Re: Japanese schools and math lessons

"Herman Rubin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asked,

> Is there a Japanese edge in math education?

I tend to think so. After all, Andrew Wiles cited the work of several
Japanese mathematicians in his paper providing a proof for the conjecture
popularly known as Fermat's Last Theorem. Similarly, I see quite a few
patently Japanese names as authors of articles whenever I go browsing in
articles about current mathematics.

>  There are
> lots of Chinese and Korean graduate students in mathematics
> and statistics, but not many Japanese.

Way back in the 1970s, I read that it was explicit national policy in Japan
to build up graduate programs in Japanese universities so that Japanese
researchers wouldn't necessarily have to develop their careers by studying
abroad for graduate degrees. The national policy in Korea, Taiwan, and China
until recently has been different, with most top-level researchers being
expected to have a graduate degree from a foreign country (and the United
States has been the favorite destination for graduate students from those
countries).

> I would say the
> best are Korean; they have the best understanding.

There is a researcher now who is translating Korean-language elementary
school mathematics textbooks into English (with the help of a Korean
graduate student, of course). The problems are quite a bit more advanced
than in most United States math textbooks, already by fourth grade. I'd like
to use those translations myself--I have one Chinese translation of a Korean
popular book about logic for children at home, but still need to use it more
to see how good it is.

> Japanese mathematics and pure science seems to be in
> considerable decline since WWII.  It may well be the
> regimentation and lockstep approach which is responsible.

It probably is advantageous, as a national policy, to have more rather than
less pluralism in education over the long term. Japan initially set a very
high standard of excellence, but probably is getting to be a bit insular.
(It would still be a GREAT improvement in the United States, today, to use
translated Japanese math textbooks rather than most of the local brands.)
Taiwan, by contrast, cherishes its international connections and seems to
still be revitalizing. I would imagine Korea is even better positioned for
interchange with other countries than Taiwan, but I am less familiar with
the situation there. (South) Korea has gone in hardly more than one century
from being the "Hermit Kingdom" to being the country that sends
merchants--and Christian missionaries--all over the world, so people in
Korea are now probably very well tied-in with new ideas from almost every
country.

-- 
Karl M. Bunday  "Christ has set us free." Galatians 5:1
Learn in Freedom (TM) http://learninfreedom.org/
kmbunday AT earthlink DOT net (preferred email address)