Fieldwork Log and Life in General

Here I Go

2006-12-18T11:48:00.000+09:00

So I decided to start updating my English blog again. But I will keep updating my Japanese blog, too, so that people who helped my research in Japan can keep up with what I am doing.

The reason I am resuming my English blog is that I have somehow become introspecive again. I don't know when this "re-introsoectivization" began. Perhaps in September? After I spent the entire summer analyzing data that I collected in Japan and writing up 4 preliminary essays based on my analysis... and after I starting anticipating entry into the job market...?

In any case, I'm glad that I'm writing again.

I wasn't Slacking

2006-01-10T17:33:00.000+09:00

I've been thinking of switching blogging services because I want more (and better) functions for my blog.

For now, I will concentrate on my blog in Japanese. http://blog.livedoor.jp/postnationalism/ In the US, my current audience consists of academicians, and what I should do for them is not to write a blog but to write papers (one of which is forthcoming in a sociology journal).

My Japanese audience is different. They are teachers and students who have helped my fieldwork and know me personally. After I return to the US, I should like to be accountable for them, that is, to keep them posted with how I will analyze, interpret, and present data that I have collected in Japan.

New Year's Resolution

2006-01-01T21:46:00.000+09:00

1. To stay healthy.

2. To live with humility, patience, and gratitude

3. To complete my dissertation.

4. To make connections with people with whom I might collaborate in the future.

5. To publish two papers.

6. To learn basics of programming.

7. To play with my digital cum recorder.

Singing Competition

2005-12-31T23:12:00.000+09:00

On 12/31 every year, NHK airs "Kohaku Uta Gassen" (Singing competition between red and white teams) It showcases singers of almost every generation who have been very popular among the Japanese. So it's quite interesting to watch those different generations of songs, performers, costumes, and so forth, within the same program. They do carry different cultural idioms and histories of the supposedly single nation called Japan.

Libraries in Japan... Suck!

2005-12-28T22:19:00.000+09:00

I went to Nagoya today to visit Toyota Museum. But, first I took a subway to check out the prefectural library in the same area. Well, it was closed! They didn't say anything about it on their web page. Since other prefectural employees were still at work today, I assumed that the library would be open.

In general, libraries in Japan are not as good as their counterparts in the U.S. They are smaller with fewer hours, books, and internet connections. (I think that most Japanese will be astonished to see the public libraries in Ann Arbor.) The Ministry of Education is aware of this, but they seem to be slow in implementing effective measures...

The More You Know, the Better You Like?

2005-12-27T21:45:00.000+09:00

I've been thinking about the relationship between familiarity and favoritism. I took a look at a review article in psychology on the relationship between exposure and attitude; however, previous studies are inconclusive.

It's probably moderated by representations. If one is exposed to "negative representations" of a certain thing, person, or group, he or she may not develop favoritism. But can small kids understand what representations are positive and negative? It seems that kids think of representations in terms of intelligibility. They seem to negatively evaluate what is unintelligible or strange. So, maybe I also have to examine the relationship between intelligibility and attitude. Hey, wait, didn't I just come back to the problem of familiarity-favoritism?

Playing with Preschoolers

2005-12-26T22:42:00.000+09:00

It's been 5 months since I started going to a local kindergarten. Gosh, kids grow up really fast. 4- and 5-year-olds have developed their speech tremendously and they look stronger now. They are heavier as well, and playing with them is definitely a good workout.

Writing for Newspaper

2005-12-25T22:47:00.000+09:00

I am now writing a short editorial essay for Japanese newspaper. It's on nationalism. My essay aims to deconstruct the right-wing discourse to blame problems in Japan on lack of love for their own country among the Japanese (youth). I don't know whether they will accept my piece, but I feel like writing a non-academic piece and I hope I will be able to take a first step toward becoming a socially significant academician.

The Third Category

2005-12-24T22:44:00.000+09:00

I finished entering data of college students today. Many college students seem to think that a person can have more than one national identity; for example, a certain person can be both Japanese and American. Preschoolers, elementary and junior high school students don't think that way: they think that a person can belong only to one national group. In other words, national identity becomes de-essentialized, inclusive, and perhaps ambiguous, as kids group up. Indeed, "dual citizenship" is very interesting in thinking about psychology of nationalism.

Transformative Encounters

2005-12-23T21:42:00.000+09:00

The first transformative encounter in my life occurred at Haverford College. The second came in series at Michigan. The third has been taking place since I came to Japan for fieldwork.

Yesterday I went to the local teachers' college and attended a seminar where juniors who were majoring in history or social studies presented briefly proposals for their senior theses. Afterwards Prof. T, 8 of his students, and I went to Kanayama (near Nagoya) and talked over drinks and food.

What I realized is that education is one of the fields best-suited for attempts to integrate theory and practice. At Haverford, I studied social theory and philosophy exclusively inside the academia. After I came to Michigan, I gradually started orienting myself to the so-called real world, though I didn't spend much time outside of the university campus. Finally, during my fieldwork in Japan, I have been forced to confront the real world (though relatively limited to school) and develop skills to deal with both theory and practice. In this respect, I regard Prof. T at the local teachers' college as my role model who can engage in analytical thinking, practice (he was once a schoolteacher himself and now collaborates with schools), and management (next year the college will establish a new program that he proposed and designed). His students who have done practice teaching at local schools are also serious and enthusiastic about teaching and research. I have been learning a lot of things from Prof. T and his students, and I am grateful for these transformative encounters in Japan.

On Their own Terms

2005-12-21T22:35:00.000+09:00

I gave an English lesson to 2nd graders. (This was my first experience of doing so.) It was a failure... It was easy for some students who were learning English. But it was difficult for others who were not. So I should have made the lesson more enjoyable for students who were new to English, that is, to include more games and songs. I'm afraid that I made some students fear English. Oh well, let's hope that I will have another opportunity to teach them English... and amend my mistake.

Riding Together

2005-12-20T22:22:00.000+09:00

There is a TV program called "Riding Together." It's popular among young Japanese, including junior high school students. I watched it for the first time today. The basic structure of the program is like this: a groups of young men and women (in their early 2os) ride a car together and take road trips in foreign countries. During a road trip, they are supposed to develop love interests within the group. If it turns out that a man and a woman are in love with each other, they will fly back to Japan as a happy couple. If a person falls in love with someone and is rejected by his or her love interest, that person too will have to fly back to Japan. Then, the remaining group members continue their road trip, as new group members are added to maintain the size of the group (6?). They have to continue to travel either until they find their love interests reciprocated or until they are rejected by their love interests.

I suspect that this TV program is part of banal nationalism. While the program takes place in foreign countries, the car they ride is "Japan." While they travel among foreign peoples, they--Japanese--are absorbed in themselves without much contact with the world outside of their car. So, this TV program may reinforce among viewers the feeling that "only Japanese can understand each other"...

