April 29, 2007
No One's Perfect - "Fumanzoku" in the Eye of the Beholder
Hirotada Ototake is a author of the international bestseller "No One's Perfect." He is also an elementary school teacher:
"There are things that only I, because of my situation, can teach children, unlike other teachers," he said, adding that those things, such as respect and acceptance, won't come from any textbook."By only looking at my body you would think it impossible to dribble and throw a ball. But if children could watch me and think, 'Wow, he must have worked hard to do that' they too may feel they can challenge themselves to do something without giving up."
"Instead of logically and conceptually teaching children by words that discrimination is a bad thing, it is better to have them learn naturally through experience to coexist with a disabled child," he said.
And yet, I imagine he can tell you stories of how often it is easier to work with his sixth-graders than bus and taxi drivers, hotel staff, airlines and others in the service industry. Education is an ongoing process and travelers with disabilities are contantly in a teaching role.
Thank you Sensei Oto-san!
Source - Disability News India
http://www.disabilityindia.com/html/news.html#Teaching
Fumanzoku literally means "not all there" in Japanese.
Posted by rollingrains at April 29, 2007 04:45 PM