I agree that education puts children into conventional thinking and diminishes creativity or great ideas. However, I think education and schools are needed to learn how to live in our society. From these two opinions, education has to be change, but not to disappear.

First, same as Ken Robinson’s opinion, education is surely an enemy for children to innovate or to find new ideas, because teachers teach them what is thought as a correct idea in the present society. They have to endure to study old-fashioned ideas, to answer the “correct” ideas, or to feel shamed if they said their own thinking which was different from the “corrects”.
For example, in Japanese schools, students study a formula to solve problems of mathematics, and solve them by only using the formula, like a routine.
But as a matter of fact, there is not absolutely correct formula or answer in the world, because everything is changing.
For instance, 20 years ago, when I was born, nobody thought it would be possible to connect and communicate with people over the world in the future. But now, via Internet, we can connect with people even if they are at the opposing side of the earth, by their own small computers called “smartphones”.
Smartphone is a technology which was unthinkable just 5 years ago. We do not know what happen in the future. To make innovations like smartphones, education seems to not have any help for innovators because teachers cannot teach ideas which will be thought as correct ideas in the future. Education teaches students just what is correct or incorrect.

Second, although education is not good for creativity, education also helps creativity by these three things: teaching way to think, giving useful knowledge, and learning communication with others.
First and second reasons seem to be inconsistent with Robinson’s opinion, that education breaks creativity by giving ordinary ideas. However, without any foundation of thinking, children cannot have their ideas and express them, Innovation without any help or knowledge is impossible.
Third reason is connected to live in this society. There are many rules which must be obeyed to communicate with the others or to live with them. These are called morals, ethics or common senses. If we behave without the any rules, we will fight with the others.
These things are what we mainly learn in the schools. Children must learn them to become a member of society, and then they can create their new ideas to the world.

In conclusion, we have to remain the modern education to learn not only foundations of ideas, but also communication. Besides, schools should add a new system to the education, which enables children to think and communicate freely, to make new ideas. The balance between the two is a big problem, so I want to think about it next opportunity.
Thank you for your listening.

(Final audio essay by Jo, autum, 2014)

Summary
A survey by the Pew Research Center in the U.S. revealed that many of the wealthiest think the poor take a lot of money from the government benefits. However, at the same time, the survey also shows us that the poor need more support, which is said by themselves.
In addition, there are another gaps of thinking between the two. For example, about the role of government, the poor think the government should help the needy more if the government’s debt increase, although the wealthy does not think so.
Their opinion is finally similar when the question is about immigration, but the poor who says immigrates have good effects are fewer than the wealthy.

Reaction
In the U.S., Economic disparity is a serious social issue. Recently, rich person becomes richer and richer, and poor person becomes poorer because capitalism allows taking more money from the poor to the wealthy as business.
For example, costs of food and housing are huge for the poor, they continue being poor. (figure1) They cannot live without them; therefore, they have no money to eat good meals and they only eat fast foods or cheap foods. This makes them unhealthy and their money disappears because of going to hospital without any insurance.
In contrast, the rich scares to lose their money and safety, so they do not want to mix with them. In this situation, the government is only supporter of the poor.
I think the government can decrease the disparity between two groups by supporting the poor paying for daily foods and their home. If the government does nothing to this problem, the poor cannot continue their life in the U.S. because there is no money which they can use.
In conclusion, I want to the government to change the situation.

figure1: How the Rich and Poor Spend Their Money

Summary
In Google’s Play Store, there are no Amazon’s apps, although there are used to. This is a punishment for Amazon by Google, and the reason is Amazon’s new app system which makes it possible to download various apps in Amazon’s app, without Google’s Play store.

Reaction
This passage mentions the possibility of Google’s monopolization in apps’ market. It is very hard for Amazon to sell their apps by itself, if Google could change the system of Google Play and eliminate Amazon’s app.
I searched what occurred after this incident. 1 week later from the incident, for instance, Amazon’s apps revived in Google Play. However, in the main app of Amazon, there is no system to download apps on its own. Because Amazon’s own downloading system looks infringing Google Play, Google removed Amazon’s apps from Google Play.
In the apps’ market, Google and Apple work hard to get customers. Amazon is new company to take in to their fight. In truth, the app store popularity of Google Play is about four times higher than Amazon (Figure1). But for instance, many users of Google Play download only free apps. Google gets very many customers; however, Google get little revenue from their downloading (Figure2).
In conclusion, Google struggled to make profit from Google play, so they could not allow Amazon who had high revenue rate from apps to leave from Google Play and Amazon had no technology to leave perfectly from it.

Figure1(from http://www.androidpit.fr/google-play-store-apple-app-store-amazon-app-shop-rapporte-plus)

Figure2(from http://www.webpronews.com/amazon-appstore-generates-far-more-revenue-than-than-google-play-2012-03)

I’m so sorry about no detail of these sites and use figures without any permission…

Summary
Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto invited Makoto Sakurai, who was a head of Zaitokukai, one of the anti-Korean groups and had a meeting. However, not only they could not find their point of compromise, they just criticized what the other said.
Hashimoto said Sakurai and Zaitokukai discriminate Koreans as all of them hate Japanese and discriminate Japanese. Also he told Sakurai that Osaka city do not want people who are racists.
One of Korean journalist did not want people to think the two were similar because their attitudes looked like same.