Play and Learn

2005-12-19T21:59:00.000+09:00

I am wondering how I might be able to bring "play" into learning. I mean, I want to create the kind of educational environment where students play to learn (though they have to learn to play, too). A little more specifically, I want to incorporate games--be they on line or off line--into learning. So, I decided to learn to program video/computer games. (How simple-minded I am!)

The Best in the Field

2005-12-17T21:57:00.000+09:00

A 15-year-old Japanese girl just won the figure skating competition called World Grand Prix. I can't help admiring athletes (or artists) like her who can execute their best performance at the time and place that demand it.

Driver's License

2005-12-15T21:20:00.000+09:00

Tomorrow I will go take an exam to obtain a driver's license. Several people (both in Japan and the US) have told me that it should be easier and cheaper to get a driver's license. So true... there are many traffic laws that I have to memorize, without which I can't pass the exam. Not only that, it cost a lot of money to take lessons at the driving school... But it was fun, more or less.

I don't want to sound brainwashed, but I came to believe that driving safely is the best. Perhaps some people drive recklessly and break traffic laws, which may endanger my safety. In that case I need to be flexible--to the extent that I may have to break a certain law--to avoid accidents and to ensure my safety as well as other drivers'.

BTW, f I have enough money in the future, I will buy a hybrid car.

A Poor Kid

2005-12-13T22:12:00.000+09:00

At the junior high school that I've been visiting weekly there is one troubled kid. (Of course, there are other troubled students, but he is the most troubled.) Today he asked me how he could move in the local orphanage; however, he does have parents. So it means that he hates his parents--his father in particular--to the extent that he wants to live without them. In fact, he used to tell me that he wants to shoot and kill his father, and I was getting tired of hearing that. I don't know what I can do for him, but I will keep listening to him patiently and giving him suggestions.

The So-called Chain Reaction

2005-12-12T22:21:00.000+09:00

In the last 30 days, two 1st graders and one 6th grader were murdered in Japan. The first two girls were killed by strangers while walking back home, and the third one by her former tutor. Many people here are asking, "What is going on in Japan?!" But on TV there hasn't been much discussion on reasons for this chain of murders. I want to analyze them sociologically, but there are too many "variables" and their interactions to consider, so I only have speculations and conjectures rather than rigorous analysis.

It's challenging (and almost impossible) to analyze the social world in its totality, but it's very interesting... and we must grapple with it.

Revising...

2005-12-10T22:06:00.000+09:00

Earlier this week I received an envelope from the US. It contained a letter from the editors of ST, comments from reviewers, and a photocopy of my paper on which one of the editors wrote down her comments in handwriting. At first I thought it would take a month to finish preparing the final version of my paper for publication. As I started revising my paper, however, it seems that I may be able to finish it tomorrow. Although I don't want to slack from my fieldwork, I hope to get my first publication soon.

But anyone can publish. The important question is whether one's published paper will be received as a significant contribution and be quoted by others.

The Teacher Runs

2005-12-08T21:54:00.000+09:00

In Japanese "December" is written in two Chinese characters that mean "the teacher runs." It is supposed to mean that December is a busy month, so much so that even teachers (who used to be considered entitled to behave slowly) have to run. While I'm not a teacher, I am getting fairly busy: I have to take an exam to obtain a driver's lisence; I have to finish revising my paper for publication; I have to submit two papers to conferences next year; I have to continue to visit the kindergarten, elementary and junior high schools, and college every week. And so on.

But I shall juggle them all.

18 Years of "Imprisonment"

2005-12-06T22:03:00.000+09:00

Today it was exposed that a 40-year-old mother had "imprisoned" her developmentally-challenged daughter in her apartment for 18 years since she was born... People from school and city hall had tried to contact the family before, but they never saw the girl nor stepped inside her house. Her mother was reported to say that she was ashamed of her daughter's disability...

I understand that it is tricky to decide how much power the State should have in intervening "private" affairs of the family. But I think governmental actors in Japan tend to shy away too much from getting inside the family when some threat to human and legal rights is suspected.

Club Activities

2005-12-05T21:19:00.000+09:00

In my hometown, all students at elementary and junior high schools are required to belong to "club activities" offered from their schools. Unlike a typical American community, teachers here take care of students through club activities after school hours. Students practice pretty much everyday except for Sundays. Accordingly, teachers have to come to school pretty much everyday and coach students until the sunset. Many of the teachers actually lack expertise in activities (e.g., softball, baseball, soccer, tennis, etc.) that they have to coach students about. As a result, teachers get stressed out and students often hurt themselves by trainings that are not based on sports science. At present, club activities in my hometown is harmful for both teachers and students.

Criminology--No Empiricist Style

2005-12-04T21:20:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I watched the TV program called "The Most Useful Lesson in the World" (or something like that). In that program one professor talked about the relationship between crime and place. According to him, there is a certain kind of space/place that structurally induces crimes. I liked his lecture a lot. Back in my university in the Midwest, criminology was almost all about survey data; however, last night I realzed that there was a different kind of criminology: it analyzes the relationship among psychological processes, semiotic landscapes, and material structures in such a way that results of research can become relevant to policy-making to prevent potential criminals from committing crimes. I would like that kind of criminology and, during my sparetime, I will read more about it.

Performance by Preschoolers

2005-12-03T22:10:00.000+09:00

I went to the kindergarten to watch performcens by preschoolers. (They had been practicing for this festive occasion for two months or so.) The school building was full of parents, grand parents, and siblings of the preschoolers. (Most of the parents brought digital cameras and videos with them. ) The preschoolers performed short plays, sang songs, and played instruments. It was fun and funny to watch one/two-year-old kids participated in the performance, though they hardly executed what they were instructed to do. Some of 5/6-year-olds were pretty good at playing their parts.

I wonder whether this kind of event is unique to Japan. I mean, it's hard for me to imagine American preschoolers moving their bodies in unison. I think Japanese schoolchildren are often required to participate in collective "rituals" where they move their bodies together.

Another 1st-Grade Victim

2005-12-02T21:54:00.000+09:00

Another 1st-grade girl was killed and found dead (without clothes) today. Oh, Japanese schools, take more appropriate security measures promptly!

Anyway, I went to the local teachers' college. I audited two classes by one social-studies professor, had lunch with him and his students, and participated in their senior-thesis seminar. Since I have been away from the atmosphere of academia for a while, it was particularly fun to have discussion with college students. (Besides, two of them agreed to be interviewed.) So I am planning to go there again next Friday.

Less than Four Months to Go

2005-12-01T21:49:00.000+09:00

The Japanese school year ends by the third week of March. So this leaves me less than four months to collect data on preschoolers and elementary and junior high school students. But what I need now is more data on college students because unlike the kindergarten and the elementary and junior high schools, I don't meet with college students on a regular basis. Although I have done a survey with them, it will be better if I can coduct more interviews with them.

I will go to the local teachers' college tomorrow. I hope I can start going there weekly in January.

