Japanese Children Tied To One Direction Of Academic Achievement And Educational Background
During my school days and afterward, I had worked as a private tutor and cram school teacher. While engaged in teaching children about their studies, I often thought about how I could help them grow.
In Japan, study is often focused on how to develop what is called “academic ability,” such as getting a good score on a school test or passing a school of one’s choice. However, from a larger perspective, we are talking about “education,” and that is not something that can be measured only in terms of academic achievement.
I have had far more opportunities to work with children who are unable to study, and I have also worked as a tutor for children who were not attending school.
These children were convinced that they were worthless and that they were inferior people because they could not study. I can say that I was involved with these children to tell them, “That’s not true. You have great potential.”
It is impossible for a human being to find value in only one direction, such as academic ability or academic background, and yet children are bound by such values. I believe that this is not the children’s responsibility, but rather our responsibility as adults.
The Foundation Of Education Is That We Are God’s Children
The foundation of education is that each and every one of us is a child of God without exception, and that God has given each of us a unique and wonderful individuality.
The role of adults involved in education is to help children realize this and live their lives with full expression of their individuality. The individuality of each child’s soul is completely different, and education that binds them in such a way as to prevent them from blossoming will never work.
The original task of education is to help children realize that they are God’s children, that they are loved by God, and that they are irreplaceable, and to help them draw out the power of love that is embedded within them so that they can maximize it.
For this to happen, the adult side needs to have enough awareness and capacity to accept diverse values and accept diverse personalities. They also need to be able to see what kind of individuality each child they are facing has as a child of God.
The Philosophy Of Education Is Based On Faith
In modern Japan, “God” and “faith” are often seen as something fishy or suspicious, and it may be very difficult to bring such things into the field of education. However, even if this is the case, I believe that the first and foremost philosophy of education should be “faith.”
We human beings are God’s children, created by God, and the most important thing that should come first in education is to accept faith in God as a matter of course. Because it is the fundamental truth and the origin of our existence as human beings.
This world, this Universe, was created by God, and all beings are kept alive by God, and are themselves irreplaceable children of God, not only themselves, but also other people who are also irreplaceable children of God, not only human beings, but also animals, plants, minerals, etc., as children of the same God.
All are manifestations of God’s love, and they live to express their love by cooperating with each other, making the most of their individuality. If people can realize such truths and recognize that the most precious thing is to awaken to their true nature as God’s children and live their lives, education will change dramatically.
Believe You Are A Child Of God
I think that people who are NEET are also suffering because they cannot live the way they should as children of God.
If they start walking the path of making use of their wonderful power as God’s children for the happiness of many people, they will be able to feel their own value in the process, and they will have a purpose in life. The time will surely come when they will be able to think that the pain and suffering they have endured was a necessary experience for them.
What each of us can do and what each of us is good at is different, and we all have different personalities. That is why I think it is important for education to increase the number of people who can complement each other’s individuality, cooperate with each other, contribute to the world with what they can do, help each other, and live with a positive mindset to create a more wonderful world.
At the root of this is the belief that each of us is a child of God. Even if it is myself, I simply believe that I am a child of God and that I exist as part of God. It is just that I believe it unwaveringly. That alone may be said to be my own proof as a child of God.
We Live In The Embrace Of The Love Of The Great Universe
In other stars in the Universe, which are far more advanced than the Earth, there are those who already know that they are God’s children as a matter of course, and are flying around to other stars to share their love and fulfill their missions.
God delights in diverse expressions of love, and He wants each of His children to express their own love in the Universe, which can only be expressed by each of them.
In light of the fact that we, God’s children, are embraced by God’s love and live in the midst of such diversity in the Universe, I believe that the future of education for children is to enable them to express their love as God’s children and to express their true selves in a lively manner.