教員コラムBlog
- home
- 教員コラム / Blog
- Advanced年度のコラム
コラム一覧
/ Blog List(Advancedのコラム)
-
09 .30Language and Art
Photo credit: The author
As an architect and a designer, Antoni Gaudí has spoken to countless people through his many creations, most of which can be seen in Barcelona. Do you know that one of the people to whom Gaudí’s work has spoken quite loudly and eloquently used to attend a university in Kyoto? It’s true. He is the Japanese stone cutter, Etsuro Sotoo.
Sotoo, a graduate of the Kyoto City University of Arts, traveled to Europe in 1978, one year after he graduated. As you can see, he was not much older than most of the students at Ritsumeikan University when he did that. That’s amazing, isn’t it?
After arriving in Barcelona, he was so moved by Gaudi’s masterpiece, La Sagrada Família, that Sotoo chose to stay and learn about him, his genius, and his work. He said “I just came to Europe to carve stone. I was looking for stone and stone introduced me to La Sagrada Família and La Sagrada Família introduced me to Gaudí” (National Geographic, 2013).
Sotoo strove to understand Gaudí and honor him through his own stone cutting work. In so doing, he has, for more than 40 years, made significant contributions to the construction of La Sagrada Família. This includes the work Sotoo did on the east façade of the basilica. It is there, in the Nativity scene, that we can see fifteen statues of angels that Sotoo created. He even created a few of them with Asian faces. After all, according to Sotoo, angels from the east are needed, too (Public Relations Office, Government of Japan, 2012). (A photo of Sotoo’s angels can be seen above.)
Sotoo’s passion for Gaudí’s work caused him to reconsider his values and to become Catholic. As you can see, art can be a very powerful language. Does it speak to you? If so, which medium (language) do you prefer to listen to, or with which one do you prefer to create?
References
National Geographic (2013, Dec. 14). Unorthodox sculpting. [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MW5Us3E--0
Public Relations Office, Government of Japan (2012, Dec.) Realizing Gaudi’s Unfulfilled Wishes: Etsuro Sotoo (Spain).
https://www.govonline.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/html/201212/201212_05.html
Questions:
Q1. When did Sotoo travel to Europe?
a. Straight after he graduated.
b. A little while after graduation.
c. A year before he graduated.
Q2. Where can you see many of Gaudi’s works?
a. Barcelona
b. Ritsumeikan University
c. In the Public relations Office of the Government of Japan
Q3. How did Sotoo show his passion for Gaudi’s work?
a. He introduced Gaudi to Japanese visitors.
b. He helped to build Gaudi’s greatest work.
c. He looked for stone to use for La Sagrada Família.
Scroll down ↓ for the answers
Answers
A1: b
A2: a
A3: b
Dawn O'Day -
03 .18Sharing Ideas, Making Connections: Leaders' Dialogue on Future Initiatives
Photo Credit 1: Yan Krukau @ Pexels.com
Recently, I had a very interesting and meaningful discussion with my class. I mean meaningful in the sense that we had a chance to reflect about our own stages of life.
A student presented about what it means to be an adult. As a concluding remark, he asked his classmates "Are you an adult?" I, the eldest in the room wondered, “Am I indeed an adult”? Perhaps, many of you also asked yourselves the same question at a certain moment. The meaning of this question is different for all of us. I thought of the “inner child” that resides in us no matter what age we are. In a morning newspaper, I read about the oldest woman in Germany -- 113 years old. I am sure that no one would doubt that she is beyond adult. Yet, in the article, she told the story of her dreams at night when she sees her “mama” and their shopping trip for a Sunday dress. When she awakes from the dream, she finds herself talking to her mother as if she were still 13 years old and then she slowly awakes and realizes that it was a dream. She chuckled during the interview saying that although she is 113 years old, she is still calling out to her “mama”.
What are the “rites of passage” as explained by Victor Turner, when we transition into the various stages of life? Are the process of finishing 4 years of university and then looking for a job, finding a partner and then marrying, and thinking of children, the proper markers and rites in the “stages of life”?
