自分に課した宿題に苦しんでる…
今日は、他に書きたいこともあったのですが、先週のメルマガに「私も自分のPersonal statementを書きま~す」などと言ってしまい、月曜の発行のために今頃になってひーひー言いながら書いてるところで時間が…苦し紛れに、さっき書き上げた下書きをこっちに載せちゃいます。明日の朝修正してメルマガに載せるつもり。(メルマガ用に別のブログを作ってるのに、どうして下書きをこっちに載せるのか。はっきり言って意味はありません。)ちなみに、メルマガの「Personal statementを書こう」についての号はhttp://blog.junquito55.com/?eid=224959 (第6号) とhttp://blog.junquito55.com/?eid=233066 (第7号)なので、良かったら見てください。ついでに、登録もしてやろうか、と言ってくれる方はhttp://junquito55.com/magazine.htmlより、お願いします(^^)。自分で読み返しても突っ込みたいところがいっぱいありますが(作文にtotallyは乱用するなよ…)。どっかミスとか不可解な部分があったら(こっそり)指摘してください~~。あ、ところで最近、別のメルマガで『文章プロの3日で書けて利益98%のeBook作成術』http://www.mag2.com/m/0000161808.htmlというのがあって、発行者は小論文指導をするプロの方だそうですが、このメルマガの企画で「あなたのeBookをチェックします」っていうのがあったんです。junquitoの日本語はひどいんで、今書いてる無料のeBookも人様に見せるのがちょっとためらわれてた時で、絶好のチャンス!と、書き上げて送ってしまいました。自分の文を人に添削してもらうなんて、何年ぶりだろうな。すっごくどきどき。これで、皆さんに、より良いレポートをお届けできればと思ってます。やっぱり、恥をさらしてでも自分の成果を人に評価してもらうと、客観的に自分の実力が測れていいと思います。特に社会人になってからは、そういう機会も(仕事以外では)なくなってくるので。てわけで。興味のある人は以下をさら~っと読んでくださいな。(どきどき)Study Skills as My MissionIf I were asked what the most drastic experience in my life so far was, I would definitely choose (beside giving birth to my children) getting into University of California, Berkeley, from a high school in small Japanese town. This exciting yet severe experience has totally changed my view of learning, why and how we learn and how to take advantage of your learning background in your real life.I wouldn’t say I was a damn kid at high school, but now I can say that I never gave much thought about why we should learn what we learned at school. You study in order to get a good grade, so that you will be accepted to a prestigious college and finally get a good job with high reputation and good pay. That was the theory I, and every other student around me, subscribed to. My grade was higher than average, I had a good memory to serve me to do well at tests, and good study habit to take long time to enthusiastically memorize what teacher or textbook had said were important to remember.In summer of 1993, I was accepted to Berkeley. I thought it would be great challenge to try my ability in foreign country. I would learn more things, I would compete with students of much higher level, and I would graduate here and get a nice job. What I didn’t realize back then was that I not only would learn more things, but learn it in very different way I had been used to. Japanese education at that time put great importance in competition. Students were expected to study materials given to them via textbooks, read them, do exercises in them and recite what you memorized at exams. How well you learn had very much as same meaning as how much stuff you cram into your brain and hold it until the time of examination. At Berkeley, I realized that this cramming wasn’t working. To begin with, there were so many materials to cram if I had to cover everything that was to be on the test. Moreover, most of the time what I had crammed were not even on the test. I memorized everything from the assigned text, and on the exam they were asking me to discuss a certain example in context of what the text said. What?? That wasn’t on the textbooks! I hadn’t memorized the answer!!This difference of learning system between Japanese high school and American university was obvious, but I had no idea about how to adopt the new system of learning. In my second year, I took a course in Peace and Conflict Studies and this class changed my view of leaning completely.During the class we were asked to choose a topic about any conflict that concerned us most, and write a paper about how you want to solve the problem and what you should study in college to be able to do so. “First you have to want to change what is going on in this world,” the professor told us, “then, you find the way to change it from learning.”This was totally different concept of learning from what I had known. Instead of learning to secure the future for myself, here I was learning to change the world! During the semester we talked eagerly in the class, read so many books from the various points of view to discuss about what it said, I went out to do some volunteer work in community to test the theory I had constructed…For the first time in my life I was really leaning, learning to learn.It was like the door to whole new world opened to me. I never had such a clear purpose of learning. Once I attained this purpose, it made so much easier for me to write paper, discuss in class, read books and summarize their points, and good grade at school. Much later, I learned these methods were called study skills. For me, study skills is not only the way to study effectively, but also a tool to develop your true talent and define your purpose of learning.I think this concept of purpose of leaning and study skills to put into practice such a purpose is lacking in Japanese education system. And that is why the nation suffers so much disorder in its school system. Children learn without clear purpose other than to respond to pressure from parents, teachers and society, who tell them “this is good for your future.” As a result, some break down due to so much pressure, some rebel against them and come to have no purpose in their life (“if I failed in school, I fail in my life.”), some succeed to get a good job, good salary and happy family, but still wonder if their youth had not been wasted to pay this price.That is why I want to introduce a concept of study skills in Japanese youths. I want them to experience what I have experienced, to be conscious of importance of leaning as the power to change yourself, people around you and the world in general. I want to be an advocate to spread the information, through writings and exercise materials sent by internet, about study skills used in my college class and how to apply to one’s life experiences. Most importantly, I want to help people realize their life goals, view the world differently and become more active to make a difference around them. The concept of my study skills, I’m sure, will be useful for them.長いな~。読んでくれた人、ありがとう。