Discourse on Foreign Workers

2005-11-30T21:35:00.000+09:00

About a week ago, one girl was found dead in Hiroshima (which I wrote about before). This morning a suspect for the murder case was arrested: A Japanese-Peruvian man. This inevitably made me concerned about how this case will influence discourse on foreign workers in Japan. I'm a little afraid that the case may incite further discrimination against foreigners; however, I also hope that it will end isolation of foreigners and facilitate incoporation of them into local communities. As "globalization" continues, it is becoming impossible to ignore the presence of foreign workers in Japan (including sumo wrestlers from abroad?). It's sad that so young a girl was killed, but let's hope that we can make something of it....

Rough

2005-11-28T21:56:00.000+09:00

One 6th-grade boy punched his classmate. The latter cut his lip with his teeth when he was punched and had to go to hospital.

These two boys belong to the same homeroom. In fact, many boys in this 6th-grade homeroom are very rough both physically and verbally. A few weeks ago another boy from this homeroom clashed a window and cut his hand. I wonder why this is the case....

Bad Teachers at Driving School

2005-11-27T16:19:00.000+09:00

Driving school is "school," anyway, and a person who sits next to me when I practice driving is a "teacher." (I wonder there is any lisence required to teach at driving schools.) Like any other school, there are good and bad teachers. It is easy to recognize bad teachers. First, they often use nagatives: "That wasn't good," "You didn't do it right," "Don't do that," etc. Second, they look happy when they are critizing students for mistakes that they made. They derive pleasure by exercising their authority and expertise; they don't criticize students to help them improve but to make themselves feel superior to students. I met two of such bad teachers at the driving school so far (and I wanted to punch them in the face). I guess they are too old to correct their bad teaching. I just hope that I won't become a bad teacher myself in the future.

Going Native?

2005-11-25T20:31:00.000+09:00

As I have spent 6 months at the local kindergarten and elementary and junior high schools, I have encountered many problems that appear irrelevant to my own research: kids who don't study, kids who cause troubles, kids with disabilities, parents who don't take good care of their kids, etc. Recently, I spend a fair amount of time dealing with these issues when I go to the kindergarten and the schools. For example, instead of asking children my own (research) questions, I listen to them and talk with them about their own concerns.

Initially, I resisted this, for I thought I would lose time to collect data; however, talking and interacting with kids on their own terms, I began learning various social and educational issues that might become my research topics in the future. And I think I can afford to take this "detour" now because my data collection has been going fairly well, though I need to conduct more in-depth interviews with elementary, junior high school, and college students.

Anyway, I have about 4 months left for my fieldwork. I will try to learn from "natives" as much as I can.

Somebody Must be Lying....

2005-11-24T22:18:00.000+09:00

One architectural scandal has been rocking the archipelago. More than 20 buildings (e.g., hotels and apartments) are found to have structural problems that may make the buildings collaps in cases of earthquakes. The architect named Aneha faked structural strengths of the buildings, but he is saying that he was pressured by construction companies to decrease the number of reinforcing bars and so forth, so that they could save money. And the companies are denying the allegation. So, somebody must be telling a lie.

A Murder of a 1st-grade Girl

2005-11-23T22:10:00.000+09:00

Yesterday a 1st-grade girl was found dead in Hiroshima. She seemed to be murdered while she was walking back to her home from school. To prevent this kind of sad event in the future, schools should make students walk home in groups. Moreover, parents should sometimes--if not everyday--walk to school and back home with their children; this arrangement can also facilitate cooperation between school and family. There must be greater cooperation between the two institutions to bring up children properly and solve many problems surrounding Japanese education.

Violence in Words

2005-11-21T21:47:00.000+09:00

One junior high school student tells me that his father and brother often say to him "Die!" "Your face makes me sick" and other nasty things. I can somehow understand why he bullies his classmates at school, to displace his anger and frustration at home, though it is not justifiable to bully someone under any circumstances.

Naoko Takahashi

2005-11-20T21:40:00.000+09:00

She won the marathon race in Tokyo today. Takahashi is the gold-medal winner at the Sydney Olympics, but she lost the race in Tokyo two years ago and didn't get a chance to run in Athens because of that.

When she told the media that she injured her right (?) calf prior to the race, I thought she might pull out of the race. But she ran and won it decisively. It seemed that her victory was inevitable--the one who practice most rigorously, prepare most carefully, and possess the strongest will cannot but win. There is a lot to learn from top atheletes like Takahashi. Although sociology is different from running, there is nonetheless a parallel between the two arts.

Recommendation Letter for My Teacher

2005-11-19T21:30:00.000+09:00

I am now writing a recommendation letter for my former adviser at Haverford College. It sounds a little strange, doesn't it? That's because my current adviser and another professor are nominating him for the best teacher award at ASA. And I am asked to write a letter of support.

I actually find it difficult to write a letter for my former teacher. I have a lot of good things to say about him, but I don't want to sound too expressive, exaggerating, or even worse, phony. The best way to go about this is probably to pick up some specific episodes about my interaction with him and explain why they are indicators of excellent mentoring.

Data Entry

2005-11-18T21:12:00.000+09:00

I plan to finish data entry by the end of December. While doing this monotonous work, I have noticed clear differences among age groups (6-year-olds, 8-year-olds, 12-year-olds, 14-year-olds, etc.) with regard to certain questions. To tell interesting stories about these patterns, I must focus my fieldwork on phenomena that may illuminate mechanisms behind them as well as previous studies that may provide me with sharp analytical probes.

Day Care

2005-11-17T21:38:00.000+09:00

The driving school where I have been taking lessons has a temporary day care room. Mothers can use it for free while they are taking driving lessons. More often than not, however, I hear children screaming in the day care room. Today I heard a big, continuous scream and cry from the room, so I stepped into the room to see what was going on. There I found my former classmate's 2-year-old son screaming "Mommy, come!!!!! Mommy, come!!!!" repeatedly.

He stopped crying momentarily when he saw my face. I asked him questions like "What about your daddy? Will you daddy come?" "What about your grandma? Will grandma come?" Trying to answer my questions, he forgot calling for her mother... only temporarily. As soon as he finished answering my questions, he was ready to start screaming again. I picked him up and held him in my arms and told him that his mother was coming back soon. But he kept screaming--"Mommy, come!!!! Mommy, come!!!!" as if the world were coming to end.

Oh well, toddlers are difficult to deal with.

Developmentally Challenged...

2005-11-16T22:05:00.000+09:00

Asked by the homeroom teacher, I worked as a tutor for one 2nd-grade girl today. During the math lesson, I was asked to teach her multiplication. It turned out that she had no idea how to multiply given numbers and even to add/subtract them, though she must have been learning it. Sure, she seemed to be enjoying my tutoring, but she didn't seem to understand what I was saying. Actually, it's not just math that she can't do. She is extremely poort at ohter subjects, including Japanese.

