How was ARW Autumn?

Autumn term was really exciting for me. I spent busy but fulfilling days. I had two games in October so I practiced lacrosse hard. After the games had finished, I had to prepare for ICU festival to sell Okinawan doughnut with BGs and taiyaki with lacrosse club. It enabled me to find time and manage it effectively to do enormous amount of assignment, and also to read and write faster with no hesitation.

Concentrating on one essay was a good experience. I had enough time to choose appropriate theme and narrow it enough. I learned how to find good sources both in English and Japanese. I was able to review how to do citation.

The class with JLP students and 20×20 presentation gave me lots of ideas for my essay and improved my communication skills to convey difficult things related to my essay topic.

Now, looking back this autumn term, I enjoyed ARW classes. It was challenging. Thank you very much, Mark:) I’m going to develop what I’ve learned in this term and do my best work in winter term too.

Reaction to Diamond

Diamond’s main point of the text “Race Without Color” is that although we humans are different physically, we should not classify people into race. He tries to define race in objective way. The human traits vary geographically in three reasons, natural selection, sexual selection, and others unknown and invisible. However, these are not scientifically evident.

Diamond’s whole text is subjective, because he does not use any sources and he uses the words like “we” many times. Therefore, it is easily sympathized with but is not persuasive enough.

Reaction to Shreeve

Shreeve’s main point of the text “Terms of Estrangement” is that whether there is “race” which is objectively and scientifically proved. He cites many opinions of different experts such as anthropologists and medical researchers. Some of them believe the existence of race, but others do not. Shreeve’s point of view is not shown clearly. As a final comment, he quotes Smouse’s words which mention that it is clear that people are genetically different between each group, however, the difference which can be called race are depending on perspectives.

In my opinion, there are some physical characteristics created by geography and inheritance, so it is possible to create typical models of humans. They can be applied to people in medical situation. However, there is no human who applies to one of these models, so the opposite approach, categorizing humans into these models called race, is impossible.

Reaction to Gould

Gould’s main point of the text "The Geometer of Race" is that scientists are not a kind of people who live in the ivory tower but whose ideas influence the society and the history even though the scientists themselves do not intend to. Blumenbach’s example argued in most of this text is an example that his change in the racial classification, only adding Malay, is small but has significant meanings. Blumenbach changed Linnaeu’s graphic classification into a hierarchical ordering with no objective reasons, which caused terrible impacts on society.

This text was descriptive so it was easy to understand what Blumenbach’s theory was, however, it was too long and made Gould’s own main idea weaken and difficult to catch. Also, it was not persuasive enough.

Pecha-Kucha 20×20

First of all, I'd like to say thank you all for listening to my presentation and giving me helpful advices:)

It was a really good chance to communicate with myself about my own essay. I was wondering what would be the most interesting hook, whether my thesis was clear and strong enough, and whether my body paragraphs were reasonable and organized, and so on.
It was also good to improve my presentation skills. I was looked unconfident because I was talking with a stiff look. (To say the truth, I was just exhausted after the morning practice of lacrosse..) I should smile more and speak naturally, so that I will be looked confident and persuasive.

What was the most difficult in this presentation was the equal partition of the contents on each slide. Every slide had no more and no less than 20 seconds. This limitation made it necessary to focus on main points and made me nervous. I tried to select what I really want to say and include as few words as possible so that I could explain everything on my slides.
However, my slides were too simple. I could add more pictures or graphs in order to stimulate and impress the listeners and make my presentation memorable.

I wanna try this Pecha-Kucha 20×20 again!!

Essay Final Draft

Japanese Government Should Support Korean Schools

How many Japanese people know about Korean schools in Japan? There are about 8,300 children who go to Korean school in Japan. The half of them is North Korean, the other half of them is South Korean, and several percent is Japanese. There are 73 North Korean schools in Japan. Korean school was built after World War 2 to give ethnic education to Korean people who were taken to Japan from Korean Peninsula during the war.

