by Hank F. Miller Jr.
Westerners often fine it takes Japanese a long time to make decisions. I believe the training for decision-making starts at an early age, when Japanese children are conditioned to be shy.
\”Which do you like Taro,\” you ask. \”the red candy or the blue one?\” Taro will not answer because children in Japannever have to make decisions , \”Hazukashii desu!\” (\”He\’s so shy!\”) interjects Taro\’s mother with a smile, clearly praising the boy\’s behavior. And once will not be enough. She\’ll repeat \” Hazukashii\” several times.
When Japanese adults talk to children, they compliment the parents by saying , \” Hazukashii desu ne? \” (just count the \”hazukashiis\”next time you have the opportunity to be near a Japanese mother with small children.I\’ll just be that it\’ll get up into the hundreds.Then imagine twins !).
It\’s no wonder Japanese kids are so shy-they are constantly told to be .While the child smiles and buries his face behind his mother, we never find out which Taro likes, the red candy or the blue one.
So I suppose it should be no wonder that by the time students get to my writing class at the college level , it can take an entire 60-minute class just to decide on a topic for an essay.This is not to say the students are doing nothing in class;they are thinking, trying to decide on what to decide. It goes like this:
\”Your next assignment is to write a 500 word essay.\”The class looks up at me in suprise-the students are horrified. Ican see the question marks floating over their heads like in cartoon balloons.\”But I have nothing to write about,\” says one student. \”Me neither,\” says another. \”Me neither,\” \”Me neither,\” \”Me neitherthey each answer around the table.I then suggest to one of the students ,\”how about your trip abroad or your part time-job?\”
\”That\’s a good idea,\” saysone student . Another student plays with her eraser while another looks at her winnie-the-pooh pencil, sighs and says to her friend,\”pooh–sankawaii ne?\”(Isn\’t winnie-the-pooh cute?\”)
\” What is your topic?\” I ask her.
\”Pass she says, as if English class were a quiz show.I go back to the student who was showing promise with her topic. She is deliberating.\”Which should I write about,my trip abroad or my part-time job? Do shiyo ka ne?\”Then suddenly,another student interjects and the question marks above her head change to exclamation points:\”Muzukashii!\” (difficult!\”).I can see the word written in bold red letters in the cartoon balloon, accompanied by a flash of lightening bolt. Exasperated. She crosses her arms in front of her on the desk and buries her face. Another student chimes in \”Muri!\”(\”Impossible!\”) While little muffins of steam pulse out of her head in her cartoon balloon.
It\’s almost as if I can resd their horoscopes\” Aquarius\”you will have a difficult time making decisions today.Pisces:Postpone any decisions today, especially small ones.Libra\”Beware of making decisions today that will affect your entire week.Capricoern: Ignore people who try to push you into making decisions.
I go back to the girl who was making progress.She has decided to write about her trip abroad and has even written the first paragraph of her esasay.Meanwhile,the girl with the Winnie-the-pooh pencil is now adhering Disney stickers onto her electronic dictionary.
\”Kawaii ne?\”she says to her friend. I wonder what this girl\’s \”o-baa-chan (Grandmother or old lady) cart is going to look like when she\’s in her 80s pushing it along the street. Suddenly, the chime rings.\”Oh I gasp saved by the bell again!\”
Sixty mimutes have passed, and not one decision has been made! Well, one has. I turn to the girl who has already written a paragraph, but now she is sitting with a blank sheet of paper in front of her.
\” I\’ve changed my topic,\”she says. This is when I realize that we have fully completed the progress in full circle of decision making.
At times teaching English in Japan can be so very frustrating to say the least.
Warm Regards From Kitakyushu City ,Japan