Viewing World Politics

I find reading and writing about international events interesting. A few students commented on the terrorist attacks in London. Unfortunately, terrorism and war are becoming topics we read more and more often in the news. I would like to briefly share how I approach thinking about these topics.

Humans have a natural tendency to see the faults of others easier than we see our own faults. This is especially true for conflicts. We judge events based on our own standards, our own world views, so when there’s a problem we tend to blame the other person. It’s not easy to “see” a situation from the other person’s point of view.

With individuals, we value humility and objectivity. People who criticize themselves more than others, who see their own faults, are generally respected. People who always blame others are rightfully seen as narrow-minded or selfish.

In my view, we should view international politics similarly. Governments, however, are opposite. They blame much easier than they take responsibility. All governments seem to be this way. I was reminded of this with the recent disputes between China and Japan. Both governments are defensive. Both blame the other side.

In my view, it’s a virtue for Chinese to be especially critical of China, for Japanese to be especially critical of Japan, for Americans to be especially critical of America, etc. This is because it is naturally very difficult for us to overcome our individual biases as the member of a country. Also, as an American, I can influence the policies and thinking of Americans, and can elect leaders. I have a voice. However, criticizing the “enemy”—let’s say al Qaeda terrorists—is empty. They’re not listening to me. Thus, I tend to focus on the mistakes and crimes of my own government rather than the "enemy." In fact, I don't see the world in terms of "enemy" and "allie." My objective is to not interpret events as an American at all, but as a human. Only then do I have a chance to see and understand with clarity.

Culture 3: More About Relationships

I hope you found the teacher-student relationship discussion as interesting as I have. Thanks for your many thoughtful comments. I would like to clarify my ideas a little more and comment on your ideas.

Most societies throughout history have emphasized respect for elders. This introduces a structure and a social order. And it makes sense. As some of you pointed out, an older person—say a 43 year old—has many more experiences, and hence should be wiser. This is especially true for teachers, because learning and teaching are their profession. Knowing this, Asian societies—and I would guess all native societies even European societies—have created rules for manners towards elders, especially teachers. These rules have helped to keep order in schools and in society.

I think it’s similar to rules governing behavior towards other elders, like mother in-laws. Traditionally, the mother in-law was something like a little dictator in Japan and many other cultures. The authority of the mother in-law is weakening faster than that of the teacher.

Modern American society has more or less rebelled against this sort of social order. From an American’s point of view, the reason is that people in power—teachers, bosses, even the elderly—have too often abused their power or not lived up to their roles. Perhaps the assumption was too high for them, or perhaps they simply had serious character faults. Perhaps they too often became unfair and dictatorial. Perhaps they failed to show enough respect for students and people under them. There are many possible reasons, but the result is a refusal to automatically respect based on position. Modern American society has chosen to instead emphasize equality. People should be judged by who they are, their character, not their title. People must earn respect.

By the way, these cultural differences are revealed in the way we greet people. Bowing, in essence, is a matter of lowering oneself. A handshake is meant to see "eye to eye" as equals. Again, I'm not claiming either way is inferior or superior, just different.

To be honest, I can’t say which is better, having a casual attitude towards elders, or a more formal attitude towards elders. The American way, like the traditional way, is vulnerable to abuse. For example, young Americans might now speak abusively to teachers 20 or 30 years older. They might assume they know more; they might assume they understand more about the world than their elders; they might come to esteem their own opinions so highly that they lack the humility and open minds to learn from a teacher. These are examples of possible abuses that the American way of thinking can lead too. As stated previously, the traditional way is also open to abuses.

My ideal is the same as what many of you wrote: That students and teachers can feel relaxed and confident in each other’s company rather than stiff and formal; and that students feel a certain amount of trust and respect for teachers, but not a blind trust and respect. I’ve had excellent relationships with Japanese students who call me “sensei.” At the same time I want students to know me as a human, not an image of sensei. Finally, I try to never just assume I’m right because I’m the teacher, or to misuse the power or authority I have. I hope to earn the respect of students, and I hope students listen to me with an open mind and at least try my suggestions.

Cultural Differences 2: Teacher - Student Relationship

Several years ago as an Instructor at Nagasaki Junior College of Foreign Languages I shocked a couple of students by saying, “I’m a human first, a man second, and a teacher third.” The explanation involves not only personal opinion differences between individuals, but cultural differences between Japanese and Americans in regard to the role of a teacher. These differences become important to understand as more and more Japanese study with American teachers.

In Japan, like the rest of Asia, a teacher is respected and looked up to. Rules govern the behavior of students towards their teachers. Young Japanese are taught to say “sensei” rather than addressing the person by name. Young Japanese are also expected to use polite forms of language at all times. I’m not sure how prevalent this is, but many Japanese high school and younger students also bow as they enter and exit a teacher’s room. To an American’s eyes, this sort of extremely formal behavior is a little strange. I gather that in Japan the teacher is approached with a mixture of respect and caution, if approached at all. Perhaps students even avoid approaching teachers because they are in awe or feel fear.

Growing up in America I was taught to address the teacher as Mr. or Mrs. followed by their family name. In America today, some elementary school students are ignoring, or rejecting, even that low level of formality, addressing teachers by their given names instead. I guess for an American I’m a little traditional in that I could never approve of, say, a second grader calling me “John.” The few times my nephew called me “John” rather than “Uncle John,” I did feel that this was too familiar and a little disrespectful. So some level of formality between student and teacher is not unheard of in American, nor adverse to my own views. However, I’ve been referring to elementary, middle school, and high school students to now. What about university students and their professors?