     In 2010, Japanese government started the policy “Act on free tuition fee at public high schools / High school enrollment support fund.” It makes tuition free at public high schools and establishes the High school enrollment support fund system at private high schools. The purposes are to make family educational expenses easier and to contribute to equal opportunity in upper secondary education. (Japan. MEXT). However, North Korean schools are not included in the policy and Japanese government does not support them, so the students are still paying their whole tuition. The occurrence of North Korea's artillery shelling of a South Korean island in November 2010 stopped the sorting procedures. Former prime minister Naoto Kan told former Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yoshiaki Takaki on August 29 2011, shortly before his resignation, to resume sorting procedures to include Korean high schools in the government's tuition free program (“Unclear why”).

     Japanese government should support Korean high schools’ tuition fee in the same way as Japanese high schools and other foreign schools in Japan. The main reasons for this are that 1) Korean children also have the right to receive education equally, and 2) education and diplomacy are completely different problem.

     One reason is that Korean children also have the right to receive education equally. It is one of the basic human rights to receive equal education. Excluding Korean students from the government policy of free tuition fee at public high school means abuse of human rights. The attitude of Japanese government is criticized by Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the United Nations. Also, Amnesty International Japan, a famous NGO investigating for human rights issue, requested Japanese government to execute the advice.

     The attitude of Japanese government seems to discriminate Korean. The ministry ruled that foreign schools, such as international schools outside the national school system, are appropriate in the policy of free education. Yet, the Korean schools do not follow with the policy's criteria. It is clearly mentioned that the schools must be equal to Japanese high schools through checks with the home countries concerned, and that their curricula are trusted by an international organization. However, a majority of the expert panel thought it reasonable to consider the North Korean schools as having similar courses as Japanese high schools because many Japanese universities have granted admission to graduates of the Korean schools, because their study course rather follows their Japanese same part (“Pro-N. Korean”).

     However, there are also opposite opinions. Some members of the Democratic Party of Japan criticized that the former prime minister Naoto Kan resumed the procedure to include pro-Pyongyang high schools in the government's tuition free program without enough discussion in the party and started gathering signatures. There are some reasons: Abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea are serious issues. Japanese government is doing economic sanction against North Korea. The contents of education in North Korean school such as the compulsion of personality cult of Kim Il Sung cannot be agreed.

Another reason is that although Japan has diplomatic problems with North Korea as mentioned above, Japanese government should treat education and diplomacy completely separated. The expert panel, in drafting the standards for the free-tuition high school system, revealed the need for the application to be judged objectively and not be affected by diplomatic concerns. The action that the Kan government took runs counter to this criterion ("Respect Basic"). The Kan administration’s response amounts to bullying the children studying at Korean schools in Japan, who are not to be held responsible for the situation on the Korean Peninsula, as retaliation for the shelling. It is unjust to use the tension on the Korean Peninsula as a hurdle to applying the tuition-free system to Korean schools in Japan ("Respect Basic").

     Therefore, Japanese government should support Korean high schools’ tuition fee in the same way as Japanese high schools and other foreign schools in Japan. For one thing, Korean children also have the right to achieve education equally. Excluding Korean high schools from the government policy of free tuition fee of high school means abuse of human rights and discrimination. For another, education and diplomacy are completely different problem. Although Japanese government is having serious problems with North Korea, Korean schools have nothing to do with those diplomatic issues. Thus, Japanese government should resolve to support Korean schools’ tuition fee immediately.

Works Cited

Japan. MEXT. “Free Tuition Fee at Public High Schools / High School Enrollment Support Fund System.” www.mext.go.jp/english/elsec/1303524.htm. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

“Pro-N. Korean Schools’ Tuition Likely to be Free.” Daily Yomiuri. 29 Aug. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

“Respect Basic Right to Study for Students in Korean Schools in Japan.” Japan Press Weekly. 10 Feb. 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.

“Unclear Why Pro-Pyongyang Schools Should be Free.” Daily Yomiuri. 10 Sep. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

Essay First Draft

Japanese government should support Korean school

There are about 8,300 children who go to North Korean school in Japan. The half of them is North Korean, the other half of them is South Korean, and several percent is Japanese. There are 73 North Korean schools in Japan.

     In 2010, Japanese government started the policy “Free tuition fee at public high schools / High school enrollment support fund system” (MEXT). However, North Korean schools are not included in the policy and Japanese government does not support them, so the students are still paying their whole tuition. The occurrence of North Korea's artillery shelling of a South Korean island last November stopped the sorting procedures. Former prime minister Naoto Kan told former Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yoshiaki Takaki on August 29, shortly before his resignation, to resume sorting procedures to include Korean high schools in the government's tuition free program (Daily Yomiuri).