On July 21, 2023, Ritsumeikan University senpais (seniors) and kōhais (juniors) got together and exchanged ideas under the title "Sharing Ideas, Making Connections": Leaders' Dialogue on Future Initiatives (SKNC Event Summer 2023). It was a very fruitful event sending off graduating seniors to their new stages of life as either graduate students, bankers, human resource management specialists, or workers for international human rights organizations. The senpais who successfully finished their four years were giving back to kōhais who yearned to gain from their experiences. As I sat on the side and watched the very talented Ritsumeikan University students and their transitioning into adulthood, I witnessed the true essence of being an "adult", and that is paving the path for the next generation. I am always grateful for the opportunity to watch and also learn from my students.
Questions:
1) What is the main idea of the essay?
2) Who presented about being an adult?
3) What was the main aim of the event that was described?
Scroll down ↓ for the answers
Answers
A1. Defining adulthood
A2. A student
A3. Senpais and kōhais exchanging ideas
Jackie J. Kim-Wachutka -
02 .05The Story of Narcissus and Echo
Photo Credit: Engin Akyurt @Pexels.com
The ancient Greeks told stories about their gods and heroes. These stories, or myths, helped to form western culture. There are many English words that come from Greek mythology. Two such words come from the story of Narcissus and Echo. Below is a retelling of the myth based on the writing of Ovid, a Roman poet.
Once there was a youth named Narcissus, who was 16 years old but appeared to be a man. He was so handsome that others fell in love with him. However, Narcissus cared only about himself and spurned the many youths who sought his attention and love.
Hera, the queen of the gods, was looking for her unfaithful husband, Zeus. She saw the nymph Echo playing in the woods. Hera was envious of Echo’s gaiety, or cheerfulness, and so she cursed her by making it impossible for her to speak except for repeating what others said.
Echo would often see Narcissus walking through the woods alone or with friends and, like all the other maidens, she fell in love with him.
One day, when Narcissus was in the forest alone, he heard Echo step on a branch. “Who is there?” he called out. Echo could only respond by repeating his words, “Who is there?”
Narcissus responded, “Come to me.”
And Echo replied, “Come.”
“Why?” replied Narcissus. “Why are you avoiding me?”
“Avoiding me,” replied Echo.
“Come and introduce yourself,” said Narcissus, “I wish to meet you.”
“Meet you,” replied Echo.
She came out from behind a tree and up to Narcissus. She put her arms around his neck and looked him in the eyes. But Narcissus pushed her away and ran.
Echo disappeared into the forest and found a cave where she hid herself--her heart still loved Narcissus. Eventually, Narcissus’ arrogance angered the gods. One day, he grew thirsty and found a small pond. One of the gods made the pond silvery bright so that, when Narcissus bent over to take a drink, he saw his own reflection, which was so beautiful that it matched that of the god Apollo. Narcissus fell in love with the image of his own face. He stared into the pond and forgot all else, including food. He remained for days until his body grew weak. Narcissus knew he was close to death and called out, “Farewell.”
Echo heard him and responded, “Farewell.” She went back to her cave and lived there all alone. Her body wasted away and shriveled up until it was gone. The only thing that remained was her voice, which still repeats back what is said.
From this story, we get the English words narcissist and echo. What do you think they mean?
Glossary
myth: a traditional story often involving supernatural beings, such as gods, faeries, and nymphs.
spurn: to reject because you think the other person is unworthy
nymph: a nature spirit
arrogance: thinking that you are better and more important than others; overbearing pride
reflection: the image of something in a mirror or clear body of water
Questions:
Q1. After reading the story, what do you think the word narcissist means?
a. a handsome young man
b. someone who thinks about or admires only him or herself
c. someone who enjoys walking in the forest
Q2. What is an echo?
a. someone who lives in a cave
b. a young woman who is in love
c. the sound that repeats back to you when you call out
Q3. Why did Narcissus die?
a. He didn’t eat because he couldn’t stop looking at his own reflection
b. Because Echo no longer loved him
c. He had nothing to drink
Scroll down ↓ for the answers
Answers
A1. b
A2. c
A3. a
Rex Stewart -
10 .23Chasing the Mop
Photo Credit: Ketut Subiyanto @pexels.com
My twin boys really love to mop. My wife and I got them the same toy mops and they will often mop the floor of our home with them. This is not a pretend mopping—we will stick wet wipes to the mops, and they will very deliberately start mopping everything: while mostly the floor, sometimes the “floor” becomes the top of select items of furniture, stuffed animals, or dinner plates. We usually stop them before it goes too far, but they genuinely want to try and clean.
