Post by Linalin on Feb 12, 2007 20:01:43 GMT -5
TOKYO (AFP) - It's no secret that the Japanese are obsessed
with education but in addition to the usual reading, writing
and arithmetic some students will soon be tested on their
ability to use... chopsticks.
Applicants to a private high school for girls in Sasebo in
southern Nagasaki Prefecture will be asked to hold and move
various small objects including beans and marbles with
chopsticks as part of the entrance exam.
"This is simply one factor to assess whether these girls can
handle chopsticks correctly, which is really the most basic
element in education," said Katushi Hisata, the vice principal
of Hisata Gakuen Girls' High School.
"It's surprising to see how many children don't know how to
hold chopsticks correctly, which is a part of the Japanese
culture's beauty," he told AFP by telephone, adding that only
20 percent of elementary students use chopsticks correctly.
with education but in addition to the usual reading, writing
and arithmetic some students will soon be tested on their
ability to use... chopsticks.
Applicants to a private high school for girls in Sasebo in
southern Nagasaki Prefecture will be asked to hold and move
various small objects including beans and marbles with
chopsticks as part of the entrance exam.
"This is simply one factor to assess whether these girls can
handle chopsticks correctly, which is really the most basic
element in education," said Katushi Hisata, the vice principal
of Hisata Gakuen Girls' High School.
"It's surprising to see how many children don't know how to
hold chopsticks correctly, which is a part of the Japanese
culture's beauty," he told AFP by telephone, adding that only
20 percent of elementary students use chopsticks correctly.
That's like us having a test on coloring in the lines