     Japanese government should make Korean high school free in the same way as Japanese high school. The main reasons for this are that 1) Korean children also have the right to achieve education equally, and 2) education and diplomacy are completely different problem.

     First, Korean children also have the right to achieve education equally. It is one of the basic human rights to achieve equal education. Excluding Korean students from the government policy of free tuition fee at public high school means abuse of human rights and racial discrimination. The attitude of Japanese government is criticized by Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the United Nations. Also, Amnesty International Japan, a famous NGO investigating for human rights issue, requested Japanese government to execute the advice.

     Second, Japan has diplomatic problems with North Korea, however, Japanese government should treat education and diplomacy completely separated. The ministry ruled that foreign schools, such as international schools outside the national school system, are appropriate in the policy of free education. Yet, the Korean schools do not follow with the policy's criteria. It is clearly mentioned that the schools must be equal to Japanese high schools through checks with the home countries concerned, and that their curricula are trusted by an international organization. However, a majority of the expert panel thought it reasonable to consider the North Korean schools as having similar courses as Japanese high schools because many Japanese universities have granted admission to graduates of the Korean schools, because their study course rather follows their Japanese same part (Daily Yomiuri). The expert panel, in drafting the standards for the free-tuition high school system, also revealed the need for the application to be judged objectively and not be affected by diplomatic concerns. The action that the Kan government took runs counter to this criterion (Japan Press Weekly). The Kan administration’s response amounts to bullying the children studying at Korean schools in Japan, who are not to be held responsible for the situation on the Korean Peninsula, as retaliation for the shelling. It is unjust to use the tension on the Korean Peninsula as a hurdle to applying the tuition-free system to Korean schools in Japan (Japan Press Weekly).

     However, there are also opposite opinions. Some members of the Democratic Party of Japan criticized that the former prime minister Naoto Kan resumed the procedure to include pro-Pyongyang high schools in the government's tuition free program without enough discussion in the party and started gathering signatures. There are some reasons: Japanese government is doing economic sanction against North Korea. The contents of education in North Korean school such as the compulsion of personality cult cannot be agreed.

     Therefore, Japanese government should make Korean high school free in the same way as Japanese high school. The main reasons for this are that 1) Korean children also have the right to achieve education equally, and 2) education and diplomacy are completely different problem.

Essay Outline

Research Question:

Should Japanese government make Korean high school free same as Japanese high school?

Thesis Statement:

Japanese government should make Korean high school free same as Japanese high school.

1.     Introduction

A. Hook: the number of the students of Korean high school

B. Background: the content of the policy “free tuition fee at public high school” and about Korean high school

C. Thesis

2. Education and human right

  A. Amnesty International Japan
  B. demonstrations, meetings, and signatures for free tuition

  C. messages from the students of Korean high school

3. Education and diplomacy

  A. Territorial dispute

  B. Abduction issues
  C. should pro-Pyongyang schools have to take down their picture of Kim Jong Il?

4. Conclusion

  A. Repeat thesis and main points

  B. Show the solution to the conflict

  C. Add a quotation

Sources:

1)    MEXT English page

http://www.mext.go.jp/english/elsec/1303524.htm

2)    Amnesty International Japan

http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/news/article.php?storyid=774

3)    朝高連絡会

http://allchoko.blog76.fc2.com/blog-category-0.html

4)    Abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea

http://www.rachi.go.jp/en/index.html

5)    10 Issues of Takeshima

http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/takeshima/pamphlet_e.pdf

6)    Takeshima

http://www.japanfocus.org/-Mark-Selden/3520

Essay Idea

1)     What is the issue you plan to research and write about?

Korean high schools’ tuition free issue

2)     Why is the issue important? What is the significance?

Japanese high schools and other international schools are now free or supported by government, but Korean high schools are not.

3)     Why are you interested in this? What’s the connection to you?

I had not known about Korean schools entirely before I saw the Korean high school’s team at the competition of volleyball when I was a high school student. At that time I was shocked to hear my team mate’s word discriminating them. Since then, I have been interested in Korean schools.

4)     What questions do you have about this issue? What do you want to find out?

What is Korean school?

What are toughed in there?

Are they different from Japanese and other foreign schools?

