現在、娘は中学３年生。
先日、「祖父母にインタビューをした後、それを物語風に書いて本にして提出する」という宿題がでたのですが、
その物語が今回学年の代表で選ばれたようなのでご紹介しますね。本当は物語にイラストや写真をつけてbook creatorで本の形にして提出しましたが、それはUPの仕方がよくわからず・・・とりあえず文章のみをご紹介
おうち英語組の中学生以降の英語力って、なかなか公開されないのですが、
中学３年になったときの英語レベルはこのくらいになってるかもよ〜？
という軽い感じで参考にしていただけたら嬉しいです。
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Girl Power
I was running at full speed. I needed to talk to Ms Tanaka. Tom had completely snuffed out my will to express my own opinions, leaving me in the ashes. It all started when Tom and I were assigned to a group project together. We had completely different ideas on how we wanted to do the assignment, and had an extremely heated argument about the issue for the rest of class. Tom was enraged at me for objecting to him. He took revenge on me in the most horrible way he could think of, taking my beloved pencil case, a birthday present from my grandmother, and drenching it in filthy water.
I was devastated. I didn't know what to do, but went with my first instinct, to tell Ms Tanaka about it. Being young, I believed that adults could completely fix any problems you have, but my expectations were not met.
After I practically flew to Ms Tanaka and told her about everything that had happened, she led me to an empty room to have a chat. She told me to calm down, to take deep breaths. Then, she told me about the relationship between girls and boys. She calmly said that us girls will eventually have a time in life where we need to support boys, like after marriage when we quit our jobs and devote ourselves to taking care of our husbands. We would have to listen to what boys think anyway, so think of this as practicing how to do so. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Ms Tanaka, my most beloved teacher, was telling me to give in and not have my own thoughts? Thinking about this later on, I realized that Ms Tanaka didn't mean any harm. Despite being fairly young, she just had the typical Japanese frame of thinking, and didn't know any better. However, I was ignorant at the time, and started believing what Ms Tanaka said.
I lost all concentration for the rest of the school day, thinking about Tom and Ms Tanaka.
After school, I headed straight for my grandmother's house. My grandmother greeted me with a surprised expression and lots of joy, but instantly noticed my depressed mood. After helping me to a bowl of homemade chocolate chip cookies, she gently asked me about my day. I couldn't hold it anymore, and the incidents at school spilled out of my mouth. My grandmother quietly listened to my story, while the light from the window softly reflected off her short, salt and pepper hair. She took a sip of her favorite tea, and started talking about her own life, about when she had a life changing experience…
My grandmother, Ayaco, went to study in America alone at the age of twenty, after she’d graduated highschool. While spending time in America, she didn't study at a school, but stayed at the home of an American acquaintance, who was a priest, helping them around the house and frequently going out with them. She instantly befriended the acquaintance’s wife, Avery, who was also American. Ayaco told her all about why she came to America. While Japanese women at the time had the mindset that they should stay home and assist their husbands, American women were working vigorously, and supported the family financially as much as the men. When observing American culture through televisions and other media, she felt a great difference between the American and Japanese women, and wanted to know the reason for that, why American women seemed more confident in comparison to Japanese women. Avery listened intently to my grandmother’s story, reacting to every part of it. Avery was an energetic woman, who worked at a popular smartphone company. They had two children, and were working hard together to support the family. Although both Avery and her husband took their jobs very seriously, they still tried to make as much time for Ayaco as possible.
Ayaco frequently went on trips with Avery’s family, and even visited Avery’s workplace on “Bring Your Family to Work Day''. When she visited, she was shocked by the number and attitudes of the women working alongside Avery. There were as many women as there were men, and there didn't seem to be any position difference between women and men. The women were talking to the male workers as equals, and were even reprimanding their team members. Ayaco was horrified for an instant, because she was used to women obeying men at all times, and talking back had been severely punished. In Japan, women were expected to support men at all times, not to work with them. Avery noticed her reaction, and reassured her that this was normal in America, that they communicate with co-workers the same way, regardless of their gender. Ayaco was awed by the contrast between the two countries, and was eager to know more. She observed the workplace for a long time while Avery went back to work, and noticed many other similar scenes where women were treated as being equally skilled as men.
After getting back home, Ayaco mulled over the day’s encounters. Every woman she interacted with had so much confidence in themselves, and seemed to think positively about everything, just like they had in the movies. Ayaco wondered why this difference occurs, and decided to focus on the difference of surroundings of women between America and Japan. In Japan, people believed women should devote themselves to their families, and companies were no exception. The companies have made it more difficult for women to get positions, because they might give birth to children and might have to care for them, resulting in the women having less time for work. Due to the companies treating women like this, the women themselves lose confidence in trying out new things, and at the end, accepts those opinions altogether. In comparison, as Ayaco witnessed in Avery’s workplace, American companies usually judge people equally, without changing their attitudes depending on gender. Ayaco realized the lack of self-confidence in Japanese women was caused by the lack of sexual equality among their environments. Women don't have to devote themselves to men, they can express themselves freely, with confidence.
I was lost for words hearing my grandmother's story. Absolutely stunned. I realized that Ms.Tanaka wasn't right about women, that she just didn't have as much experience as my grandmother. Now that I knew women could have infinite possibilities as well, I began feeling extremely confident in myself, in my ideas. All thanks to my grandmother.