On Your Graduation Day
One World English Course 3 (Heisei 24) pg. 114-119
| On Your Graduation Day | |
|---|---|
| ? | |
| Details | |
| Word count | 489 |
| Book | One World |
| Grade | 3 |
| Year | 2012 |
You all have a big future ahead of you. My message on this special day is this: Take your time before you make a judgement.
Before I came to Japan, people gave me some advice. Some people in my country said, "Japanese people are very shy." Others said, "Japanese people will never open their minds to a non-Japanese person."
Soon I started to think those pieces of advice were more or less true. Of course, you greeted me every morning, but when I asked you a question in class, often no one said anything. "Japanese students really think silence is golden!" I said to myself.
A few weeks passed. and you still were silent in class. I started to have a different idea. "Maybe they are not shy. They are just not interested in me. They are just not interested in English at all!" This thought depressed me.
Then we had a school trip to Kamakura. While we were walking, Aya told me a secret. At lunchtime Kenta gave me some su-kombu. He said it was "Japanese chewing gum." After that everyone wanted to bring me something Japanese, and you were talking to me in English.
That was the turning point. You started to talk to me in class, too, after that. It made me very happy. You're not shy at all; you're talkative! At the same time, you have things you want to say.
Then you were silent in class, I wondered about it. "Maybe they don't want to talk." "Maybe they are not interested in the topic." "Maybe they don't understand me." "Maybe they know the answer but don't know how to say it in English."
Also, I was confused when I asked a question and you would turn to your friends and talk to them. "I am talking to you. Why don't you talk to me, not to your friend?" I wanted to say.
I'm happy now because I didn't judge too quickly. You have become students who can try to say something. I'm happy that you're trying to communicate with me. That's the important thing. Don't worry about making mistakes. Making mistakes helps you make progress.
Some people make judgements right away. When they discover that I'm from Australia, they are sure that I am always late. However, that's not true. I am an Australian, but I worry about being late. I come to school at least thirty minutes before it starts. I think it depends on the person.
In conclusion, I believe it's important not to make judgements about other people too soon. I am glad I didn't, because you proved that people's advice can be wrong. Now I want each of you to be a person who can respect others without prejudice. Prejudice is caused by premature judgement. I hope you'll be able to enjoy communicating in English with someone different from you. We are, after all, people living together in one world.
