The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 19, 1991, Page 3, Image 3
Education
US. government seems to want
American students to be Japanese
Those who point to the Japanese educational system as a model
for the U.S. take note; Japanese education is brutal and dehumanizing.
The new book Shogun's Ghost, by Ken Schoolland, debunks
the myth of Japanese educational superiority.
The aptly-named Schoolland taught in Japan for two years and
traveled the country, interviewing Japanese teachers and students
about their system. What he found out was that 89 percent of Japanese
students report being hit by their teachers; many were hit
repeatedly and with such things as baseball bats and kendo
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from teachers.
The Japanese educational system is totalitarian by American
standards. The list of rules is staggering, from not being allowed
to fraternize with the opposite sex to not being allowed to see
friends after school.
Ironically, education in Japan stresses rote memorization, not
actual learning. For example, students take English for six years
but can hardly speak a word of it. The system has no room for
error either. Schoolland tells the story of a student that mistakenly
bubbled an answer in the wrong place on his placement exam, had
to sit out of college for a year and who had his life ruined as a
result.
Schoolland's book, and this editorial for that matter, are not
meant to bash Japan. The point is that American students
shouldn't feel inferior because they don't stay up until two a.m.
studying every night.
Many federal officials, including former Secretary of Education
William Bennett, rake American students over the proverbial coals
because they can't recite Shakespeare verbatim. American students
do need lots of help, but emulating a repressive system such as
Japan's is not the way to go.
"THERE'S LOTS OF PRESSURE TO PO MORE FOR
THE IRAQI KURPS-WMTABOirr SE0M THEM
ALL THOSE B0Vf BMS WE'VE 60T LEFTOVER?"
IHAMKCOCK !
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News: 777-7726 Advertising: 777-4249
Kathy Blackwell robyn Thompson
Editor in Chief Managing Editor
Chris Silvestri David Bowden
Copy Desk Chief Viewpoint Editor
Lucy Soto Kathy Heberger
News Editor Carolina Life Editor
Steve Johnson Renee Meyer
Sports Editor Photography Editor
Aaron Sheinin Tige Watts
Assistant News Editor Assistant News Editor
Oct a via Wright Patrick Villegas
Assistant Carolina Life Editor Assistant Sports Editor
jennifer jablonski julie bouchillon
Assistant Copy Desk Chief Assistant Photography Editor
Eric Glenn Wayne Williams
Darkroom Lab Technician Comics Editor
ED Bonza Erik Collins
Director of Student Media Faculty Adviser
Laura S. Day Ray Burgos
Production Manager Assistant Production Manager
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Advertising Manager Assistant Advertising Manager
Carolyn Griffin
Business Manager
a
Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters should v
be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words long. The writer must include full name, professional
title if a USC employee or South Carolina resident, or year and major if
a student. An address and phone number are required with all letters sent. The v
Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for style, possible libel or in case of h
space limitations. The newspaper will not withhold names under any 1
circumstance. ^
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0\ic&$p Tribune..
Editor plei
Rav AllT ViAumAinf PO^ttr\n in rratti
x-*\jj y V/iU T lvrV|A/llIl OSA'UV/ll Id
lar. I guess people just love to read arti
bunch of communist, homosexual ni
keep up our awful reputation, any fi
Limns that get run on this page will
meet new guidelines.
Articles will have to offend as wid
trum of the campus as possible, solicit!
many angry Letters to the Editor. From
ive will concentrate on the followinj
ireas:
Articles defending human sexual
/arious forms. We will be moving a\
he tame homosexual motif and move
nteresting sexual practices.
Articles criticizing our nation's w
ind proclaiming our individual cowai
JL JL J) J
Bible intended ;
to enlighten I
lb the editor:
I am writing this letter in re- e
ponse to Tige Watts' column v
vhich appeared in the April 10
edition of The Gamecock. In his !
:olumn, Mr. Watts, among other
hings, made reference to "vague a
quotes" in the Bible. True enough. ^
rhere are many parts of the Bible
hat I, and others, find confusing.
