Saturday, September 22, 2012

Reaction Paper #1



The first day that I stepped into AS150 was a mind opening experience. I had no idea what to expect not knowing anything specific about Japanese Culture. But, as class continued I started to learn the outlines of an extremely interesting culture based on respect and technology. One that was still connected with its past while moving into the future growing into one of the economic power houses in the world.
The topic that I wanted to discuss in this reaction paper is the Ikuji, which are the childrearing practices in Japan. This topic struck me because of the juxtaposition that it has with American childrearing practices. The Japanese believe that childrearing occurs from imitation instead of telling a child to do something. Also, that the parents authority is not as important. The biggest angle in this discussion that struck me was the ability to compromise with children instead of making a child do something. I personally believe that this is a great way of doing something. It teaches the child that compromise is a huge tool within the world. Another angle was the use of empathy. Telling children that everything has a spirit teaches the children to treat everything with respect. This to me shows children they need to have an overall respectful view of the world. Giving their society as a whole a better view on the world.

Questions 

How do you believe Ikuji plays a role in Japanese?
How could Ikuji be used in America?


2 comments:

  1. I definitely agree that empathy is very important. It is a good way to teach a child because it causes them to respect things and people because they see the reasoning why, not simply because it would be against the rules to do otherwise.

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  2. Empathy is definitely important and people in the United States should use it more often. People then will grow up and be more respectful to their surroundings and to people that they meet. People in the United States often struggle with this.

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