第６５回　WORKSHOP報告（８月１０日） / 参加者６０名

第６５回　WORKSHOP報告（８月１０日） / 参加者６０名

 

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《　今回のworkshop　》

 

○  workshop参加人数：６０名（うち新人の方：１０名）

 

○【前半】：” Festival”をテーマとしたディスカッション

 

○【後半】：” Education disparity “をテーマとしたディスカッション

 

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1

（１：前半マテリアル作成者のOさんがマテリアル説明をされています）

 

 

2

（２：今回も１０人の新人の方が参加されました）

 

 

3

（３：６人くらいのグループが議論しやすいですね）

 

 

＜英語サークル　E’s club　第６５回workshopのご案内＞

 

E’s club幹事のKです。第６５回workshopの詳細をお送りいたします。

今回は前半のマテリアルをOさんにご作成いただき、後半のマテリアルは私が作成させていただきました。

前半は”Festival”を、後半は”Education disparity”をそれぞれテーマとしたディスカッションを行ないます。

 

 

 

[今週のマテリアル]

＜FIRST HALF＞

こんにちは。前半マテリアルを担当させていただくOと申します。どうぞよろしくお願いします。

今年も夏祭り、花火などのお祭りが賑やかに各地で行われていますが、皆様はどこかお祭りに行かれましたか？

きっと、皆様も一度はお祭りに参加したり、見に行ったりしたことがあると思います。

ご自身が最も印象に残ってるお祭りについてこの機会に他のメンバーに紹介してみて下さい。

もし、印象に残ったお祭りがなければ、こんなお祭り知ってます！という地元でも他県でも海外でもかまいませんので紹介して下さい。

 

<Agenda>

Each person introduces the most memorable festival.

 

<Procedure>

– Each person makes a presentation about the most memorable festival within 2 mins.

Your presentation should contain the following.

 

– The name, the season and the place of the festival

– The origin of festival (If you don’t know about it, try to imagine.)

– The highlight

– The reason why the festival impressed you most.

 

– After the presentation, others ask questions or give feedback to the presenter. (3 mins)

 

If you have time please enjoy talking about the following.

 

– Did you go to festival this year or have any plan to go?

– If you must participate in one of the following festivals, which would you like to attend?  And why?

 

1) Tomato festival in Spain, AUG (= La tomatina)

2) Running of the bulls festival in Spain, JUL (= San Fermin)

3) Splash water festival in Thai, APR (Songkran, New Year festival),

4) Mud festival in Korea, JUL

5) The Cooper’s hill cheese-rolling and wake in England, MAY

 

<References>

1)トマト祭り　http://spainliving.seesaa.net/article/153457684.html

2)牛追い祭り　http://www.enforex.com/japanese/culture/pamplona.html

3)水掛け祭り　http://www.thailandtravel.or.jp/news/detail/?no=937

4)どろんこ祭り　http://nicolavirdis.com/koreatravel/entry17.html

5)チーズ転がし祭り　http://euro.typepad.jp/blog/2013/03/cheese_rolling_festival.html

 

 

＜LATTER HALF＞

<Agenda>

How should we deal with the education disparity?

 

This time, please try to discuss formally. Be sure to build consensus at each step. Put consensus-building ahead of finishing all questions.

 

<Procedure>

1. What is the most significant harm of the education disparity?

(1) Each member gives his/her views on the harm.

(2) Determine the group’s view on the harm.

 

2. What is the root cause of the disparity?

(1) Each member gives his/her views on the
cause.

(2) Determine the group’s view on the cause.

 

3. In “Reference 1”, following three remedies for the disparity in academic achievement are presented. Examine the merits and demerits and determine priorities.

(1) Examine the merits and demerits of “Small-class teaching”.

(2) Examine the merits and demerits of “Class division based on the degree of academic achievement”.

(3) Examine the merits and demerits of “School curriculums sharply focused on the three Rs(Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic)”.

(4) Set their priorities. (First, Second and Third)

 

<Reference 1>

EDITORIAL: Education key to lifting children out of poverty

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/editorial/AJ201306060028

 

The Lower House recently passed, with bipartisan support, a bill to tackle the growing problem of child poverty. It is expected to become law during the current Diet session.

 

The ruling and opposition camps consolidated their separate bills into one after making mutual concession to resolve their disagreement over whether the law should contain numerical targets for policy efforts to lower the poverty rate.

 

The Diet debate over the legislation made the problem of child poverty widely known to the Japanese public. That is an important step forward.

 

Now comes the crucial part. The bill requires the government to work out an outline of the policy program under which specific measures will be taken. Financial support to help unemployed parents find jobs and provide scholarships to needy children is important but not enough. We urge the government to come up with effective steps to help children living in poverty. This can best be achieved, in our view, with learning.

 

There is a clear correlation between poverty and education.

 

Separate surveys by the central government, Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward indicate that poverty can be a serious impediment to education. Among children of families living on welfare, the percentage of those who go on to high school is 10 points lower than the average. The high school dropout rate among them, moreover, is twice higher than the average. The truancy rate of junior high school students of poor families is nearly five times higher.

 

Experts point out that children living in poverty often don’t receive sufficient care and attention. In many cases, the parents themselves are suffering from a physical or mental illness and don’t have people around them who can support them.

 

A survey by Kanagawa Prefecture found that 40 percent of recipients of livelihood protection benefits were either high school dropouts or junior high school graduates. Many of their parents were also on welfare. Learning support is vital for ending the vicious cycle of children of impoverished parents falling into the same trap.

 

The first thing to do is to expand free after-school classes to help children who are falling behind in their school work due to poverty.

 

Such classes will do more than just help struggling students with their studies. By taking classes, children can feel more confident about attending school as well. It also provides an opportunity for them to meet adults, such as volunteers serving as teachers, who can nurture them and provide caring attention.

 

After-school classes also offer opportunities to refer problems within the children’s families, such as the plight of the parents or even child abuse, to the proper authorities.

 

The Saitama prefectural government is working with private-sector organizations to offer after-school classes for troubled students. The program is apparently working, given the fact that the ratio of students who go on to senior high school has risen to the level of ordinary households among those who have attended these classes. The central government should provide support and encouragement so that more local governments introduce similar programs.

 

Currently, many of the after-school class programs provided by local governments are exclusively for third-year students at junior high schools preparing for entrance exams to senior high schools. But the programs should be expanded to cover students in lower grades as well because the children will find it harder to catch up with school work with each passing year.

 

There is another thing that should not be forgotten. The bill pledges to “ensure equal educational opportunities … to prevent the future of children from being affected by the environment in which they are born and raised.” This is exactly what public education is supposed to achieve.

 

National academic achievement tests have made it clear that children’s academic performances tend to be affected by the income levels of their families.

 

What are the most effective remedies for the problem of disparity in academic achievement? Small-class teaching? Class division based on the degree of academic achievement? Or school curriculums sharply focused on the three Rs?

 

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology should carry out its own research to delve deep into this question and take the appropriate steps based on the findings.

 

–The Asahi Shimbun, June 6

 

<Reference 2>

平成21年度 文部科学白書

第1章　家計負担の現状と教育投資の水準

http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/html/hpab200901/detail/1296547.htm

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