LEARNING TO BOW: Inside The Heart of...

LEARNING TO BOW: Inside The Heart of Japan by Bruce S. Feiler (Ticknor & Fields: $10.95; 321 pp . ). In this bemused journal, American scholar/reporter Bruce Feiler describes the year he spent as a junior high school English teacher in Sano, a small city on the outskirts of Tokyo. Both an insider and an outsider, Feiler offers a thoughtful discussion of the Japanese educational system that transcends the standard cliches. He admires the emphasis on learning, discipline and social service, as well as the deep respect for teachers and knowledge that characterizes Japanese society. But he deplores the emphasis on rote memorization, the absence of individual expression, the ostracism of anyone perceived as different and the do-or-die examinations that lead to stress, neuroses and even suicide. Feiler’s intelligent, balanced account should be read by anyone interested in the ongoing debate over educational reform in the United States.