Reaction
I watched the full video of this meeting on Youtube. For my surprise, before Hashimoto appeared, Sakurai scolded journalists who came to the meeting one by one, because he thought they painted Zaitokukai in lurid colors in their reports. Looking his attitude like a teacher scolded little students, I got bad impression to Sakurai. This impression did not change until the meeting ended when Hashimoto went out from the room, with being abused by Sakurai like “A coward!”
I thought Hashimoto was right then. However, a comment on Youtube made me thinking. The comment said the meeting was a strategy of Hashimoto, to plant bad feeling in people’s mind in over world.
After I read the comment, I realized the power of media, editing information into “News” and telling us.
In my opinion, we sometimes have to get original information.
I do not mean all media are not good like Sakurai. Media summarize original information to understand easily. However, at same time, they reduce information which is not important or good for them.
How we can get information like this?
I think the answer is finding first information –original. Useful tools like Youtube will help that.
To know whole information of “news”, we have to get first information and think about it by ourselves.

“This I believe”

I believe the power of teammates, the power to achieve the goal as a team. Teammates cooperate on you and work to overcome difficulties, or make the situation better. Furthermore, if you feel you are working alone, you just don’t know that there are many “teammates” who support you.

For example, I belong to Keio magicians’ society. It holds a stage and about 600 audiences come to the stage every year.
This year, I appeared on the stage for the first time. I performed a playing cards’ magic, using 150 cards. Cards’ magic is one of the most difficult magic, so I had to make time for the practice.
However, I also belong to the Taiikukai, Shorinji Kempo Team. I was pressed with the practice of Shorinji Kempo and I felt shameful when I showed my magic routine to the magic club’s members because it was not well-organized. I feared what they would say and didn’t want to communicate with the member then.

From one month before the stage, my every free time had been used to practice. I thought I would be alone when I practiced. However, there were also the members of our club, who practiced for the stage or came to see our magic. I admitted to receive advices and learn technics from them to improve my magic routine. Surprisingly, they liked my magic and had many ideas which I had never thought. Practicing with their advices, I noticed my magic became better and better. That’s why I could continue practicing every day.

On the day of the stage, I appeared on the stage and my magic went very well. When I performed, I was really excited before a large audience and was greeted by their cheers.
After the stage, we hugged each other and I cried with the member who I practiced with many times. I noticed that we can achieve something difficult not alone, but together with the members. At first, I thought the magic depended on only the ability of the each performer. However, while everyday practicing, I understood there were many members gave me advices and energy to practice. Furthermore, without one teammate, I could not even appear on the stage. We made the stage together.

In conclusion, I believe teammates enable me to achieve something difficult or great things. We have to cooperate as a team, and appreciate each other.
I want to continue cooperating in this club to support the other teammates.

Thank you for listening.

●Summary
In the U.S., illegal migrants are increasing, especially for girls and children under 13.  More than 90% of children caught trying to cross the Mexico-US border without parents come from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
The reasons of migrating are escaping from domestic abuse, the threat of the violent gangs, and poverty.
However, the migrants face many problems after they could get into the U.S., like being sexual assaulted, being forced to work hard with low pay, or hunger.

●Opinion 
I am wondering why the illegal migrants come to the U.S. although they meet many problems not only in their countries, but also in the U.S.  The main reason is a contrast of wages.  There are many companies which want low-paid workers to cut off costs like fast food restaurants. Hence, illegal migrants can find high-paid job for them.
However, why are there many children in the illegal migrants?  In this passage, they escaped from fears of death.  In their countries, it is not rare to even rape or kill children.  Surely, the U.S. is safer than these countries.  However, the U.S. deports many illegal migrants and immigrants who made crimes or troubled in the U.S.  This causes a vicious circle; criminals return and increase, public securities become worth, illegal migrants increase…
In my opinion, the U.S. has to help the countries if the U.S. wants to reduce the number of illegal migrants.  Rejections just make the situation worse.

I read news about evacuation from a volcano on the border of Argentina and Chile: Copahue volcano.

The volcano showed a sign to begin eruption.  Seismic activity had been increasing in recent weeks.  However, when I searched the news now, the volcano had not erupted too.

The authorities in both countries issued a red alert, the highest possible alert, and the mandatory evacuation affected some 2,240 people.  Despite the alert, many people refused to leave their homes.

They did not want to evacuate because they wanted to stay with their farm animals and personal belongings.  A police officer said they were going to go to the homes and going to remove the women, the elderly and children.

When I read this news, I had a simple question, “Why people do not want to escape, although they may be killed by eruption?”  I could not understand their reason: preferring to stay with their farm animals and personal belongings.  After I explored about the Copahue volcano, I could understand the reason.

The volcano erupted recently, in 2012 to 2013.  In the eruption, there was no damage to people because the volcano just rose thick smoke.  I think the people do not ralize what happen in a big eruption and do not think so seriously.

In my opinion, the governments should show what may happen by the Copahue volcano, with information of volcanos in the world, such as in Japan or Hawaii.