11.10.2020

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 Today, Mr. Paterson talked about the fact that we weren't able to use a period of test week for LE class which unfortunately means that we would abruptly have to receive our grades based on classes a week before the deadline. If we had more time, we would more likely understand the reason behind our final given numbers. Moreover, we could have worked on future projects since Mr. Paterson's assignments need full attention and care, meaning that there is always room for improvement. Having that extra time would have meant a lot for us, even if it didn't count as part of our grading and so, I was a little bummed out about that news.  Speaking of tests, something else that I felt was accurate during the lesson today was the fact about Japanese tests and how they are memory-based. I had realized this for quite a long time since when I had attended my old school, although we had tests, I only needed to review my notes a couple of times before attempting the paper. Moreover, most questions tested the student's ability to adapt to the information given from past classes, so the whole process of learning a unit and implementing the knowledge into a highly compact assignment leads to a whole new realm of inquiry and understanding of the concepts. So really, testing for me always felt like a challenge, so when I experienced some of the Japanese tests being memory-based, it was hard to adapt to its methods. 

However,  in our school, I honestly believe that the tests aren't all memory-based. In some cases, we watched a video and answered the questions based on the provided media. Even if the concept of the test is similar to what we learned in class, doesn't mean that it comes from memory. Besides, since this is an IB school, we are graded on a variety of criteria, none of them specifies memory-based teaching and testing, meaning that teachers are more likely to build effective tests that can improve time-management and at the same time effective critical thinking.  With that being said, the reason why I believe that there is still a portion of memory-based testing being held as essential is because of the peculiar qualities of the Japanese language. As the language branches off to 3 very distinctive shapes of the same phonetics, especially for the never-ending number of kanji, it is inevitable for Japanese students to test their knowledge of kanji. Even if computers are now able to provide users with auto-correct, doesn't mean that not memorizing kanji is good for learners. Being able to write kanji can often be useful for documents that are required on paper, and overall, the neatness of your writing can truly affect one's perceptions of themselves. And so, I state that a nicely concocted lesson mixed with memory-based and impromptu testing can fit the needs of a Japanese society,

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