I was really nervous going in to English Language Camp. I wasn’t (and am
not) really confident in my abilities to work with a group of students and make
sure they get everything out of it that they are supposed to while still having
fun. Also, being a technical theatre person, it makes me nervous to have to
represent my theatre degree by getting up and leading a skit. But those turned
out to be really minor concerns in the scheme of things.
I ended up having a really eager group. One of the girls had to go home
sick, but the other two, Nagisa and Minami, and the boy, Tomoya were wonderful
students and completely open to everything we had to do. We had a little bit of
trouble communicating here and there, but ultimately we were making really good
progress as the students shared their ideas and I helped them organize it in to
a script, get the English down, and get it ready to perform. It turned out to
be a lot of fun and a huge learning experience for me as I tried to work with
each of them and keep them all engaged (and I am sure for the students as
well!).
But there was one really interesting dynamic that I didn’t really notice
until I started reflecting back on the project. Tomoya was the only boy in my
group and it was really difficult to get him to share his input and stay
involved with the other two students. He was just really quiet. I chalked it up
to the possibility that he was shy or didn’t know the language as well as the
other girls. But later, as I talked to Sean and Colin about their groups, they
voiced a similar opinion about the girls in their group. Both also said that
when their partners (Hailey and Megan, respectively) took over and tried to
work with the girls, they were much more responsive). It made me wonder if
having a male partner to help lead my group would have made Tomoya feel more
comfortable. After having this thought I wondered if it was solely because of
gender and if the effect was also intensified because of the way women are
viewed in Japanese society.
My curiosity on the status of women continued to be sparked as we visited
Shikoku University. We met with the president and chairman of the university
before going to see the students and sit in on a class with the students we’d
met at English Language Camp. This meeting was very formal and seemed a little
uncomfortable for many of us as we didn’t know what to expect. After formal
words and thanks were exchanged we were given the opportunity for a question
and answer session. Our questions remained pretty tame. Monica’s, however, did
not. She asked them if, since Roberts Fellows is a leadership class, they could
outline the opportunities for leadership that women had at Shikoku University.
After a roundabout way of discussing the history of Shikoku and briefly
outlining the coursework available to women, the Chairman seemed to come to the
conclusion that women did not really have leadership at Shikoku and to fill
leadership curriculum, they invited in the male students. He of course didn’t
say this bluntly as he had already learned that our leadership seminar was mostly
women because women tried harder in the application process (as Dr. Swihart
stated), but it could be clearly
deciphered from his answer to Monica’s questions.
This was the first time that I had really heard someone openly accept the
limitations that women experienced in Japan. Robert had talked about it a
little at our first lunch together, but his words had been in an unhappy light,
hopeful that Japanese women could find opportunity eventually. He had stated
that more Japanese women study abroad than men simply because the Women have no
other opportunities for higher education. I hadn’t put much thought towards
that statement until I heard the words of the Shikoku chairman. I hope the
students we met at the English Language Camp take every opportunity they can to
study abroad and create opportunities for themselves. They were too bright and
eager to simply let themselves stagnate in Japan.
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