Category Archives: haruka t

Audio essay

 

I agree with the basic conception of Ken Robinson’s speech. He believes human have the richness capacity. All kids have tremendous talents. I like these phrases and I believe it. He say the talents and creativities of children are should be improved in education. I think it is right and important, and of course I was very amazed by the success story of Gillian Lynne. However I also think his opinion is just ideal in current society. To make action and to accomplish the revolution is more difficult than expected.

 

For example, there is the education system known as yutori in Japan.

That was designed to relieve the pressures on students and broaden their perspective. Educators expected that the system would improve student’s creativities.

I am exactly a memner of the generation who received the education. I used to go to school five days a week. I took classes with thinner textbook. New subject “General studies” was introduced. The aim of the subject is to increase the time for independent. General studies are not have exam and score. It was fun for me to learn based my own interest.

Looking back over the past, I realize my childhood are free and lively. After school I had time to go swimming school, painting gallery, playing the piano and violin and playing outside with my friends. I have never gone to cram school before. On weekends, I had enough time to travel with my family because I didn’t have school.

However in recent years the education was phased out. Why it was changed despite improving children’s creativities is wonderful? It is said that one of the reasons is the rank of international exam was falling. Didn’t it focus on creativity? Are you care about the rank of exam yet? You would feel some contradictions.

 

 

I think “creativity” is something ambiguous. To keep the balance of academic studies and creative things are important but how to distinguish these subject are not clear. In case of the mathematics, who studies hard can take good score and who doesn’t study enough take bad score. That is very simple. It would make you feel easy that you can see the figure. In other words people usually want to visualize the effort and the result. But you can’t see the result of creativity easily. I think in public education the classroom teachers can’t wait until children get the great achievement by using their creativity because one teacher has many students and the time limit is one year. It took even Gillian Lynne long time to be a famous dancer.

 

In short, we need long time and big effort to change the system, to continue  it and to ingrain it. Then what should we do? I think the cooperation of home and  school is key success factor. The parents should be interested in their children’s lives in school and shouldn’t say complaint to teachers all the time. They don’t forget their home is the first education place for children.

To change the social system is difficult but to change our own mind and action is easy. I hope I can support children who make the future in the whole society as well as the school education.

My thought –Venezuela government weighs in on ice-cream shop row

Summary
In Venezuela, there is serious shortage of ingredients. An ice-cream shop are closed because of lack of milk. The ice-cream shop is famous for the many kinds of flavors and popular for tourists. However the government don’t admit the shortage of milk even if the scarcity index stood at about 30% in March. This number means that out of 100 goods, we always can’t get 30 goods everywhere. It is said that there are two reasons of the shortage. One is that unreasonable businesspeople stock up the food. The other is that some goods are being smuggled into Colombia.

My thought
The shortage of ingredients are caused by not only her economic crises but also complicated international problems. Venezuela is depends on the products made from petroleum. Her economy is in the critical situation because the price of the oil is falling internationally. In addition, inflation and severe currency control make the shortage worse. The president approved the plan to rise the gasoline price. I think that political situation become more unstable. When the gasoline price rises in price, other public utility charges would become high. I think the President should act more carefully and consider the complicated diplomacy problem.

Real Wimmie the Pooh owner’ footsteps retraced by great-granddaughter

Winnie the Pooh is the story of honey-loving bear’s and his friends. It is based on the bedtime story in London. Now it have been translated into more than 40 languages and it became the Disney’s movie loved by everyone. The motif of Winnie the Pooh is the cub in the London Zoo donated by Cpt Harry. The young boy in the stories, Cristopher Robin, was named after author’s son. The real Cristopher Robin like the cub as well as the the boy in the stories. These days, Cpt Harry’s great-granddaughter met the cousin of the late Cristopher robin Milne. She was very moved and commented that a real bear and a fictional bear affected the narratives of their lives.

 

I love Winnie the Pooh so much that I used to watch the video twice a day when I was in a kinder garden. The attraction in the Disney Land which I take the first is always Pooh’s Honey Hunt. But to my surprise, I don’t know the back ground of the story.Literatures sometimes have some hidden truth and another story like a criticism against the society and a political message. Although Winnie the Pooh wouldn’t have such a hidden subject, it is interesting to think how it was made. In addition, I realized that literatures have a power to connect people when I read the news. I am happy if I can meet an author of my favorite book or relatives and would like to talk about my great-grand father.

First US Ebola case Thomas Duncan ‘critical’ -My Reaction

Summary
The first patient suffered from Ebola in US is being treated at hospital. He is native Liberia. He is in critical condition. Ebola is contagious, spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of someone who has the virus. Therefore there is the only way to stop spreading is to separate people from the patient. There have been about 7,500 infected people in the world so far. In West Africa, some Muslim festival were postponed and many public places is empty. Meanwhile, a French nurse who got the virus has recovered by the experimental treatment that give her the pill made by Japanese company. It is for influenza originally.

Opinion
I think the basic facilities in hospital are stretched in Africa despite many patients are there. Plenty of isolation units and protection for doctors and nurses are needed to stop spreading Ebola but there are only usual beds and drip infusions. In French a patient were recovered thanks for highly special medical treatment. However the number of intensive care units are limited. Japan take measures to cope with Ebola, shoreline operations, but I don’t think it is enough to defend. The government need prudent measures and plenty of facilities and should prepare for the epidemic in not only in Africa but also in developed countries.