While they are not the only continent to have strong feelings on schooling, education is considered to be one of the top priorities of most families in Eastern society. This importance is mostly due to the fact that it leads to a good future and career. Because of this value on education, there is a fair bit of competition. Many parents want their child to be placed into what they consider to be the top school. However, despite being the largest continent in the world, there are only three major, internationally recognized magical schools in this area. Some of you will be very interested to learn about these schools and their differences and similarities between Eastern and Western education and the theory behind the practices.
The three schools today's lesson will cover are:
Mahoutokoro School of Magic (魔法所)Li De Magical School (力德魔法学院)Koldovstoretz School (колдовсторец)
Mahoutokoro School of Magic (魔法所)
Located to the south of the main island of Japan is Minami Iwo Jima and the Mahoutokoro School of Magic (MSoM). This institution, for various reasons, is one of the most well-known schools around the world. As one of the oldest wizarding schools, it was founded by the highly-educated and wealthy Mahoutokoro family in 1000 CE, but the exact date was never really disclosed to the public. It has been debated if this was merely an investment by the family or an act of charity to the people of Japan.
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According to official documents, Keiko Yoichii Mahoutokoro was the founder of the Mahoutokoro School of Magic. However, at this time, Keiko was actually already in his late 70s and not in the best of health. Thus, his two sons, Taisho and Shinga, waited for their father to decide who would take over the school. Typically, the eldest son of the family would take over the family's business, but Taisho had not proven his worth, thus causing Shinga, his younger brother, to expect to be named heir and take over the school. In the end, in order to preserve family harmony, Keiko decided to split the asset: Shinga Mahoutokoro took over the governing board of the school whilst his brother, Taisho, took over as the first official headmaster of the school, a deal which both brothers finally admitted was fair.
Let's move on to more recent facts about the school. Unlike Hogwarts, MSoM is a school with an extremely strict entrance criteria. For one, they rarely accept Muggle-borns. This is not a decision made based on blood status, but a result of the particular interview process. Students do not get their letters of invitation automatically when they reach seven years of age. Instead, their parents receive a letter on the day their child turns six. For the next year, the school and the family are in contact frequently, putting both the student and the parents through a detailed interview process. After completion of the interview process, the student will begin at the MSoM boarding school to complete their education.
A hands-on aptitude test, though cleverly disguised and not overly stressful, is administered to the young, would-be student. The adults in the family are subjected to rigorous and thorough verbal, physical, and psychological tests. These tests are primarily administered to the parents, but aunts, uncles, grandparents and the like are welcome to admit themselves for testing as well if they think the results will help the child's likelihood of admission. Obviously, this process is different for Muggle-born applicants as these tests take the form of frequent and stringent observations and while the Muggle-borns' parents have been notified of the possibility of being observed as a part of the entry process, but are not informed when the specific observations are taking place, or how many of them there will be. Because of this, Muggle parents typically achieve worse marks, putting any Muggle-born student at a disadvantage -- it is truly a daunting task to be on one's best behaviour constantly, especially when most Muggles have only a hazy idea as to what traits would be considered desirable in the examiner's eyes! Still, this is not a process that can be rushed or skipped, as those in charge of admissions believe that if the parents are not of a certain calibre it is likely that their offspring will not be well-equipped enough to succeed in their school.
