WORKS
Childhood is a path that everyone walks. The environment and the people we have around us during childhood have a huge impact on character development, but it is difficult for us to determine our own path. This is why our environment and the people we encounter are particularly important during this period. On the theme of “how adults should be with children”, we held a discussion with students and adults to consider ways for children to broaden their potential.
Based on the theme of what makes kids happy, we went to report on the “CANVAS” Kids Creative Workshop, which runs creative workshops aimed at children. During our conversation with staff members Eriko Kubomura and Kanako Kaida, they indicated that they were not comfortable with using the word “happiness” as the theme, so we had to go back to the drawing board.
Following our investigation, we talked over our own ideas and our respective definitions of “happiness”, and we finally arrived at the theme of “what can we do to build communities and create a level of awareness that allows children to live in ways that suit them?”. Our many hours of discussion made us realize that we need to think very deeply about the meanings of our words and the image they project.
While we were still wrestling with the choice of theme, we tried out a workshop with a facilitator at the suggestion of Ms Kubomura and Ms Kaida. This direct experience of an inclusive setting allowed us to understand the difficulty of acting and speaking appropriately to children. This experience also enabled us to think how we ourselves can do more to change issues than we have previously.
Following extensive discussions, we held an event on the theme of “how adults should be with children”. We invited Ms Kubomura as our guest and conducted a discussion with the participants on children’s creativity and our sense of distance from children. We heard a range of diverse views from various perspectives, which gave us a deeper insight into inclusive education.
Team STAND BY ME
Cho Yujeong (2nd year, Department of Visual Communication Design)
YamashitaSakura (１st year, Department of Creative Innovation)
Yoshihara Daichi (１st year, Department of Creative Innovation)
Nakatsu Ami (3rd year, Department of Arts Policy and Management)
Hachiya Mayu (3rd year, Department of Arts Policy and Management)
Kimiko Matsumoto (CASIO COMPUTER Co., Ltd.)
Sakura Yamashita
(1st year, Department of Creative Innovation)
Lots of participants attended the event and we heard valuable opinions from various standpoints and perspectives. This event made me realize that the way we as adults interact with children and the environments we create have a huge impact on children’s individuality and the broadening of their potential. The discussions of our own time as children and familiar issues around families gave me a better understanding of inclusive education and made me think more deeply about it. I would like to think that this event will prompt people to take that first step.
