After looking around on the internet and reading a few things about how Japan's school culture is very different from ours, here are some of the major differences that stood out:
1: American classes are more interactive, encouraging students to raise their hand and ask questions. In Japan, students would almost never interrupt a teacher to ask a question.
2: American students have a much friendlier relationship with their teacher. We chat with our teachers after classes as if they were our friends, and they call us by our given names. In Japan, students speak very politely with their teachers and students are called by their family name.
3: In Japan, material is taught through memorization; students write exactly what the teacher says and that is what they are tested on, nothing more. In America, we students are expected to not only understand what we are taught, but to be able to use that knowledge in situations we have not encountered. A Japanese student would probably not do well on an American test that would involve writing an essay that requires them to reason or give their opinions, instead of just listing facts and dates.
