because space is limited. Since it's free everyone wants to get in. We haven't applied though, because we plan to take Tak to school in Japan starting in August/Sept for a year. We need to come visit in Florida though. My son has been asking to go to a beach anyway. I went to one Sports Day in Okayama in June for my nieces and nephews, and pretty sure I had heat stroke the next day. Which is wild because I had a hat on, and I drank water. How kids/grandparents survive those sports days is wild.

[@TheCajunGaijin]

I still feel that ideally I'd like my son to split time between America and Japan for school, but like you I don't think the juku system is a necessary fight. Even though I taught at a juku. Mostly I'd like my son to become bilingual, so that's why I see the benefit of splitting time between Japan and America. We talked about doing High School in Japan, or perhaps Elementary and then Jr. High/High School here. But at this point elementary doesn't look realistic. My wife is just going back for a year to spend some time with her grandmother and it's a good chance for my son to get in to the first year of Kindergarten.

[@unrested]

Yeah it’s a though call being away from half your family. I’m not gonna try to act tough and pretend it is easy cause it isn’t at all. I do understand the need to get him some Japanese. I still have Makki doing kanji booklets over here

[@LadyDarkSunMoon]

In Québec, we also had struggles finding places in childcare until the government introduced a new program some 20 years ago where they fund cheaper places for a majority of parents who otherwise could not necessarily afford to have someone else mind their kids while they earn a living. That program allows most families to pay only like 7-10$/day instead of the over 35$ a private daycare costs. I envy the Japanese system for one thing; they teach kids basic daily life skills that are no longer taught in the West. I was part of the last cohort that was taught Home Economics and woodworking and crafts. People younger than me grow up with the mindset that it doesn't matter if they can't do something themselves, they'll just pay somebody else to do it for them, without realising that this mindset causes a problem when skilled people can't be replaced, eventually. Plus, I've always personally felt a great sense of accomplishment from DIY-ing things so I feel like they're missing out on the fun and validation that comes with it... In high school, I was in the international program which is basically the top, most academically demanding one where we had advanced everything, multiple language classes and had to do extracurricular activities to enhance our community and I was half thriving, half discouraged by the competition aspect, so I understand both your kids perspective, but I think if I'd been given the choice, I preferred to study on my own at home blasting my music/tv than in school after hours with other kids I mostly didn't get along with... But all that test-taking is extra anxiety-inducing to both the kids and families, in the long run. I guess that's a facet of why the Japanese don't have large families anymore, it would wear you out to be a parent of a family of 5 kids if you had to feel responsible to accompany all of them so closely and attend all the events and meetings and all...

[@unrested]

Wow super interesting to learn

[@hikkipedia]

I heard Japan/East Asia has a way more efficient/sensical way of teaching math, specifically multiplication?

[@unrested]

It’s the way numbers are used in the language. Apparently Arabic is the same. You are literally doing addition as you say bigger numbers

[@destroyraccoon]

I was always curious about American education - you choose subjects in middle school and high school, right? but some subjects are manditory - like math and english? Is the pressure to get to certain high school in Japan as high as getting into the right middle school, or it gets a little better (i'm guessing not). In my school days, the education system in my country was quite similiar to Japanese one - 6 years of elementary, 3 years of both middle school and high school, with exams in between, and the results of these exams decide if you can get into certain schools with higher level of learning.

[@unrested]

Hmmm well most jhs and hs are combined so if you get into the jhs you already have gotten into the hs. But yes that situation can happen where hs entrance is just as if not more brutal

[@betsybabf748]

I have one son, who is now a senior, who is taking 5 AP classes and studies like that for his AP exams. I cried when I had to write the check for the tests, which was well over $1000 this year for just 5 tests. His twin brothers don't test well, with one having dyslexia, so definitely not the right path for all kids though.

[@unrested]

Yeah the entry tests to those schools in Japan are from 1000-1500. My son took 3 of them. It’s insane money. And you pay it pass or fail!

[@JoshIbbotson]

Damn in the UK it's 9 months before women get back to work

[@BIGIFANDYELLOWCARD]

When did you leave and why? It would be cool if you made a video just on this.