The main reason for them doing that is because they have seen me do it. Even though I do not feel deserving of such modeling, they notice it and try to do the same. Perhaps the thing they want to do more than mop like me is to mop with me. It is when I enter the mop arena that their kindly mopping activity turns into a competition.
To clarify, it is not just that they want to map with me—they want my mop. They could care less if I use their mop—they want my mop at the same time. That is when there is fussing, fighting, and gnashing of teeth. That is when we are done mopping.
For that reason, I had previously taken apart my mop and kept it out of reach . . . until this morning. One of my sons was very, very persistent in wanting my mop, so I decided to give him a piece of it. Then the other son saw what was happening and then he wanted a piece of the mop. I then realized I could either let this spin out of control, or see if they could work together.
I gave each son a three-minute time limit with my reassembled mini-mop. After that time, the receiver needed to give it to his brother. One of my sons regularly did that, but the other simply refused and the mop needed to be given to his brother by force. He didn’t really want to mop the floor like his brother—he just wanted what his brother had, even if he didn’t know what he’d do once he got it. Eventually he let it go and moved on, as is normal.
In many ways, that seems to be how people act once they enter adulthood. They never quite leave that place of knowing what they want. They are not young children who will eventually find what interests them (as I am keen on doing with both of my kids). It can be easy to chase after someone else’s mop when you don’t intend to clean the floor, but it seems much more difficult to give up chasing after others if that’s all you’re used to doing. Eventually, you need to set down the mop, and pick up something you want to do.
Questions:
Q1. Why do the kids like to mop?
Q2. According to the author, one son wants to mop the floor. Why does the other one want to use the mop?
Q3. What is the article about?
Scroll down ↓ for the answers
A1. Because they have seen their father do it.
.
A2. Because he wants what his brother has.
A3. Choosing what interests you; not just copying what others do.
Jessie Patterson -
09 .04Are You a Luddite?Photo Credit: Florian Schmetz @ Unsplash.comAre you familiar with the term Luddite? A Luddite is a person who is not comfortable using technology, in many cases because they do not trust technology. In extreme cases, the person wants to destroy technology. The term refers to the participants in a rebellion in England that occurred from 1811 to 1816 during the industrial revolution. Many weavers in England were upset that they were being replaced by machines. Traditional weaving shops could not compete in price with the textile products the factories were producing. The leader of the rebellion was supposedly a weaver named Captain, or King, Ludd, and his followers were referred to as Luddites. They broke into the factories and destroyed textile machinery. These days, referring to someone as a Luddite means you recognize that the person is avoiding, or speaking out against technology because that person thinks it is harmful rather than beneficial.Seems like many people are coming to that conclusion. Recently I've been reading a book called Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. In the book, he explains the many ways that his attention, particularly his ability to focus, has been reduced by use of his cell phone. For example, he complains that he has lost his ability to read anything for more than a few minutes, so now it takes him a long time to finish a book. In particular, he blames social media apps, which constantly demand that we give them our attention. He decides the best thing to do is to leave his phone in his apartment in New York and to move to a small town where he can stop using the Internet for three months. In the book, he describes the many positive effects that occur when he stops allowing the Internet and social media to command his focus. {Stolen Focus – Book Summary [https://medium.com/learning-by-proxy/stolen-focus-book-summary-b433453a0383]}I was surprised to learn that even a few teenagers are concluding that using social media is not in their best interest. “'Luddite' Teens Don't Want Your Likes,” an article recently published in the New York Times, is about a group of teenagers at a high school in New York who have voluntarily decided not to use smartphones. Most of them have flip phones, and a few of them have no phones at all. These students formed a circle called the Luddite Club in their high school, and they meet outdoors to read, paint and draw, and to have discussions about the ideas presented in books they are reading. All of them are critical of society's reliance on social media, especially the need to post and get ‘likes’. Describing the benefits of abandoning social media, one of the students says “when I got my flip phone, things instantly changed. I got my brain back. It made me observe myself as a person.” {New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/style/teens-social-media.html]}So, what do you think? Are you happy with your smartphone and your access to social media, or have you been starting to question the benefits of being connected? If you have your doubts, it might be time to consider the taking the Luddite challenge, and see if it works for you.Questions:1. What is a Luddite?A. a dull soundB. a person who does not like technologyC. a type of rock2. How did the author of Stolen Focus attempt to regain his focus?A. he moved to a small town and did not use the internetB. he took medicineC. he did yoga3. What is the name of the circle formed by the high school students who have given up their smart phones?A. Joy Luck ClubB. Breakfast ClubC. Luddite ClubScroll down ↓ for the answersAnswers:1. B2. A3. CJohn Kuzel
-
07 .25Are You Bi-Cultural?