I encourage my students to call me “John.” This mainly stems from the fact that I am acknowledging that my students are adults, and that I am still middle-aged, if not young (I like to think so!). I’m not sure how I’ll feel when I’m 50, or 60, or even 70. For now “John” is fine even though I don’t feel offended by students who persist in calling me “sensei.” Addressing another person involves, of course, mere words. We could say different forms of address are cultural, but they also reveal underlying attitudes and ways of thinking. How do my students perceive me? More important to the point of this essay, how do my students perceive our relationship?

Western teachers sometimes feel a coolness from students in Japan. However, as is always the case living in a foreign culture, we don’t know exactly when the coolness is personal, and when it’s cultural.

One example is from previous years when I required all students to come visit my office to talk about the class and their progress. In many cases I was forced to ask a string of questions, to which I received, most often, brief replies. Most students did not open up, freely discussing their concerns, criticisms, desires, or even chit chat. However, some foreign students were also members of my class. With those students the conversations were not so formal. The conversations flowed without as much tension. With foreign (non-Japanese) students, neither of us seemed to be playing our roles of student and teacher, although we each were aware of those roles. On the other hand, many Japanese students do not seem to feel comfortable talking with the “sensei.”

How do Japanese students--elementary, junior high school, high school, and university age--feel about their relationship with teachers? Are there strict rules to follow and precise roles to fulfill? You, my students, can answer these questions more fully than I.

Perhaps I’ve drifted away from my original statement that I promised to explain, that I’m a human first, a man second, and a teacher third. I say this because nature endowed me with being a human, and being a man. In a sense, these are not roles I play, but my natural state. Being a teacher, on the other hand, is a role. Human rules for behavior in certain circumstances has certain value. However, in my heart, I feel that these are just roles and we should be able to see beneath and beyond the roles so we don't see a category, or a label, or an idea, but the actual person. “All the world is a stage,” Shakespeare wrote, “and all of us just actors.” I hope we all can enjoy the “play” unfolding at AIU, and enjoy and learn from our relationships with those "above" us (teachers, administration, and upper classmen) and those "below" us (your juniors).

vince with friends at the beach

vince at the beach
Originally uploaded by giant in japan.

Hey 3A members! You taught Vincent to pose... Well, it's the first time I saw him pose. Now he's a pro at having his picture taken!

Cultural Differences I: Animal Onomatopoeia

As I've told my students, I'm trying to teach Vince as much English as possible even though he's surrounded by Japanese. So far he has surprised his mother and father (me) with how much English he's using: "A,B,'C'", "all done," "apple" (even when his mother says "ringo tabetai hito?" etc. Whenever he sees a dog he refers to it in kiddie Japanese: "wan wan." However, I'm trying to give him the English onomatopoeia (this means words that imitate sounds), "woof woof." I've told students in the past that the English is much closer to the actual sound a dog makes--but they disagreed! What do you think? Make a "woof woof" sound, then a "wan wan" sound and judge which is closer. Rika admitted what is obvious to me, that the English is closer (but it could just be our perception!). Her theory is that with Japanese the words are intended more as easy words for kids to say rather than exact imitations. Japanese certainly has a lot of these: "man man" meaning "eat," "boo" meaning "vehicle" (or "fart!") etc. There are a few in English, most notably "pee" for "shikko suru" (or just "shikko") and "poop" for "unchi." Anyway, we started comparing different animal onomatopoeia:

(Eng - Japanese - animal)
woof - wan - dog
meow - neow - cat
caw - ka - crow
moo - mo - cow
oink - ? - pig (bu-bu)
chirp or tweet- chu or chun? - bird
growl - ? - tiger
cluck - ? - chicken (kokeko)
ribbet - ? - frog (gero gero)
who - ? - owl (ho ho) (thanks to Wildriver-c for teaching me the 4 in parenthesis!)

I can't remember many of the Japanese! Actually, the only one that the English seems closer to the actual is "woof." Well, perhaps the crow is a little closer in English too. The others seems equal. What do you think?

My Hometown: Herkimer, New York

My hometown is in the middle of New York state, a small town called "Herkimer." A strange name, you might think, for a town. The name came from General Herkimer, a revolutionary war hero. His statue is in Myers Park, right across from St. Francis, the Catholic school where I went to for grades 5-8. I know nothing else about General Herkimer; I don't even know why he is a hero.

The population of my town is under 10,000 people. However, I can't say it's charming in any way. In fact, it's un-charming (that's not really a word but I guess you can understand). There are many nearby towns so, even though it has such a small population, it isn't rural or pretty, like a mountain town. It's not very cross-cultural; instead it's very much "middle America." You won't find many non-Americans, or ethnic goods, or ethnic foods, or exotic games like "go" (a hobby of mine). Despite all this, I can't say I hate or even dislike my hometown. It was a nice town to grow up in: safe, pleasant, nice natural environment.

It's a little famous for a specialty product, quartz crystals. They're called "Herkimer diamonds" even though they're not diamonds. They're pretty and a little valuable. If you're interested in digging for gems, please come to my hometown someday. If I'm there I'll show you around all the "historical" places (I mean personal history, places significant for John Spiri). But please know that I'm warning you that it's a little boring!

After traveling the world, I can't imagine ever living there again. If I move back to America, I would like to live in Vermont, where it's more beautiful, and more cultural in many ways. For example, there's a "go" club in Burlington, a city near Lake Champlain (and near Montreal, another great city). So I just return to visit my parents. After they pass away, I wonder whether I'll ever go back; perhaps just to visit my sister and nephew. Most of my friends have moved as well. I feel no sadness about this, the fact that I don't really have a home. The earth is my home. I can feel comfortable many places. I like experiencing different lands, different people, and different climates. What about your hometown?