So, after the lesson, I asked the homeroom teacher whether she was developmentally challenged. She nodded and told me that she was going to discuss with the child's parents and recommend that she be moved to a homeroom for the developmentally challenged next year.

I wondered why this arrangement hadn't been made sooner. I mean, one look is enough to figure out there is something wrong with the girl. She needs more attention from a teacher all the time and the slower speed of instruction, that is, she is better off at the special homeroom.

Maybe her parents didn't like the "stigma" of the girl's being in the special homeroom...? But, there is nothing wrong with being in that homeroom. I am good friends with a few of the developmentally challenged students there and they are perfectly functional in daily social interactions. They just need a different learning environment.

Anyway, it is important to try to do what is in the child's best interest, though it is hard to figure it out.

Bullying One's Sister

2005-11-14T20:51:00.000+09:00

There is one so-called "problem student" in the 8th-grade class where I've been conducting participant observation. He once told me that he didn't have any siblings; however, it turned out that he has a sister in one of the 6th-grade classes that I've been observing. When I talked with his sister, she told me how she feared his brother because he bullies her. The reason he bullies his sister is probably that he is frustrated with pretty much everything in the world, including himself. So, he bullies her sister to displace his frustration.

But why is he frustrated? According to him, his father has been very harsh toward him, which makes him angry and full of hatred. That is, the father bullies his son who in turn bullies his sister. But his sister is not bullying anyone partly because she has no younger sibling and partly because she is weak. Perhaps she has become a weak person because of the bullying by her brother.

I just hope that she will not become a mother who bullies her children. Since I am going to visit her class tomorrow, I will cheer her up.

Crime and Youth

2005-11-13T21:38:00.000+09:00

There was a murder by a high school student in Tokyo. He killed his classmate whom he was allegedly in love with.

Initially, the school principal who appeared on TV said that the student was an ordinary boy who didn't exhibit any problem behaviors. Teachers and other adults who had acquainted with the boy also said that he was a good and serious student.

But his peers were now telling a different story. One boy knew that the boy rode a bike alone late night, shouting. One girl knew that the boy rarely spoke at school.

I think adults tend to be ignorant about situations of potential young criminals. Or perhaps they just pretend to be ignorant because they don't care.

What Does it Mean to be Intelligent?

2005-11-12T23:11:00.000+09:00

I am watching a special TV program hosted by Takeshi Kitano. This program is titled "A White Paper on Japanese Education" (or something like that). But they are not really dealing with educational issues; for example, they are discussing what it means to be intelligent. I mean, intelligence is related to education, but it doesn't seem to be specifically problematic for the current Japanese educational system. I wish the program were dealing with issues specific to Japanese schooling.

Accepted for Publication

2005-11-10T21:40:00.000+09:00

My adviser told me that my paper was accepted for a certain theory journal; however, it is a "conditional acceptance," so that I will have to go through another iteration with editors. But it seems that the peer review process has been completed. All I have to do seems to be to make revisions that are satisfactory for the eidtors.

I feel humbled. Or rather, I don't have any particular reaction. Honestly, I am neither excited nor proud... perhaps because I am taking on something more important in my life.

I just hope that another iteration will make my paper worthy of being published from the journal.

Writing a Report for the Principal

2005-11-08T21:49:00.000+09:00

The elementary-school principal asked me to write up a report. He said to me, "Would you write an essay on how you think of the school?" "Sure... but how long should I wirte?" (I asked this question because I thought he might be thinking of publishing my essay on some school newspaper.) "Whatever length will be fine," replied the principal. I also wanted to ask him who will be my audience, but I stopped short on that partly because I was following 2nd graders for my research and parly because I thought it shouldn't make a difference.

So, since I came home, I've been writing down my thoughts in Japanese. I will have to ask my father to edit it. Not only my Japanese is a little awkward but also he knows better about diplomacy in this sort of situation. But I hope this essay will create an opportunity for me to discuss various issues with the principal.

Intervene or Not

2005-11-07T21:36:00.000+09:00

I don't regard myself as a neutral observer. I am a participant. I am in the field precisely to interact with local actors. But I occasionally encounter situations where I can't tell how much I should participate. (And nobody can't tell because there is no pre-given right answer.) Today 6th graders were discussing how to improve friendship between boys and girls in their homeroom. Several boys were saying this kind of discussion was meaningless and there was no need for friendship between boys and girls. Their arguments were also driven by emotions and they were not making coherent and constructive statements. So I couldn't help raising my hand a few times and make suggestions.

I hope what I said didn't have negative effects on the 6th graders, though I don't know how much they understood what I was trying to say.

Sickness

2005-11-05T20:37:00.000+09:00

Well, I got sick again. I'm getting better today, but yesterday I had to come back home from the elementary school without observing the last lesson of the day. Without fully recovering, I can't practice Yoga and jogging. Yet, I went to my weekly piano lesson. Assignments are getting difficult. For someone who started playing the piano in his late 20s, certain movements of fingers are seemingly impossible. (But it is true that I can master them to some decent extent after a few hours of practice.)

Playing the piano is similar to practicing sociology. Both arts cannot be mastered without determination and dedication.

School Trip

2005-11-04T21:17:00.000+09:00

Next week 6th graders will make a school trip to Kyoto and Nara. They started preparing for the trip this week. For example, today in the gym they were rehearsing their moves at the train station and bus terminal. I presumed that the purpose of this rehearsal was to help students get in and off the train or bus in an orderly fashion so as not to disturb other passengers during a trip next week. Maybe I have just forgotten it, but I don't remember doing this kind of rehearsal before my 6th-grade school trip.

O Brother

2005-11-03T21:31:00.000+09:00

I talked with my brother over the phone this evening. I don't think I had chatted with him since August. Yet, I have talked with him much more often this year than previously. While I was in the US, I sometimes spent more than a year without seeing or hearing him. But, all the same, once we meet or start talking over the phone, I feel at ease with him.

I think familiarity is crucial to any stable social relationship, though I don't know how familiarity develops. It's not just the amount of time people have spent together but also the commensurability of personalities among other things.

Breaking into Tears

2005-11-02T22:02:00.000+09:00

I saw 8th graders breaking into tears and sobbing this afternoon. This was the second time I witnessed their tears. Both times they broke into tears while they were being scolded by the teacher. I don't think they cried because they were scared of the teacher but because they realized that they did something "morally wrong." (Yes, at Japanese schools, everything can be turned into a moral lesson.) Perhaps, their guilt was so heartfelt that they couldn't help crying. Usually, it is female students who cry. But, today even one boy was crying. (As I gathered, this homeroom crisis had been continuing since yesterday afternoon.)

Eventually, the crisis was resolved. Whether ethical or not, I recorded details of this episode in my fieldnote. I am such a voyeur.

