Schoollink Values Study
Essay Contest Results

We received 12 essays from students in the US and 2 essays from students in Japan. We have decided to award a cash prize to the two teachers whose students participated the most. These were Audrey Messer's class from H.B. Whitehorne School in Verona, New Jersey and Hajime Niitsu's class from Kofu First High School, Kofu, Yamanashi. We will also award "honorable mention" to all of the students who participated by writing an essay.  Each of these essays are on the Web.

Our goal was to stimulate thinking about our two cultures and the values we share and those that may be different. We need to better understand where these values come from, how they are carried from generation to generation and how they influence our behavior and shape our lives.

Here are some of the interesting things students said in their essays while explaining the results of the values survey. We hope that these begin a more extensive dialog about this most important area and that we can learn more about each other's culture in the process.

Group vs. Individual Values

We found the results most interesting and the comments of many of the essays reflected this.  Many of the students noted how the social and communal values of the Japanese seemed to take priority. "If you think hard, you will remember that the Japanese live on an island and have a problem of overcrowding. In that case, it is admirable and logical that their first four values have to do with cooperation and getting along"(Kate M). "Japanese place value on human relations/interaction and Americans place value on the individual"(Yusuke Naito Koofu). "The Japanese society appears to be group oriented, while America's society appears to be more individualistic"(Beckie S). "This also proved that the American people don't care for others as much as ourselves"(Devin V).

Family
Some American students were surprised to see that "family" was no higher than 8th on the Japanese list, whereas Americans seemed to value family 1st. "I thought that Japan valued family more than anything."(Kate M). One student found the fact that family was so high on the US list strange "because we have so many people who are divorced". (Colleen D)

Environment
"Due to the dense population and lack of land the Japanese must be environmentally conscious and preserve what little land they have. Although environment does not appear on the American list it is an important issue."(Beckie S)

Education
American students were surprised that the Japanese list did not include education. One student wondered if this might have something to do with the "high levels of stress and suicide in schools and workplaces... and the government's recognition of the need for reform and relaxation."( Kate M) Another student knew that "in America, Japanese students attend Japanese schools on Saturday." (Mike D) "I also know that children in Japan have to go to school longer than we do here and every other Saturday as well...maybe it is (because educational expectations are too high)." (Andrew Z)

Health
"You will notice that they (the Japanese) do not have health on the list, but since the Japanese seem to have much better diets than Americans, health is probably not as much of a problem for them as it is for people in America." (Kate M)

Manners
"No kid would put manners on his list unless it was told to them by their parents repeatedly. Kids usually don't want to cooperate, they want to do their own thing."(Chris D) "The Japanese are very strict about manners. They believe in bowing, removing their shoes and proper greetings."(Mike D)

Respect
"Japan rated respect very highly. It is a culture that respects their elders, customs and traditions more than the United States."(Mike D)

Jobs
"I think the reason 'jobs' is on the United States list and not on Japan's is because we think it is important to find the right occupation and that is very difficult. However, in Japan their future for a job is pre-determined by the college they are chosen to go to based on their test results." (Andrew Z)

Happiness
"Many years ago my parents told me to create the most happiness is chasing happiness."(Miss Yuki Aoki Koofu)