Oops, I think the last part of my post got cut off. I wanted to say, after the balanced education part, that balanced education comes from the main culture of the house. (I want to say ‘home,’ but that could make it sound like ‘home country,’ so I’m refraining from that.) The house’s/the parents’ example and attitude towards the suggested approach to all challenges (be it education, hobbies, personal obstacles, etc.) largely influences the affect an education (school system) style has on the child and what they take out of it. Simply put, balanced education comes from the home.
Hmm… in all of my years in Japan I have never come across anybody saying that children could not socialize out of school. That is, unless you have prior appointments after school (ballet/calligraphy/soroban/swimming/karate/etc. classes, doctor appointments, etc.). In fact, I got the strong impression that children were actually encouraged to socialize after school. When they become school-aged, they are socially expected to walk themselves to and from school on their own, and many times kids don’t come home until the ‘bell’ chimes. (At 4:30 in the winter and at 5:00 during all other seasons the school rings a bell–more like a short song. This tells the kids what time it is and that it’s time to be back home.) Unless otherwise specified, parents don’t even expect their children to be home until this time. This is how it was for me growing up and how it still is. (And for the children whose parents were both working, the school had its own after school day care where the children were encouraged to PLAY. Some chose to do homework, but kids were encouraged to play. Socialization was a large component of the after school program.) Perhaps there were some parents who had decided to demand their children home after school as soon as possible to do homework and extra curricular activities.
Now, junior high and high school could be a different story, especially in the case of a highly prestigeous private school. OR, in the case the student goes to cram school. In this case, yes, it can be true that they don’t get much time to socialize. However, it is kind of a stretch to say that in Japan children can not socialize out of school. I see teenagers hanging out all the time, prestigeous private school, cram school or not. (And with cell phones they seem to be, in that sense, socializing even more.)
I don’t think I have ever come across or heard of a scenario like this in Japan ever. I’m guessing, perhaps you’ve misunderstood your sensei, or what your sensei was telling you was misleading or very specific to the school/specific area? But this discouragment of socialization is NOT widely accepted in Japan at all. Just thought I’d clarify. :happy: