子供の声を聞きましょう・Listen to the children

今日は芝刈りをしていたら、近所の小学生3ー4人がサッカー遊びをしてました。自分たちで色々ゲームをやったり、技術の競争を考えたりして、非常に楽しそうな風景でした。 夕方になると、一人のお父さんが迎えに来ていて、ちょうど芝刈りが終わったいたので、芝生か土かについて話をしました。「子供にとって芝生が断然良いですよ」と力のこもった声でおっしゃるお父さんに対して、僕はどうして土の校庭で我慢をするのか聞いた。「だって、芝生がお金がかかるし、維持管理が大変だから」といつもの答えが帰って来ました。 土だと転んだときは怪我をするが、芝生化はお金がかかるから出来ないと言う行政が送っているメッセージは子供はお金を懸ける価値が無いと思っている以外何ものでも無いです。 行政がそう思うのは仕方がないかも知れませんが、親自身がそうなら何も言えません。 日本の親達、自分の子供が可愛くないですか。 While I was mowing Greenfield today, 3-4 local primary kids were out playing soccer--well not really playing soccer, just trying all sorts of mini-games and skill-improving exercises. They were really enjoying themselves. The father of one of the boys turned up late in the evening to pick the lads up, just as I finished mowing the grass, and we had a wee chat about dirt fields versus grass fields. This father stated with real conviction that grass is much better for the kids. When I asked him why he and the other parents accepted a dirt field at the primary school their children attend, he answered with no hesitation "grass costs too much and is really difficult to look after". The Education Department's refusal to install grass playing fields due solely to the cost, when it admits that grass is better than dirt, sends a clear and definite message that it does not consider children worth spending money on. Perhaps we can not do anything about the Ed Dept thinking this way, but I am at a total loss for words when the children's parents seem to share this way of thinking. Japan's parents, don't you love your children?