Promise II

2005-11-01T21:46:00.000+09:00

Today I promised to play with a group of 2nd-grade boys. But they were playing with the area where they were not supposed to be playing. I told them they shouldn't play there, but they told me that they haven't been scolded. So, instead of joining them, I stood, watching them playing a game. In the meantime, a few girls approached me and asked me to play with them. Since two of the girls were interesting in terms of my research, I followed them. This action of mine appeared to be "betrayal" to some of the boys. They asked me why I didn't join them and one of them even criticized one of the girls for taking me away from them. I made up for the boys by playing with them in a different place during the afternoon recess. And I apologized to the girl for being wrongly accussed because of my action.

Oh well, there is a lot to learn from interactions with children.

5 Months to Go!

2005-10-31T20:54:00.000+09:00

It's scary to realize that I have only five months left for my fieldwork. What I should do in the next couple of months is to organize my data from survey, interview, and participant observation, so that by the end of my fieldwork I will be ready to conduct comprehensive data analysis.

I also need to rethink my relationship with my parents. They have been extremely helpful to me. I would like to appreciate fully my limited time with them.

The Importance of Being Earnest

2005-10-30T21:03:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I went to see the Art Festival at the elementary school. Students in different grades performed musicals and plays. Some of the performances looked pretty good for the performers' ages. But what struck me most was the students' seriousness, their endeavor to do their best. Since I have been conducting fieldwork at the school, I saw how much their practiced for the Festival. Of course, almost none of the students aspire to become professional performers; however, I hope they have learned the importance of making a best effort through their preparation for the Festival.

People of Japan: Not Japanese

2005-10-29T20:54:00.000+09:00

I finally realized that "Japanese" and "people of Japan" may have different meanings for younger kids--younger than 7 years old. When I ask 5- and 6-year-olds "Have you seen a Japanese?" most of them say "no." But those kids understand "Japan" and recognize a Japanese national flag. So, maybe they could understand a "person of Japan" if not a "Japanese." I should have realized this earlier because I knew that 2nd graders often use the expression a "person of Japan" to refer to a Japanese. Perhaps, kids develop a concept of the place called "Japan" first. Then, they associate the place with certain people, essentializing their relationship. Eveventually, the concept of a "person of Japan" develops into that of a "Japanese"...?

Promise

2005-10-28T21:38:00.000+09:00

When I am at the kindergarten, I tend to make promises that I can't keep. "Play with me!" "Hold me!" "Sit at our table during lunch!" Different kids make multiple demands on me simultaneously. Accordingly, I say "yes" to incommensurable demands (e.g., due to time conflict). I am a little afraid that, watching me, these kids will grow up to believe that it is okay not to keep promises....

Food for Thought

2005-10-27T21:58:00.000+09:00

There are problems with Japanese children's diet. One of them is that children tend to dislike vegetables. But why do they dislike vegetables? Do their parents cook vegetables right? Do their parents recognize the importance of vegetables? Not eating well seems to affect children's cognitive and affective growth negatively.

Moral Education in Everyday Life

2005-10-26T21:29:00.000+09:00

At Japanese elementary and junior high schools, Morality is supposed to be taught once a week; however, moral education permeates Japanese school life. When teachers speak in front of students at morning and afternoon homeroom meetings, they almost always manage to connect quaotidian things (e.g., homework) and events (e.g., some students forgot to bring their homework) to moral lessons on "character"--who the good person is, how students should aspire to become one, and so on.

I should discourse-analyze those teachers' speech if they are okay with being audiotaped. Although I don't have a comparative perspective on this, the morally saturated speech by teachers may be somewhat peculiar to Japan....

Homeliness of Homeland

2005-10-25T21:52:00.000+09:00

Usually people feel "at home" in their "homelands." But what is the nature of this at-home-ness or at-ease-ness? How does this feeling develop psychologically?

Lectures at the driving school are not very interesting. I mean, lecturers keep speaking without giving us time to ask questions. And like every Japanese elementary, junior high, or high school, we have to stand up and bow to lecturers at the beginning and end of class.

Semiotics and Psychology

2005-10-24T20:53:00.000+09:00

I took two classes on traffic regulations today. (I am now learning to drive at the driving school near my house.) While riding a bicycle to go home, I suddenly started noticing some signs and markers on and around the road as something intelligible/meaningful. Those traffic signs have become part of my own semiotic landscape for the first time in my life. With regard to children's cognitions of different nations, I hope to examine the relationship between semiotic landscapes and cognitive development.

Inside and Outside School

2005-10-23T21:08:00.000+09:00

I just came back from teaching English to my mother's friend and her daughter. The latter started teaching at an elementary school in October. When I got to their home, she and her mother were working on props that schoolchildren will use at the Art Festival next Sunday. Unfortunately, they won't compensate monetarily these extra hours she spends at home preparing for classes and school events. I think Japanese teachers (especially at elementary and junior high schools) tend to spend way too many unpaid hours and we should correct the current system that puts such an unreasonable burden on them; however, one of the reasons the system is being somehow sustained seems to be that teachers don't think it's all about money.

Rebel without a Cause

2005-10-22T20:47:00.000+09:00

Right now I am watching the live-debating TV program "the Future of Japan." Today's theme is the Japanese youth. To tell the truth, I dislike a few of the young participants who disagree with and reject opinions expressed by older participants without ever explaining coherently their disagreement/rejection. Indeed, they sound like merely complaining. (Of course, I don't expect them to suggest alternative ways of reorganizing Japanese society... which is extremely difficult.) Again, I see a failure of Japanese schooling to produce people who can engage in discussion.

Daddy!

2005-10-20T21:17:00.000+09:00

There are some preschoolers who try to cling to me. Today one 4-year-old girl was particularly tenacious. She kept clinging to my body by calling me "Daddy! Daddy!" even when her kindergarten teacher told her to go back to her seat. I wondered whether her father spent enough time with her.

Be Careful not to Step on Their Toes

2005-10-19T21:21:00.000+09:00

As my rapport with students increases, some students try to use me as a means to be distracted from lessons. Mostly a few almost-but-not-quite delinquent boys use this tactic--to side-talk to me--in classses that young female teachers are teaching. (Yes, unfortunately, many young female teachers are victimized by bad boys.) I always tell them to go back to their work, but they always resist. This happened again today, and I felt sorry for the teacher. So I really need to strike a balance between my own research and the teachers' interests/responsibilities.

School Events

2005-10-18T21:31:00.000+09:00

The elementary school is now busy with preparation for the Art Festival at the end of the month. 2nd and 6th graders whom I've been observing are going to perform plays at the Festival. A chunk of regular class time is now used for practicing plays. It's interesting to see how different "subject-elements" exist in the preparation process: (1) Japanese in terms of reading scripts and understanding characters; (2) Music in terms of singing songs; (3) Manual Arts in terms of making props; (4) Moral Education in terms of working together in harmony.

In fact, what is probably most emphasized at school events is "solidarity of the class," "harmony of the class," etc. I've been wondering how this might be related to the production of a certain Japanese subject(ivity).