Indeed, I have found that to "
ruly understand the Scriptures retires
prayer and careful, repeated s<
;tudy of the passages in question. ?
however, I do not understand why (
here is so much argument over
vhat the Bible says about ho- je
nosexuality. One of the clearest, a
nost ambiguous Bible verses is ?
?eviticus 18:22, which states:
Thou shalt not lie with mankind
is with womankind because it is
in abomination." Whether you
igree with it or not, the Bible's
josition on homosexuality is perectly
clear. ,
Mr. Watts did not state which '
jarts of the Bible he found vague
>r confusing. Instead, he merely 1
lismissed the entire book (at least
>ne translation ot it) by claiming it f
s simply the preaching of King (
ames and not the word of God. a
?Vell, Mr. Watts, the scripture \
luoted above was taken from the
Catholic Douay Bible. Not only c
loes the Douay translation predate t
he King James, but it is hardly c
ikely that the Roman Catholic p
Dhurch would even consider alter- f
ng the word of God to suit the ti
>ersonal views of a Protestant c
ang.
In addition, I have compared g
everal different translations, both I
Catholic and Protestant (including c
he New International Version, the a
4ew American Bible, Catholic 1
version and King James), and have a
ound no significant difference in h
vording or meaning concerning
he subiect of homosexualitv or 1<
mything else. tl
Do not misinterpret this letter, it s<
vas not written to pass judgment f<
>n Mr. Watts or anybody else. It n
vas written merely to inform and a
opefully enlighten. Matthew s]
8:15-17 tells us that if we see our r<
rother sinning, we should point
>ut his faults. If he listens to us, si
The Case for 1
iifr.
fe^y
rl rtnc nniiT
Ugca HCYt
ng popu- I ^
icles by a JMPK|
twits. To Ws%: 0/
iture col- r
have to - #
ng many, , "1, ,
i now on, ' spinelessness. Look f
I subject week's issue, "The Wai
can imperialism."
ity in its Articles blasting tl
vay from religious works. Salmar
to more column next week calle
personally will start slai
ar policy Articles promotin
dice and little lab rats. We will
m TT4I7 EFiTT/'
i V-/ 111 ti JtilJI 11
ve have gained a brother. If we,
i.kn ? ? 1 /-II J _
vuvj piuitsa iu uc ^.iiusuaiis, uo
lot try to help those around us,
hen Mr. Watts is right, we are
lypocrites.
The Bible is one of God's greatst
gifts to us. It contains his holy
/ord and we are to use it as our
uide. It gives us the answers to
ife's problems. True, it is often
ifficult to understand, but if we
sk him, he will give us know>dge
and understanding (Proverbs
: 1-11 and John 14:13).
The Lord does not hate holosexuals
or anybody else. If he
id not love us, he would not have
jnt his son to die on a cross for
ur sins. In choosing God, we gain
)rgiveness for our sins and everisting
life (John 3:16). If we relet
God, we also reject his gifts
nd condemn ourselves. The
hoice is ours. Mr. Watts, I
umbly welcome your reply.
Stuart C. Graybeal
Criminal justice sophomore
Sports writing
much better
To the editor:
I am writing in reference to
Gch Taylor's column in The
lamernck. As as avid snorts fan
md a basketball fanatic, I am overvhelmed
with the quality of the
Chip Shots" section in The Gameock.
For three long years, I have
leen reading the second-rate sports
olumns in the school's newslaper,
only now I am able to look
orward to reading the Sports secion,
thanks mainly to a new style
>f informative journalism.
The university has thousands of
;uys who live and breath athletics.
Jp until now, reading The Gameock
sports section was not acceptble
to the readers it addressed.
Tiere was no columnist that actully
sounded enthused by the work
e was producing.
With the addition of Rich Tayw's
weekly "Chip Shots" article,
le stock in The Gamecock Sports
ection has tripled. I actually look
Drward to reading The Gamecock
ow, Taylor combines both wit
nd an apparent knowledge of
ports to provide truly interesting
sading.