[@unrested]

I answered a few vids back. I think the vid is called “I’m back here now.” Mind you I head back to Japan in a month and a half and will be there all summer. Still got my house there and wife and elder son. Mostly here for the youngers education and job opportunity for myself

[@antichrist5583]

Bro when i was on the train and would see these kids I'd be like WTF! Where are the parents lmfao i was really panicking. I don't think i could do that. i would be so worried lol

[@unrested]

Yeah even sending my own kids had me worried but they were always ok and even helped by train staff multiple times

[@boris1387]

Hi Scott, was wondering how the kids are taught Japanese involvement in ww2. Is it still a very sensitive subject?

[@unrested]

Oh man that could be a video just unto itself

[@nagoyajon]

Stay aweseeome!

[@jazzyfoo]

I can see the positives in both and the negatives. Honestly if I had a choice I don't know which I would choose to grow up in. I do like the openness of America but Japan seems more empathic overall and just generally safer. I don't think grinding children to dust with education is the right move though, there is better ways to instill discipline in children. However if immigration problems become a thing at any point like it is in America or Europe the Japan of today could be gone pretty fast.

[@unrested]

Japan is definitely super safe but yeah there is a grind on kids with education

[@marisakirei684]

Would you say it's no longer the case that it is frowned upon when women leave their kids in daycare/nursery and do not decide to give up working at least for the first 3-4 years of the child's life?

[@unrested]

Sometime by the older generation but I’d say anyone 40 and younger understand the economy just doesn’t allow for that anymore

[@johntiter2825]

I can't speak for anybody else's experience, but I was definitely studying 6+ hours every day after school for someone who lives in LA. I had many peers that did the same, but I suppose that's why I we were ranked in the top 10 percentile.

[@unrested]

We here in Florida are not in that percentile. Hence I often get asked “where in china is Japan?”

[@theshadowman1398]

So why is California falling apart while Florida is quite solid ?

[@freezkeer]

i went to school in the states but parents made me go to j-school on saturdays 1st to 5th. i barely made it through 4th failed 5th couldn't make it to 6th but was above average in american school. i hated everything about j-school. they may have higher school aptitude but lower overall broader knowledge and happiness, imo.

[@marbellaotaiza801]

9:36 I bet the few times it happened, there wasn't any "would someone please think of the children" type demanding that every kid had a tracking microchip implanted under their skin; and if there was, nobody listened to them...

[@unrested]

Yikes chipping kids sounds like some black mirror dystopia

[@deralmighty8011]

So your kid's Kenny the Ripper? Loljk.

[@unrested]

He is named Kenny Ackerman the same as the character from attack on titan. I named my son first though :)

[@theshadowman1398]

It's weird. The Japanese I met ( also university educated, etc. ) come over as very not knowledgeable when it came to history or even geography. So what exactly are they being thought then ?

[@unrested]

Hmm I guess it all depends on what school system they were in. The big city schools like Osaka and Tokyo grind hard on history, math and knowing way more kanji than usual.

[@shiju333]

Alright it's bugging me enough to ask. You and your youngest are in the United States? Is it entirely for his schooling? Feel free not to respond if it's too personal. :)

[@unrested]

Yeah mostly for schooling. The Japan system just wasn’t for him. Also the economy is in a pretty rough state right now for gaijin looking to make a living there. My wife is fine cause she has a medical license but for silly teachers like me the jobs have dried up or pay so little now it’s not feasible to be a financial support for a family of 4

[@asilusx24]

The more I watch info on Japan the more it really seems its a 3rd world country that somehow keeps an appearance of a 1st world. The outside of the house is nice, but the inside is trashed completely. I would assume if I'm right, that in Japan appearances are 100% of everything, here in the US its hardly. Also dictating what you eat seems like a problem but at the same time, I don't like obesity or excuses for obesity that people give, so that's almost understandable. I'm reminded though to be fair its probably doing well, countries like the US have an extreme unfair advantage and are guaranteed a 100% to win in economy. Anyone who thinks different is ignorant or stupid.

[@unrested]

There are certain aspects of Japan that seem very 3rd world. Like schools not having AC or ward offices only keeping records on paper.