I have a question for the students of Ritsumeikan University - are you bi-cultural? Have you ever had the opportunity to live (or study) in a foreign country for long enough to become familiar with its culture? As for me, I have had the good fortune to live in England (my home country) and Japan for long periods of time. Therefore, I have become familiar with the cultures of both countries. One of the main advantages of being bi-cultural is that you are able to compare and contrast nations and cultures. Like all countries, England and Japan have attractive points as well as some less-appealing ones. I would like to discuss some of the more attractive points about living in Japan, when compared with England, as well as some of its less-appealing ones.
First, I love travelling by train and Japan has perhaps the best railway network in the world – far better than England’s. Unlike my home country, you can usually rely on Japanese trains to arrive on time. The passengers tend to be considerate to others such as not using their mobile phones or speaking loudly while on board. Furthermore, Japanese trains are usually clean because passengers almost always dispose of their rubbish at the end of their journey. Unfortunately, the English tend to leave their rubbish on the seats and tables in the train.
Next, there is little vandalism in Japan. Japanese people tend to respect other people’s belongings which I am afraid is not always the case in England. Did you know that a recent public cycle-sharing scheme in the northern city of Manchester was stopped because more than half of the bikes were either vandalised, stolen or thrown into the city’s canal? As an Englishman, I am not only deeply saddened by this thoughtless vandalism, but also perplexed by this behaviour. Why are the English and Japanese so different in this regard? It is a complex question, which I cannot answer with any great depth here. However, I suspect the answer is deeply rooted in the differing education systems, cultural and social norms.
Now, I would like to discuss a few things that I dislike about Japan when compared to England. Firstly, I hate the habits of slurping and sniffing. Although I can barely tolerate the culture of slurping noodles, I loathe it when the Japanese slurp their tea and coffee. However, what is even more annoying than slurping is sniffing. I dislike it when people sniff constantly, especially in enclosed spaces such as restaurants or on public transport. When I was a child at school, if I sniffed a teacher would usually offer me a tissue. I am sorely tempted to do the same with Japanese ‘sniffers.’ Just seeing the reaction would be worth the effort!
Another thing that I dislike about Japan is the regular absence of polite ‘small talk’ in everyday situations. In England, neighbours, shop assistants, café workers and so on, often initiate friendly conversation by asking “how are you today?”, “terrible weather, isn't it?”, “are you busy at the moment?” or something similar. However, in the block of flats where I live in Kyoto, some of my Japanese neighbours do not even acknowledge me, not in the lift or in the foyer of the building. It appears that I do not exist to them. I wonder why this happens? Have I upset my neighbours in some way? I do not think so, as I pride myself on being a polite and considerate one. Nor is language a hurdle as I can speak Japanese – not perfectly, but I can communicate pretty well. In addition, although I often go to the same cafes in Kyoto and am served by the same people, there is little effort on their part to converse with me. I have often initiated ‘small talk’ but it has usually ended in failure. Although Japanese service is efficient, I consider it cold, as if being served by an android. Therefore, Japanese service often lacks the warmth of customer service that can sometimes be found in England.
In conclusion, being bi-cultural is a blessing in many ways, not least because it enables you to compare and contrast. It allows you to appreciate the finer points of a country, but also be conscious of its less pleasant ones. Therefore, being bi-cultural helps you to manage your own expectations when travelling, so when I arrive back to my home country I am mentally prepared for disruptions and annoyances on the railway. In contrast, upon my return to Japan, I look forward to travelling by train, as it is so often a pleasant way to travel. That is unless someone is sniffing next to me during the journey! I hope that you will be able to become bi-cultural in the future and discover the many pleasures, as well as occasional annoyances, which other countries and cultures may offer.