Mr. Prime Minister...

2005-10-17T20:08:00.000+09:00

I just heard the news that Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine. Right-leaning people tend to support Koizumi on this point and argue that China and North and South Koreas have been interfering Japan's sovereignty by telling the prime minister not to visit the Shrine.

But I think Koizumi's "determination" is wrong-headed. If he really means to show that Japan--in his own image--is not ready to back down from pressures from other countries, why doesn't he impose economic sanctions on North Korea, which could make them take more seriously the so-called abduction problem, rather than visit the Shrine to complicate Japan's diplomatic relations with China and Korea? Does Koizumi really think about Japan's long-term national interests?

The Autumn Festival

2005-10-16T20:31:00.000+09:00

I met with my friend in Nagoya this morning. He is currently working for a consulting company and starting up his own NPO. Over coffee he updated me with what he has been doing and what he is planning to do. His determination, thoughtfulness, enthusiasm, and dedication impressed me greatly. Our reunion meeting was brief, but I got a lot out of it.

Before noon I took a train back to my home, for I was supposed to carry a portable shrine with elementary school kids in my neighborhood. Today a local shrine was holding its annual festival and the tradition is that elementary school kids in neighborhoods surrounding the shrine carry portable shrines (called mikoshi in Japanese), walk around the neighborhoods, and collect donations. I ended up carrying a portable shrine most of the time, for there weren't many kids from my neighborhood. Although the number of houses in my hometown seems to be increasing, that of children seems to have been decreasing.

I don't think it's a bad idea to change the tradition and ask junior high schoolers to join the portable-shrine thing. I think it's good for both elementary and junior high school kids to have a chance to meet and work with older or younger kids in their own neighborhoods.

Can't Beat Mothers

2005-10-14T20:31:00.000+09:00

Recently, I feel being exploited by preschoolers! While I am at the kindergarten, they relentlessly ask me to participate in physically demanding plays, such as tag, piggybag, etc. This surely faciliates my rapport with them, but it's kind of inefficient to collect data at the kindergarten because I can ask the kids my questions only when I am taking a break from playing with them. 4-year-olds are my "worst" enemy, for they keep making demands on me, even though they can't answer my questions. Besides, all the kids forget my existence as soon as their parents--mostly mothers--come pick them up.

It is indeed the family that is the most important for kids not only emotionally but also cognitively; for instance, they tend to essentialize the parent-child relationship in making inferences about a person's attributes and behaviors.

Practice Teachers

2005-10-13T20:27:00.000+09:00

Gosh, I can't believe that I've been sick for two weeks now...

This morning I asked three practice teachers at F Junior High to participate in my survey. After that, I went to a different junior high school affiliated with a local teachers' college. The principal of this junior high, who is my cousin's former adviser at the college, kindly granted my request to give surveys to 37 practice teachers at his school. In return, I've been asked to come to his seminar at the college and have discussion with his students. I am planning to discuss with them about the Japanese educational system in light of what I have learned so far from my fieldwork in Japan. I hope I will be able to learn something interesting from those future teachers.

Sports, Language, Emotion, and Nation

2005-10-09T21:25:00.000+09:00

I just watched the NHK special program on the 80-year history of TV broadcasting of sports in Japan. It was sort of a Japanese historiography of the 80 years in terms of news of famous sports events, such as Olympics, sumo tournaments, high-school baseball tournaments, etc. Tears welled up in my eyes when I watched some of the news where Japanese athletes triumphed and newscasters exclaimed with joy and excitement. I have cried many times by watching foreign films (subtitled in English). But I wonder whether I could cry when I watch sports news in other languages than Japanese--my so-called "mother tongue." Hmm, probably I could if there were players whom I was familiar and sympathetic with.

I've been wondering about the relationship between familiarity and favoritism.

The 3-page Rejection Letter

2005-10-08T21:28:00.000+09:00

I received a rejection letter from a certain sociological-theory journal. Since my adviser who is one of the editors of the journal had already alerted me to the rejection, I wasn't upset. But I was surprised to see the single-spaced 3-page rejection letter from the editors, along with comments from 3 different reviewers. I mean, it's not usually for any editors to write as long as three pages to explain rejection... Well, the letter I received actually contained a lot of useful suggestions to make my manuscript better. So, I was pleasantly surprised.

I don't mind rejection, for I will write many better papers in the future!

From Observer to Participant

2005-10-07T23:05:00.000+09:00

One of the kindergarten teachers told me that the principal was pleased with my "progress" regarding my interaction with kids. The principal and other teachers thought that I was somewhat awkward with the kids at the beginning--back in August. But now I have come so far as to participate in games with kids and get involved with them more physically (e.g., holding them and carrying them in my arms). I hope this greater familiarity between me and the kids will facilitate my data collection at the kindergarten.

Hold me in Your Arms!

2005-10-06T21:21:00.000+09:00

There is one 5-year-old preschooler who asks me to hold her in my arms every time I visit the Kindergarten. Today I asked her whether her mother holds her in her arms. Without looking up at me, the girl said, "No, my mom doesn't hold me in her arms." (I wanted to ask her what about her father, but I didn't because I feared maybe she didn't have one.) Perhaps her mother has been pregnant. Or maybe she is a little cold to her child.

I completed the first half of my survey with about 20 preschoolers today. I will carry out the second half tomorrow.

The so-called Moral Dilemma

2005-10-05T21:18:00.000+09:00

On Wednesdays mothers come to every classroom of the elementary school and spend 20 minutes reading books to students. Today I was in one of the 2nd-grade classes where the homeroom teacher had been sick since Monday. Perhaps because of her absence, students in the class were restless while a mother was reading books. One boy was obnixious in particular. He kept walking around, whispering to boys around him, and disturbing others who were listening to the story. Although the mother tried to stop his behavior gently, he didn't stop and his obnoxiousness escalated as a few other boys joined him. Their behaviors made me angry. I really wanted to scold them. But I am not a schoolteacher but merely a doctoral student who is permitted to conudct observation at the school. So I decided to keep taking notes, for I judged I was not authorized to instruct students. I was very frustrated.

Anyway, I want to know about parents of those outrageous kids. What the fuck are they? The fact is that there are more and more parents who can't bring up their children properly.

Global Standards

2005-10-04T21:22:00.000+09:00

Last week there was a figure skating competition in Tokyo (?). I saw the NHK sports news that two Japanese female skaters won the 2nd and the 3rd places at the competition. Some Russian skater won the first. They showed video clips from recorded performances of these Japanese skaters. Although I was anticipating to witness the Russian skater's performance as well, they didn't show any of it. In front of TV, I shouted "Why not?" My father watching TV next to me said, "Because this is Japanese sports news." I replied, "But why don't they show the winner's performance? It doesn't matter whether she is Japanese or not. I just want to watch the best performance!" "Well," said my father, "I think it's natural that Japanese viewers want to watch Japanese players."