Let it be noted that Taylor
Larted at The Gamecock because
Pumber Bombs
emphasis (
use of mo
nasty, pain
WID BOWDEN The'
will be oi]
we will v.
tional insti
Inflai
prominent
or my column in next Sinead am
r of 1812: blatant Ameri- ^e Dhal;
Theresa ar
le Bible and other major
1 Rushdie will do a guest There i
id, "The Koran stinks." I Shelley, A
turning Druids. offend anc
g the slaughter of cute fore the la:
also start calling for the of support,
3R ~
with his style and flair, it won't be
long before he hits the "big time,
baby." To Rich and The Gamecock
? keep up the good work, I only
wish you would have found him
three years earlier.
Thomas Buxton
Political science senior
'Favoritism'
role in blame
To the editor:
On Friday, April 6 in one of the
residence halls, a private gathering
on part of one floor took place. As
the night continued, the gathering
grew and slightly got out of hand.
Although many can be blamed for
this incident, only a select few
have been chosen to take all the
responsibility.
Those who have been chosen to
take all of the blame were chosen
by the residence hall director
(RHD) of the hall. Among the people
chosen: several hall residents,
an RHA Senator and an R.A. Why
one R.A. is blamed when others
are not is still in question by many
of those who reside here.
There were two other R.A.s, one
on duty at the time who passed
through at several different points
of the night and failed to take any
action. Why is it that a select few
should take the blame for many
ana now were these tew chosen by
the Residence Hall Director? I
strongly feel that there is a question
of favorites involved. I propose
a second, unbiased look at this
situation before the wrong people
take all the blame.
Hal S. Volin
Media arts junior
Homosexuals
not immoral
To the editor:
I believe Jesus once said that
even if we long for something sinful
in our hearts, we are still sinning.
Jesus is not going to heal homosexuals.
This may sound like a
bleak, faithless statement, but it is
true. What are we to do?
I am happy to read no hate in
The Gamecock this year. This past
year all I read in the editorial section
was hate against homosexuals.
This year, educated, thoughtful re
)n quality
re puppies, kittens and baby seals in
fill tests.
World League of American Football
it official charity case. Every week,
Tite more drivel defending that naitution.
mmatory character assassinations on
public figures. We have already done
d Jim Holderman; next up, the Pope,
ai Llama, Barbara Bush, Mother
id Vaclav Havel.
sn't much time left. Dennis, Tige,
aron and I will have to work hard to
1 alienate the rest of the campus best
issue. But with your continued lack
, we'll find the resolve. Thanks.
sponses have appeared. To these, I
would like to respond.
To begin with, 1 Corinthians 6:9
does not say anything about homosexuality.
It mentions sexual
perverts, not homosexuals. Some
may equate the labels, but I simply
wish to clarify terms. That passage
does mention fornicators, however,
and says they will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
I think perhaps the reason homosexuality
is accepted by more
people today is that they are reading
all of these passages people
keep spitting out against homosexuality.
Having been exposed
to this information, they recognize
they are no better than those they
would accuse.
I believe in Jesus and God, and
I also have faith in them. I am a
homosexual. For 20 years I have
begged God and Jesus to make me
whole, to make me a heterosexual.
Well, while I can never doubt they
have the power to do it, I've come
to believe they will not. I don't
know why. I have resolved that I
am unfit to judge.
In the matter of sexual relations,
I am still uncertain. I've had sex
with men. It wasn't anything great,
and I may never do it again. I have
resolved that if ever feel I truly
love someone, that if sex is appropriate,
it may occur.
I am Catholic, and my priest
knows me through confession. It
took me years to brave the confessional
because I feared what I
would hear when I told the priest
about myself. To make it brief, the
priest told me I would have to unravel
the mystery of my own sexuality
for myself. Even a priest
knew he was unfit to judge.
Another priest once said something
that really touched me. He
said none of us has the right to
judge anyone else. More important,
he said we do not have the
right to judge even ourselves.
What I am trvine tn sav here is
that there is a great deal of wisdom
in the world. We would all do well
to seek it instead of toying around
with petty moral issues. There are
no morals. Morals are just the conveniences
of the ages, the means
of organizing peoples so we can
help each other survive. Seek wisdom,
not judgment Judgment will
come from one hand only.
Evan Moore
English sophomore