What is Japanese government policy of free tuition fee in high school?

What are the current situations in high schools?

What kind of arguments have been discussed in the Diet?

How are Korean students feeling?

How about Japanese students?

Is it a racial discrimination?

Does this issue have something with diplomatic issues?

What are the reactions of foreign countries?

What about UN or NGO?

5)     What English sources have you found regarding this issue?

1)        MEXT English page

http://www.mext.go.jp/english/elsec/1303524.htm

2)        Amnesty International Japan

http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/news/article.php?storyid=774

Reaction to Fisher

Reading through Fisher’s text, I realized that we humans are widely different in having perception from high-tech machines. A video camera can record exactly what are in front of the camera, but cannot select what to record or give meanings to the objects. (I know recent cameras can recognize human faces and even smiles. But they always recognize faces, only faces.) Humans, however, can perceive nothing avoiding psychological process. Our eyes do not see anything. Our brains do. We select, evaluate, and interpret what come through our eyes standing on our past experiences and personal emotions. Thus, our perception is very different. It often causes problems such as communication breakdown and misunderstanding. Therefore, I think it is important to realize that each person’s perception is very different, though we tend to consider our perception same.

Reaction to Barna

Reading Barna’s text, I could clearly understand what are the main causes of making intercultural communication difficult. In my opinion, the fourth stumbling block called preconceptions and stereotypes is the most serious problem of all six. Stereotypes are usually created by media, provide people strong impression, and are believed naturally without doubted by majority of people in a group. They control many people easily with strong power. Therefore, stereotypes are dangerous and difficult to be solved.

Through the discussion in my group, I found that the six stumbling blocks are related to each other. None of the difficulties caused by intercultural communication is so simple. We should have diverse points of view and consider several stumbling blocks at the same time.

Summer Reading Reaction

In summer, I read "Girl With a Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier.

When I read the short summary of this book, it seemed interesting I wanted to know the ending of it.
I was also attracted by the painting on the front cover of the book.

A 16-year-old girl Griet, whose father has been a tile painter, works as a maid in the Vermeer family. The master Johannes Vermeer is a painter, and has a wife Catharina and many children. They hava another maid Tanneke. At first, Griet's task is to clean Vermeer's studio and what an ordinary maid does such as cooking, cleaning, and washing. She comes to know Pieter, the son of the meat stall. Griet has a talent for colors, so she gradually becomes Vermeer's assistant.
Two years after Griet comes to his house, van Ruijven, Vermeer's patron, wants Vermeer to paint Griet, so he decides to paint her. She is painted secretly waring Catharina's pearl earrings, however, Catharina comes to know about it and gets really angry. Therefore, Griet decides to leave Vermeer's house and marries with Pieter the son.
When a decade has passed, Vermeer dies and gives Griet his wife Catharina's earrings. She changes them into money and keeps the story secret to her family.

My favorite parts of this novel are Griet shows her talent in colors again and again. For example, when she cuts vegetables to make soup, she lais them out in a circle so that the colors do not fight with each other. Another example is that she moves the blue tablecloth by her own judgment so that the Vermeer's painting becomes better. These parts emphasize that Griet is a special girl. I am also particular about colors. Therefore, I especially love these parts.
After I finished reading this novel, I realized the strong power which one painting has. I did not understand exactly what being painted in a picture really meant and how great thing it was. However, I was surprised that even one painting could help creating a novel. I want to go to musium to see paintings thinking of the hiddrn story about each of them.

My Summer and ARW Autumn

Hi!!
This is my first posting on this blog.

First of all, I'll tell you about my summer.

I played lacrosse day after day. I went to club camps three times during the summer vacation!! I practiced a lot so I got tanned and lost my weight. In August, the league opened and the season started. We had two games, the first game ended in a draw but we won the second one. We ICU girls' lacrosse club is going to have the next game. It will be held at 10:00 am on October 1st. I want everyone to see me playing lacrosse. Please come to watch the game if you have the time.

Now the summer vacation had ended. I think this was the best summer I've ever had:))

The summer had been over and I realized that I totally forgot how to study, so I'm afraid that I can't keep up with ELP. However, in autumn, I want to write in English with no hesitation. I don't mean I'd like to write English perfectly. I won't be shy making any mistakes and will try to write English more than I used to in spring.