I hereby hypothesize that one of the reasons Japanese don't compete successfully in many sports at the international level is that they grow up by watching pathetic Japanese players and missing world-class performances by people who are usually not Japanese...?

Brazil

2005-10-01T21:22:00.000+09:00

I've been sick for the last few days, so I couldn't update my blog. This is the first time I got sick after I began my fieldwork in Japan.

There is one junior high school girl whose nationality eludes me. Some students say she is Japanese-Brazilian. And it is true that she was born and spent the first couple of years in Brazil. But when I interviewed her, she sort of avoided talking about Brazil. I should have asked her a more straightforward question about her national identity, but I couldn't bring myself to do it because I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. After all, many junior high schoolers, including her, are going through the so-called puberty. (So I will try to ask her questions about her identity as I win greater trust from her over the course of my fieldwork.)

I wish I could speak Portuguese.... Well, better late than never, they say. Okay, I will start learning the language.

Where is the Ministry of Education?

2005-09-27T22:14:00.000+09:00

I am watching the TV program where 50 real teachers are discussing different educational issues with guests. One of the guests are harshly criticizing teachers. But I don't think it makes sense to say those criticisms and suggestions to the teachers. They lack authority to initiate any systematic educational reforms. Instead of lynching teachers alone, I think the program should have brought some bureaucrats from the Ministry of Education and interrogated them. (But they wouldn't come anyway.)

So where is Japanese education going?

Focus!

2005-09-26T22:23:00.000+09:00

Yesterday my father suggested that I write up a report to summarize what I have found so far and what I want to study further. He made the suggestion because he thought that I was becoming lazy lately. (And he was right!) So, today I started making visual charts to conceptually map out findings, questions, hypotheses, and so on. After I'm done with it, I will send the report to my committee members.

I should think more seriously about implications of the fact that I won't have my parents forever.

The Purpose of Life

2005-09-25T21:44:00.000+09:00

I have less than 6 months left for my fieldwork in Japan. This also means that I have only 6 months to be with my aging parents.

This fieldwork has been helpful to me in clarifying what I want to make of my life. (I don't think my life has any pregiven purpose. But, if I say that, I sound like existentialist.)

The Athletic Festival II

2005-09-24T22:42:00.000+09:00

I went to see the Athletic Festival at the junior high school today. This year's festival had a cheerleading component, which we hadn't had in my old days. Students made props (e.g., flags) and organized cheerleading activities for themselves.

Although the students were the center of the Festival, I didn't fail to see how teachers were taking care of logistics of the event. (Of course, I didn't notice their effort when I was a junior high school student.)

Sumo and Deconstruction of Japaneseness

2005-09-23T22:34:00.000+09:00

Sumo is one of the national sports in Japan. And it is probably the most internationalized.

Right now a professional tournament is being held in Tokyo. It is either Koto-o-shu or Asa-sho-ryu who will win a champoinship at this tournament. The former is from Bulgaria and the latter from Mongolia. I think they symbolize deconstruction of Japaneseness.

The Expo Sucks

2005-09-22T21:53:00.000+09:00

My parents, brother, and I went to the so-called World Exposition today. We went to the following foreign pavilions: France, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech, UK, Nordic Joint, Caucasus Joint, Egypt, Africa Joint, Turkey, India, Nepal, Central Asia Joint, Iran, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Suri Lanka, China, Mongolia, Butan, Central America Joint, Dominica, Andes Joint, Cuba, and UN. They were awful except for the India pavilion (and perhaps the Caucasus joint) that showed a lot of effort to introduce various aspects of "Indian culture" (e.g., yoga, food, religion, etc.) to visitors. At the other pavilions that we visited, they showed only visual images and sound effects without any linguistic descriptions whatsoever. (When they provide descriptions, they are so rudimentary that I wasn't enlightened about their countries.) I wish the foreign pavilions had been more museum-like.

Okay, I must become a good professor in the future, so that I may be invited to go to different countries.

Love and Hate

2005-09-21T22:18:00.000+09:00

It's been almost a month since the fall term began at the elementary and junior high schools. Of course, I can't win trust and goodwill from every one of the 2nd and 6th graders. But I wonder what differentiate between students who are willing to chat with me and those who are not.

Japanese Teachers and Moral Education

2005-09-20T22:05:00.000+09:00

There is a certain tendency among the teachers at the schools that I have been visiting. They expect students to "guess" what they expect. For example, one male teacher remained standing in front of students in the schoolground today. The students kept chatting, but he remained silent. When another teacher yelled at students "Be quiet!" the students stopped chatting. The male teacher gave them a "moral speech" concerning how the students failed to meet his expectation, to become quiet when he came up in front of them.

This kind of moral lesson permeates school life.

Japanese Diplomacy

2005-09-19T20:48:00.000+09:00

I don't think Japanese politicians and bureaucrats are good at diplomacy. The reason is probably their subordination to the US since the end of WWII. They don't have to use their own brains to envision the future of the country in the international context, for its framework is given (or forced upon) by the US.

My Cousin's Restaurant

2005-09-18T22:10:00.000+09:00

My parents, my brother, and I went to my cousin's restaurant today. I remember going to his restaurant occasionally when I was small. We always ate there for free because my father had tutored him when he was a student. I hope I will be able to do something for my cousin's children to repay his kindness to have served us tasty food for free.

Don't Piss on Me

2005-09-16T21:56:00.000+09:00

A 3-year-old boy sat on my lap with his pants wetted. I sort of detected the odor of pee, but I was able to understand fully what it was when the preschool teacher said to the boy that he must have wetted his pants.

Two 6-year-old girls were chatting. One of them looked at me and said to the other, "I want him to become my dad." "Why don't you ask your mom about it?" responded the other. "If my mom and dad got into fight, maybe he could become my dad." But I don't think I am ready to become a father, though I very much appreciate her affection.

Obsessed with Long Life

2005-09-15T22:13:00.000+09:00

I think there are too many (older) Japanese who are obsessed with long life. Instead of being absorbed in extending their lives, I hope they will pay more attention to social problems.

BTW, I don't understand why they don't teach politics to 8th graders in social-studies classes. During a geography lesson today, the 8th graders studied France in terms of its climate, agriculture, and culture; however, they didn't cover social and political situations of the country. So, the 8th-grade girl whom I talked with after the class, didn't even know who the current president of France was.

But I'm sure that she knew who the president of the US was. Even my 2nd-grade friends knew him, for recently Mr. President appeared on Japanese news programs that extensively covered the hurricane Katrina.

Mothers Visit the Elementary School

2005-09-14T22:16:00.000+09:00

Today the elementary school was open to parents. The purpose of this visit day is to let parents observe how their kids are doing at school. And parents were indeed visitors and observers, not participants. Some parents remained standing in the hallway in front of their children's homerooms. Even those who entered a homeroom stood still in the back of the room. My suggestion is that teachers include into lessons activities that allow parents to work with their kids so as to make them become partners of the school who actively participate in the education of their children.

