I do agree to Ken Robinson’s idea on education. He insists that not only literacy but also creativity is so important in education. He says education system should put more emphasis on creativity.

I think that we have to cultivate ourselves. Education will help us understand future we can’t grasp, as Ken said. When we watch the news or read the newspaper, it is helpful to think of what is going on and of what we should do next. To acquire languages and mathematics could be very useful when we live a life. Education is important, however, it sometimes kills creativity. When students make mistakes, teachers tell them they are wrong and ask them to know the right answer. There is a problem. No children are pleased with being scolded by teachers. They keep from saying unique opinions, or even stop raising their hand. They become frightened to be wrong.

As for Japan, we hardly have discussion classes in education system. I’ve never taken discussion classes until I entered the university. In Japan, education is done in lecture style and Japanese students believe it is common. In America, they value communication. I lived in America when I was little. During the class, a teacher walks around the classroom and ask students of what they think. I was surprised at first because I wasn’t used to it. American teachers said to me, ‘’ I don’t ask you questions because I want to know the right answer. I ask you questions to think them together.’’ A lot of American students raise their hand because they want to say their opinion. Teachers listen to them seriously, never criticize them. I now think it is a better style. Education in Japan is for producing university professors, as Ken said.

I suggest Japanese teachers communicate more with students and help them say their ideas. Ken says creativity is a process of having original ideas. If we don’t have any opinions, we will never be able to cultivate creativity. Not only teachers but also our way of thinking toward education should be changed. I feel that Japanese think people who are willing to say their ideas look kind of selfish and that Japanese look someone who made a mistake as a shame. As Ken said, ‘’If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.’’ To be wrong is OK. What is important is whether we could learn from our mistakes. That will connect with creativity, a gift of human imagination.

In India cars are getting more expensive. Finance ministry officials said that they would end import tax concessions on December 31, 2014. The Indian government, which is very poor, is trying to solve financial problems by increasing tax. The excise duty will go up from 8% to 12% for small cars, and it will go up from 20% to 24% for larger cars. As the excise duty increases, car prices will surely increase. It seems that consumers will restrain themselves from buying cars, but car makers do not think it grave. They anticipate that car sales will decrease and it will hit them. However, they believe it is temporary and will recover soon.

I think that rising tax is a good way for the Indian government to be wealthy. In Japan there was an increase in consumption tax in April, 2014. At first people would not buy a lot, but now it seems sales are recovering. I think the same is true with India. In terms of redistribution, it should be on luxury items, not on everything. The Indian government will have to relieve dissatisfaction of people. It should do welfare work to encourage people. That makes them trust the government and the economic policy will be effective.

The story of “Winnie the Pooh” is very famous in the world. The story was first appeared in the London Evening News in 1925 by Alan A Milne. Today this story is translated into more than 40 languages and is read around the world.

Captain Harry Colebourn, who was a Canadian soldier, got a bear cub across the Atlantic when he was staying near Wiltshire. When he went to war in France, he gave the cub to London Zoo. He named it Winniepeg after his hometown. To make it shorter, he was named Winnie. It is he that inspired the story of “Winnie the Pooh.” Christopher Robin, who appears in the story, stemed from Alan’s own son. Other charming characters are inspired by stuffed animals which he had those days.

Though I have read the story many times, I did not know the backgrounds of “Winnie the Pooh.” I never imagined that Pooh comes from the cub donated to London Zoo by a captain in war. I came to realize that there are lots of stories passed down not only in Japan but also in foreign countries. They could be both fiction and nonfiction. I think the point is that all the story handed down by ancestors have lessons or something they want to tell descendants. This story could be intended to show the pity of a cub which was isolated by war done by human beings. In Japan, stories from abroad are so familiar with us. It may be interesting for us to think about history or the way they think in foreign countries.

The recent research says that eating a lot of processed meat brings about shortened lifespan. Researchers show that lifespans of people who ate red meat about three hundred grams per day were shorter by two years than those of people who never ate red meat. Though eating processed meat is connected with the risk of death, eating a moderate amount of nonprocessed meat has little effect on shorter lifespan. Red meat contains lots of zinc and protein, so it does us good. In processing meat, however, they put some compounds that could spoil our health. We should reduce the amount of which we eat processed meat.

