Opinion Educating Children By CHRISTINE CUNANAN-NOMURA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
子供の教育 子供の教育 日本の若者の間で、自分本位な行動や いつまでも親に頼って自立しない生活、 お金やモノばかり追い求める風潮が まん延しているそうだが、それが本当なら 子供の教育を見直すべきではないか。

The columns of respected commentators Takamitsu Sawa and Ryuichiro Hosokawa in The Japan Times recently caught my eye because these were on related topics.

On July 3, Mr. Sawa wrote about the growing materialism ,and the lack of intellectual values of young Japanese today. The following day, Mr. Hosokawa declared that Japan is on the brink of moral bankruptcy since many Japanese live comfortably but are becoming selfish and losing compassion for others.

As a foreigner, I am not in a position to judge whether these opinions are true. However, if these are accurate assessments of Japanese youth, I think it is a tragic development for Japan.

I believe that a country that prospers financially or materially but fails to develop an ethical or spiritual side at the same time will definitely become an irrational and selfish society.

The main goal of each person in such a society will be the pursuit of material needs . And, of course, people who constantly pursue material things never really become happy because nothing will completely fulfill them and there will always be some thing better to buy.

To avoid such a situation in the future, Japanese young people must be taught moral values, to think of "money" within the right perspective and how to appreciate the truly important things in life, such as family, relationships, and finding one's real purpose for living.

Unfortunately, while many Japanese today acknowledge the need for such an education, they believe that these lessons should be taught in school. I think this is very wrong.

The best educators of children are parents, and the most important lessons of life are learned at home. Teachers cannot replace parents, they can only support parents' work. Whether they want to or not, people who decide to have children are mainly responsible for ensuring that they will become good, sensible and useful adults.

Finally, after reading the two columns, I couldn't help but think about the "parasite singles" who have been featured in the Japanese media over the past year. These are young people in their 20s and 30s who earn well but live at home, paying a token rent to their parents. The lack of respon sibilities discourages them from committing to marriage and allows them to spend all their income on fancy cars, designer clothes and luxury travel.

In contrast, many young people outside Japan are taught values such as independence in the United States and the importance of family and sharing one's resources in Asia. Young people in the U.S. often pay for their own college education and start saving for a home or the future as soon as they get a job.

In Asia, many young people regularly support a younger relative at school, help pay for the care of a sick relative or contribute to the family income once they get a job, out of gratitude to their parents. We believe that our efforts "help lighten the load" of our parents.

I should probably do more. However, last summer, I invited my parents to take a one-month driving trip to Spain with me, all-expenses-paid so that they could really feel they were on holiday. I plan to do this again sometime soon because I feel it's the least I can do to repay them for their past sacrifices for me.

Shukan ST: July 21, 2000

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