Q1. What are the two main good points about living in Japan?
Q2. What are three main bad points about living in Japan?
Q3. What are the reasons for the differences between England and Japan regarding vandalism?
Scroll down for answers
A1. The train network and the lack of vandalism
A2. Lack of polite small talk, slurping and sniffing
A3. The differing education systems, cultural and social norms
Gary Littlecott **Photo courtesy of Pixabay @Pexels.com** -
07 .18Secret Joy
A sunny autumn day like today is a liminal time, an in-between state, when something is at its birthing stage. A fresh new beginning has just begun to open its tight bud into a slow blossom. Tsubaki camellia flowers strike a pose, wearing soft pink petals like a multi-layered evening gown. Fresh new leaves, a very dark matcha green, offer up the soft buds of flowers with a very distinct contrast. Deep autumn is just around the corner. Fresh new amber orange and red in their fantastic colors vie for attention. Two years ago, in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic halted the world to an almost complete stop, I discovered a secret joy. I was afraid to say it. Too many people all over the world were suffering. Many lost loved ones. Some stood at death’s door. Others battled awful symptoms. Some luckily won over the corona virus with a sniffle and a sneeze. But no doubt, countless people suffered in their own way. In the midst of all of this, I carried this secret joy. I could not share this with anyone. It didn’t feel right to voice it out loud when so many were suffering.
Like last year, I made my way to the spot where I discovered this joy. The afternoon sun was warm on my face. I couldn’t help but hum my favorite song. Can a day be as perfect as this? Everywhere I looked there were hints of autumn colors. I quickly made my way to my destination – Nanzenji temple. Last year, I had the temple to myself, a breathtaking but simple architecture – so still, ever gentle. Standing in this open space with hardly anyone around, I breathed in refreshing air, and I breathed out the stress of the frightening 24/7 news cycle of illness, death, doubt, and strife that had become a part of everyday life. What had this temple witnessed over the many centuries of its existence? Now, it became my oasis. It offered me a quiet, calming joy, almost like an extended helping hand. Since then, I have been savoring this soothing feeling of being surrounded by this breath-taking beauty and the joy of having it all to myself.
But lo and behold… What is this? Who are they? What is going on? Stop, stop, stop! Cameras clicked, loud laughter echoed in the chilly air, buzz of non-stop conversation whirling around my head, cars honking, the burned smell of rubber spewing out dark fumes from tour buses, the high-pitched voices of young tour guides mindlessly carrying high their little flag. No, this can’t be. A heavy feeling found a place in the pit of my stomach. The once high feeling slowly but surely dissipated to an increasing low. The serene Nanzenji, a place of quiet calm, the seat of Zen, was overrun once again. “Life as usual,” “Back to Normal,” “With Corona,” threatened my secret joy, this rare moment of quiet, the essence of Zen. Experiencing history, tradition, and ritual of calm in temples like Nanzenji is what I had been savoring within these two years of the pandemic. I knew that it would not last long.
Now, on this beautiful day, I am once again one among thousands, making an autumn-foliage pilgrimage to Nanzenji. Disappointed, I weakly hold up my camera, trying to capture that perfect shot of what my eyes behold. I try my best to ignore the mass of people. Click! I frown at the shot of a passerby’s tip of his white sneaker that invades my picture. Delete! The sun shines through the dark orange leaves. Ah, beautiful. I point my camera at that perfect shot, the side view of the temple peeking through the colorful foliage. I wait to click. A person in front is taking forever to get his own perfect shot. He finally moves out of my way. I hurriedly point the camera back at the leaves and the edge of the strikingly regal wooden temple. The sunray now has shifted. I lower my camera. Irritably, I walk through the over-crowded temple ground.
Lovers walk hand in hand. Families talk, run, pose for one another. Selfie sticks swim through the crowd. A young girl quickly readjusts her front bangs with one free hand and then smiles into her smart phone held six feet away. Taking in these images like a slow-moving picture, my secret joy slips through my fingers. I walk heavyhearted on to the side-street away from the crowd. Wait. What is this? The sun-ray beckons me ever so quietly. I follow it. I hear the whispered invitation through a rustled wind moving through the colored leaves. I look through a half open door. This moment – a re-encounter with this knowing joy, it is here. It never left. I just needed to look closer. The discovery, the joy of seeing the beauty in the very small things, ever so quiet, very subtle, but definitely present, quickened my heartbeat. This small temple, posing now so elegantly before my eyes, may not be the grand and beautiful main attraction, but it imbues a beauty of its own, waiting quietly for that moment of mutual discovery. The secret of finding joy in the small things, present everywhere, always ready to be seen and discovered, made this autumn day… well… perfect.