I think that we cannot be too afraid of eating red meat. We can get nutrients we can’t produce by ourselves. It is ingredients in processed meat that do us harm. Though we had better cut down on processed meat, we can eat nonprocessed meat as usual. There is plenty of stuff harmful to our health in fast food. The companies put it so much to preserve food so that they can hold down expenses. They always seek their profits. Consumers will suffer more and more damage in the future. It may be a good idea to impose taxes on ingredients which are bad for our health. I’d like to eat home-made meat instead of fast food from now on. I put my trust much more in my mother than in fast-food restaurants.

I believe that communication in talking is very important in leading an enjoyable life. Especially we should talk with each other rather than using SNS or chatting online.

Now I have many friends I can trust and I enjoy my life so much. However, when I was so young, I only had a few friends and I didn’t talk with others so much. I didn’t even like to go to school. What changed me is finding pleasures in communication.

As I was in elementary school, I used to play with a few friends, playing soccer at free time. In the classroom, I never raised my hands and wouldn’t try to make new friends. I thought there wasn’t any fun to go to school to talk with the same guys.

One day my best friends told me, “Just talk to our classmates.” At first I thought it troublesome to communicate with classmates I never talked with. I came to know that having lots of friends makes us happy. It is even better to have a big company than a small one. So talking to others positively is important. We should not always wait for somebody to talk to us.

Communication also helps us understand others deeply. Nowadays we have an extensive SNS. We can get in touch with friends by e-mail without seeing. However, talking is quite different from e-mailing. I think it easy to understand what they think or feel by communicating rather than chatting on the web. When I communicate with my friends, I get information not so much from their words but from their expressions, tones or looks. I think that these will tell me their true feelings. If we want to be close to others, we must be eager to know their characters and ways of thinking. As we come to know them, they will be our best friends. Communicating with them would be more delightful.

As I make friends, there appears ones I cannot get along with. I think it is okay. I just have to keep company with friends I like. To make good friends, we have to start with communication. What I can say clearly is communication is so valuable for us.

In these days a lot of companies notice that manufacturing in Africa takes low costs.  There are some African countries growing rapidly in economy. However, it would rather be costly if they fail to develop manufacturing in Africa. Everywhere we see many kinds of products which are made in China, Taiwan or Vietnam but not in African countries. In spite of economic growth in Africa, Africa constitutes only  2% share of the world’s total manufacturing output. Asian and North American countries have more than 60% of the share. It can be said that Africa has less trust, compared with these countries. To attract more foreign investment, Africa needs structral transformation.

I think it is a good way to manufacture in Africa. There is vast land, and labor costs for workers are relatively low. In Europe or America, Africa is nearer than Asia. It might be cheaper in terms of transportation.  However, it is true that companies would be anxious about doing so. A brand of “made in Africa” is not yet familiar to us and workers there may not be used to manufacturing. Still, I think it necessary for companies to do so in order to introduce technology or techniques in Africa. It is a duty of advanced countries to help develop other countries. We should not always look after our own interests. I guess Africa will succeed in receiving lots of companies in ten years.

March 29 marked the 10-year anniversary of a workplace smoking ban in Ireland, extending to pubs and restaurants. Ireland was the first country worldwide to enact such a sweeping ban. A lot of countries joined Ireland in creating a nationwide workplace smoking ban. Statistics show a national decline in post-ban smoking so it is said that the ban is a success. However Mary Byrne, a Dublin counter, says the ban has the opposite effect on smokers. She claims that the ban makes people smoke outside, then you see them and take one. She started smoking after the ban. Banning doesn’t always have a good effect.

Last week our group discussed the Ireland’s smoking ban. Though the number of people smoking in Japan is less than that of other advanced countries, we should decrease the number more.  As I don’t smoke, I can’t think of any good points of smoking. It is true that one who smokes looks cool and that smoking reduces our stress. However I don’t think we should run the risk of dying of cancer. Mary says the ban had no effects on smokers. I’m against her. The smoking prevalence rate has decreased surely, and her case is not common. I suggest the government put more taxes on cigarettes. Besides it is a good way to make smokers notice that smoking does harm on our health by putting warnings on boxes of cigarettes.