Instruments of a Beating Heart by Ema Ryan Yamazaki
What a School Performance Shows Us About Japanese Education:
A look into the delicate balance between teamwork, discipline, and personal growth.
- How did you feel watching this film?
- Was there anything that made you uncomfortable about this film? What? Why?
- What is gained by this approach to teaching and learning? What is lost?
- If you were an American parent witnessing your child being treated this way, what do you think your response would be? What would be your reasons?
- Did your perspective of the teachers change by the end of the film? Why?
- At many junctures in the film, children were visibly uncomfortable and at times in distress. How did this discomfort fuel their growth?
- One of the lessons that the teachers were imparting was the individual student’s responsibility to the group. What do you think of the expectation that the individual needs to be responsible for the whole group’s success?
- Do you think this kind of approach to schooling has an impact on civic life?
- The children in the film are quite young. What do you think about the level of responsibility they were given?
- There are cultural differences between American and Japanese society that influence what goes on in our schools. Are there aspects of what you saw in the film that you would like U.S. schools to adopt? What are those and what would be needed to make those aspects of the film work in the U.S.?