Not so Hard Ethical Problems in the Field

2005-09-13T21:52:00.000+09:00

For example, last week I made a 3-year-old preschooler burst into tears. He was trying to sit on my laps, and I teased him by running away from him. Suddenly, he started crying loudly and other boys gathered around him. They suggested I apologize to the boy. Well, I did while hugging and soothing him. Since preschoolers have very bad memories, however, the boy came up and climed on me soon after he stopped crying.

Today several 6th-grade girls were in tears after they were scolded for their behavior. When the teacher was not around, they started speaking ill of her in front of me. They used bad words. I listened to them quietly, hoping that they would feel okay with the teacher after they calmed down.

What if the People were Wrong

2005-09-12T21:03:00.000+09:00

The category of "a people" is the ambiguous intersection between democracy and nationalism. This category has been used to justify election results in presumably democratic countries like Japan. But what if the so-called "will of the people" were misguided? The people is the sovereign and the dictator.

Parents and Children

2005-09-11T21:31:00.000+09:00

According to prior research in the US (if I remember correctly), there is no significant correlation between parents' racial attitudes and their children's. I can somehow understand that in the context of contemporary Japan. In my opinion, parents influence children in terms of cognitions of and attitudes toward different national groups only through their selection of representations (e.g., in TV programs, toys, etc.) that children encounter at home. It is mostly up to children themselves who interpret, evaluate, and appropriate those representations produced via larger political, social, and cultural systems. So, parents have only an indirect influence...?

I am disappointed with the result of the general election. I don't think the long dominance of one single party is good for democracy. (Also I don't think the current campaign law is conducive to discussion of policies. The 12-day campaign period is too short for that.) Why don't we have more diversity, debate, and dissent in Japan?

Rules of the Game

2005-09-10T22:09:00.000+09:00

I sometimes wonder whether Japanese are not very good at changing rules of the game. They always lose out to other peoples because they are content with adhering to rules that others have defined...? What is more, there are so many Japanese who can't see beyond rules and frameworks given to them and they are letting incompetent bureaucrats and politicians ruin their own life.

How to Choose the Right School

2005-09-09T22:38:00.000+09:00

I had a long chat with the high school senior whom I've been tutoring. By the end of this month he had to decide whether he will accept a sports scholarship to attend a private university outside the prefecture or apply for another university near his home. I didn't tell him which choice would be better for him not only because he should decide for himself by considering all available options carefully but also because I am not an expert in Japanese entrace exams. (I was one of those high school students who didn't buy into the so-called "war of entrance exams.")

It's kind of scary to imagine myself as being part of the student's social environment that might influence his decision. But let's not overestimate my influence.

Flags and Preschoolers

2005-09-08T22:29:00.000+09:00

In anticipation of the Sports Festival, flags of different countries are hanged on walls of the preschool. (This flagging is customary in Japan.) When I asked a 3-year-old boy, "What is this?" by pointing at the Japanese national flag, he said, "Hmm... it's a circle." It's only 5- and 6-year-olds who can identify the Japanese flag. But even they are unable to identify flags of other countries. In short, preschoolers are not very interested in the foreign.

Shoot it for Yourself!!!

2005-09-07T22:30:00.000+09:00

I watched the soccer match between Japan and Honduras tonight. Initially, I was very much frustrated with Japanese players who passed a ball instead of shooting it for themselves when they came close to the goal line. Typical of Japanese...?

I was scheduled to visit the junior high school today, but the school was canceled due to the typhoon. For now the typhoon blew away people's attention from the general election.

Getting over the Summer Vacation

2005-09-06T19:44:00.000+09:00

For some reason I was unable to have access to the server to update my blog yesterday.

Today I went to visit the 2nd grade for the first time after the school resumed on September 1st. I noticed some students who looked at me with blank faces, so I wondered whether they had forgotten me after the summer vacation... I will have to re-establish rapport with them before I give them another survey sometime in the fall.

Ms. S, one of the 2nd grade teachers, told me that the kids were still getting over the vacation and it would take a few more days before they become fully ready for learning.

Less Than 7 Months

2005-09-04T22:04:00.000+09:00

I have less than 7 months left for my fieldwork. I wonder how much I can understand the nature of (post)nationalism in Japan by next March....

It's funny to watch politicians debating policies on TV. They keep trying to avoid what they don't want to talk about.

Lately national newspapers have been publishing pre-election surveys, all of which indicate that the LDP will win the majority. I cannot but wonder why these newspapers do not show us more detailed statistics of their surveys; for example, do all age groups support the LDP? Well, I hope there will be a surprise on the election night. Otherwise, the future of Japan will be....

Katrina

2005-09-03T22:37:00.000+09:00

I took a walk with my 7-year-old neighbor this evening. He told me that he saw Mr. Bush on TV and asked me whether I had met him. We also talked briefly about the upcoming election. He knew about it because his grandfather is an active supporter of the Social Democratic Party. Yes, the zone of proximal development....

I cast my vote today.

Junior High School Students

2005-09-02T22:01:00.000+09:00

I have interviewed about 10 junior high school students so far. In terms of logics or structures of their reasoning about national groups, junior high shcool students are pretty much the same as college students. However, in terms of political consciousness, they are much less developed than college students.

Lost Voices of Japanese Politicians

2005-09-01T22:10:00.000+09:00

Is it only I who is wondering why most candidates for the upcoming general election have already lost their voices? Are their microphones working properly? (Or have they all caught cold?) Why do they have to keep yelling when using microphones?

Applying for Fellowships

2005-08-31T22:07:00.000+09:00

I am now working on my application for a fellowship from a certain educational foundation. I believe this is a very good chance for me to narrow down the focus of my research; writing a 2000-word description of my research surely forces me to articulate a coherent narrative about what I want to do and how I want to do it.

Right now representatives from seven parties are debating policies on Asashi TV. Since last Sunday, candidates have been engaging in heated--sometimes nasty--debates on TV. I hope they will continue policy discussions even after the general election on 9/11.

I often see ordinary people on TV complaining about politicians using difficult language to explain policies. I agree that Japanese politicians are not very good at explaining things. But I also think that those ordinary Japanese must try to learn more actively about policies, even though it is true that they have not received good civic education at school.

Shut Up...!

2005-08-30T22:20:00.000+09:00

Hmm, I seem to speak too much when I get excited. I hope I won't compromise confidentiality of my subjects.

Today I interviewed two college seniors. One of them impressed me with her thoughtfulness. I then ended up telling her acquaintances that she was very thoughtful and planning to go to grad school--just after I parted with her and saw them. I didn't say more than that. But, really, I shouldn't have said anything... I'm so stupid!!!

I Must!

2005-08-29T21:27:00.000+09:00

I must learn not to speak more than necessary. I tend to say stupid things when I try to break a seemingly uncomfortable silence. Oh well, I will keep trying to grow up.