Q1 Why was the writer afraid to verbalize her secret joy?
Q2 Where was the primary place where the writer found this secret joy?
Q3 Why did the writer feel that the secret joy was slipping away?
Scroll down for answers
A1 Too many people all over the world were suffering.
A2 Nanzenji temple.
A3 Because many visitors and tourists are once again overcrowding historical sites of Kyoto.
Jackie Kim-Wachutka **Photo by the author** -
07 .11Planting A Food Forest
This summer, my friend and I finally started planting a food forest. We have been preparing the site for the food forest for several years. For example, with an excavator, we dug a pond at the top of the site so that we can keep the trees in the forest well-watered after they are planted. We also dug swales on the land which will act to retain the moisture in the soil rather than allow it to run off. I live on a small island in the Pacific Northwest which gets a lot of rain during the winter months. However, many people are surprised to learn that during the summer it doesn't rain at all, so it will be necessary to water the trees for a few years so that they can establish themselves.
You might be asking yourself, "what is a food forest"? To answer that question, we should first look at the concept of "permaculture." According to Bill Morrison, who made up the term in 1978, permaculture is: "The conscious design and maintenance of agricultural reproductive systems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of the landscape with people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way." In this sense, permaculture combines the sense of permanent, or sustainable, and the practice of agriculture.
These days, as the mass effect of "consumer culture" is increasingly viewed as unsustainable, the focus has expanded to include sustainable cultures, such as indigenous cultures, which can be considered models of land stewardship. Just as a natural forest matures to a point where it becomes a self-sustaining culture of plants, a food forest is intentionally planted with edible trees, perennials, annuals and shrubs which mature and become self-sustaining. In other words, after a certain time, the plants work to support each other just like plants found in a natural forest, creating an integrated self-sustaining eco-system that, in the case of a food forest, provides sustenance. The overall idea is to work with nature, not against nature, to achieve this aim. Unlike monoculture, in which a farmer plants one crop and then intensively battles nature to protect the crop against insects and other plants, a food forest is intended to be a habitat for insects, birds and other plants and animals. The idea is to create an abundance which is shared.
To give our food forest a fighting chance to establish itself, we put in posts, and we're going to put some screening net around the site to protect the young trees from deer. Unfortunately, deer like to rub their bodies against trees and when the trees are still small that damages the bark and the trees die. Deer also like to eat delicious young leaves, so it's necessary to keep the deer out until the trees have established themselves and grown taller. In the future, when the site has become an established forest, we will be able to take down the screen netting, so that the deer can also take part and contribute to the forest. One of the very first trees we planted was at the top of the site, where the clearing meets the natural forest that surrounds it. This area is higher and drier, so we planted an Italian pine tree there. This pine tree produces lots of pine nuts. We're looking forward to the day the Italian pine tree will be just one of many trees in a thriving food forest in which we can share in the benefits.
Q1. What is the purpose of swales?
(a) They help the land stay moist by absorbing rain
(b) They help prevent floods by allowing water to move flow freely.
Q2. True or false: The word permaculture is a combination of two words, permanent and agriculture.
Q3. Food forests are planted to benefit:
(a) only humans
(b) the entire eco-system?
Scroll down for answers
A1: a
A2: True
A3: b
The BBP Staff **Photo Courtesy of Nishant Aneja @Pexels.com** -
06 .27What is the Point of Education?
The progressive rock band, Pink Floyd sang “We don’t need no education. We don’t need no thought control” and the musician, Paul Weller sang, “All I see, the more I know. The more I know, the less I understand”. What do you think these artists are saying with their words? Do they sound anti-education? And, for that matter, what is education?
