TV Reviews : Japan-U.S. Education Systems Profiled

If he can find the time under the barrage of advice givers, favor seekers and assorted other types vying for his attention, newly sworn-in Education Secretary Lamar Alexander might find “Quest for Education,” airing Sunday at 10 p.m. on KCET Channel 28, a worthwhile way to spend an hour.

A look at the educational systems of Japan and America, partly through the eyes of two teen-age girls who have lived and studied in both countries, this KCET production raises some thoughtful questions about the nature of education.

“Quest” offers few, if any, answers to those questions, but it is hardly alone in that lapse: The glaring failures of our schools are easily documented, not so easily solved. On a smaller scale, the show succeeds in offering an interesting glimpse beyond the casual stereotypes most Americans have about the Japanese system.

From its opening segment on, “Quest” illustrates the main difference between the two systems: American individualism versus Japanese group conformity. Producer-writer-director Joan Owens does a nice job showing how each system is strongly rooted in the larger society’s culture, how the children’s cultural background reflect and reinforce each system’s weaknesses and strengths.

The Japanese experts talk about opening their system up to allow more creativity; the Americans talk about the current failures and the opportunities that lay ahead. All neatly fit into the show’s thesis: that people of both countries must learn from each other. No dissenting voice is heard.

This lack of opinion hampers “Quest’s” goal of stimulating discussion about educational issues; there’s not enough fire to make the show compelling. Nonetheless, it does stimulate thought--for the newest member of Bush’s Cabinet or any other viewer concerned about the state of education.