University education, as you should be aware, is more than just learning facts to regurgitate at an end of year/term test. Education is a never ending process that should continue for life. That is what Paul Weller was saying – the more one learns, the more one realises how little one knows. This can be an intimidating thought for some people. For others, it’s an exciting thought – there’s always more to learn! That is how you should be as a university student. The root of the Latin-derived word university means the whole – everything. We should all be curious about everything and not just our own country or area of study, but the whole world. It’s big and there is a lot to learn about it.
I used to conduct a lesson on intelligence in which I asked the question “Who is the most and least intelligent between Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein and David Beckham?” For pretty much everyone the usual answer was to place Einstein first and the students would then often debate who was last between Monroe and Beckham. What do you think? If you said Einstein as first too, you might be wrong as it’s widely believed that Monroe had a higher Intelligence Quotient than Einstein. However, it misses the point. Neither Einstein nor Monroe could mentally calculate the necessary dynamics that made Beckham a world-class football player. Equally, neither Monroe nor Beckham could perform the physical calculations of Einstein, and the other two could not act, dance and sing in a way that made Monroe a cultural icon. There are different kinds of intelligence.
The key is to always have curiosity. Always ask why and never be afraid to say I don’t understand. Your teachers want this. They would rather you said “can you repeat that?” if there is something you do not understand. The mathematician, Charles Proteus Steinmetz said “There are no stupid questions and a person only becomes stupid when they stop asking questions.” So many ideas have come from that one question why…? As the American financier, Bernard Baruch, said “Millions saw the apple fall, but only Newton asked why?”
Education is a life pursuit. Enjoy it and never stop asking questions. Play to your strengths and work on your weaknesses. Einstein may have said “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”. This is true. Always learn. Always ask questions. This is the point of education. Failing that, “It’s good for an uneducated man to read books of quotations” (Winston Churchill).
Photo credit Pixabay@Pexels.com
Q1. Who sang “we don’t need no education”?
Q2. What does the word “university” mean?
Q3 When does education end?
Scroll down for answers
A1: Pink Floyd
A2: The whole/everything
A3: Never
The BBP Staff -
05 .09Job Applications in Japan, the UK, and other Countries
I hate applying for jobs. Like many countries around the world, there is a culture of changing jobs on a regular basis in my home country of the UK, but I still do not enjoy it. The whole process of selling your best features to companies does not feel particularly modest. And the judgment process of job interviews feels even worse. A panel of three or more people judging your appearance and every response to their questions is a little scary for everyone. There is also only so much preparation you can do. You can research the company and prepare yourself for the obvious questions, but there are often unexpected questions and surprises.
This is the same in Japan to some extent. Many Japanese companies will have a first interview at a job event and then a series of interviews afterwards, all within the hiring season. However, the graduate hiring season is more organized in Japan, usually being held at one time of the year as specified by the government. This is different from many other countries where hiring events are organized at a more local level. Outside Japan, companies may tour around several universities over a series of months holding many events to attract potential employees. Second and third interviews may then be held up until the time when the student graduates or afterwards. In Japan, most companies would like to secure graduates even before they enter their final year, but the labour shortages in Japan are causing this practice to change. Many companies now fail to hire as many full-time permanent workers as they would like and so are hiring graduates and other workers outside of the traditional student job-hunting season.
Another change that has happened because of Covid is the move from paper applications to online applications. Many large corporations now process all applications online. Resumes submitted online can be screened using Artificial Intelligence to save time and money. Applicants can upload their application documents without having to print out and post them. This enables the company to attract more applicants and saves applicants time and money as well. It also means it is cheaper and easier for applicants to apply to multiple companies in the search for their ideal job. This change can also be seen in Japan with some of the larger corporations. It may be a matter of time before paper applications are a thing of the past.
These changes do not make the job application process any less scary though. There will always be job interviews, even if these are done online and not face-to-face. The best advice is to just try and relax. Research the job before the interview, make some possible interview questions, and practice answering them. On the day, take your time and answer their questions slowly and carefully. Finally, remember that there are always more chances out there. Your job should fit you well.
Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki @Pexels.com
Q1 What does the author think about interviews?
Q2 How is the hiring period in Japan changing?
Q3 How are companies using Artificial Intelligence with Job applications?
Scroll down for answers
A1 The author finds job interviews scary.
A2 More companies are hiring outside of the official “hiring season”.
A3 Companies are using AI to filter job applications.
The BBP Staff