"Children Full of Life" Japanese documentary

[kalibex]

Anyone here seen this yet? If so, do you feel that the teacher's 'emotional manipulation' is giving his students the opportunity to experience moral courage in a 'safe' setting? Or is it merely manipulative in a negative sense? Do you consider his general methods to be an 'appropriate' way to model and foster empathy?

_http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/children-full-of-life/

 

[Kaigen]

I saw this video last year, and I must say this is very common in Japan. Parents have no time to talk to own kids about their problems, so the school do the job.
I'm my self teacher in Japanese public school. I see it on the daily basis.
I think this is part of the programming to be part of the group and be responsible for the group.
This going to the point where the students are in the Junior High School and can not stand the pressure
of the group. In this time students become mental problems, addicted to games ect, ect.
Than ther is the high school and again, suicide is often the way out. Same in American military.
Here are the numbers.

_http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/japa.pdf

Don't forget this statistic is from WHO.

 

[kalibex]

You appear to be reminding us of the darker side to Japan's school-based socialization methods.... I do note, though that Martha Stout has hypothesized, in The Sociopath Next Door:

"...how is it that some societies have a positive impact on incipient sociopaths, who are born with an inability to process interpersonal emotions in the usual way? I would like to suggest that the overriding belief systems of certain cultures encourage born sociopaths to compensate cognitively for what they are missing emotionally. In contrast with our extreme emphasis on individualism and personal control, certain cultures, many in East Asia, dwell theologically on the interrelatedness of all living things.

"Interestingly, this value is also the basis of conscience, which is an intervening sense of obligation rooted in a sense of connectedness. If an individual does not, or if neurologically he cannot, experience his connection to others in an emotional way, perhaps a culture that insists on connectedness as a matter of belief can instill a strictly cognitive understanding of interpersonal obligation.

"An intellectual grasp of one's duties to others is not the same attribute as the powerfully directive emotion we call conscience, but perhaps it is enough to extract prosocial behavior from at least some individuals who would have behaved only in antisocial ways had they been living in a society that emphasized individualism rather than interrelatedness."

 

[psychegram]

You appear to be reminding us of the darker side to Japan's school-based socialization methods.... I do note, though that Martha Stout has hypothesized, in The Sociopath Next Door:

"...how is it that some societies have a positive impact on incipient sociopaths, who are born with an inability to process interpersonal emotions in the usual way? I would like to suggest that the overriding belief systems of certain cultures encourage born sociopaths to compensate cognitively for what they are missing emotionally. In contrast with our extreme emphasis on individualism and personal control, certain cultures, many in East Asia, dwell theologically on the interrelatedness of all living things.

"Interestingly, this value is also the basis of conscience, which is an intervening sense of obligation rooted in a sense of connectedness. If an individual does not, or if neurologically he cannot, experience his connection to others in an emotional way, perhaps a culture that insists on connectedness as a matter of belief can instill a strictly cognitive understanding of interpersonal obligation.

"An intellectual grasp of one's duties to others is not the same attribute as the powerfully directive emotion we call conscience, but perhaps it is enough to extract prosocial behavior from at least some individuals who would have behaved only in antisocial ways had they been living in a society that emphasized individualism rather than interrelatedness."

Interesting concept. I think it's also fruitful to consider to sociological effects on normal humans of such a prosocial/connectedness metaphilosophy: rather than seeing conscience and empathy as useless, they are instead natural, expected, and healthy ... others should naturally possess these capabilities, and the social structure should reflect this. Furthermore (and I think this is probably the most important point), there will be little outside encouragement to behave psychopathically. Remember, non-psychopaths at birth can become de facto psychopaths later in life, depending on the society.

I feel that psychopaths born into a culture will be faced with additional obstacles, but I don't think it will necessarily lead to prosocial behaviour. Japan's history is as soaked in blood as any other country's. Remember, the psychopaths see human conscience as a weird aberration ... a culture that encourages a cognitive appreciation of inter-relatedness will probably just have psychopaths that know the rules really well and can talk a particularly good game. I doubt it would bend their activities in prosocial directions.

 

[Buddy]

Anyone here seen this yet? If so, do you feel that the teacher's 'emotional manipulation' is giving his students the opportunity to experience moral courage in a 'safe' setting? Or is it merely manipulative in a negative sense? Do you consider his general methods to be an 'appropriate' way to model and foster empathy?

_http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/children-full-of-life/

I watched the first two and 1/2 videos out of the playlist of five, so I may not have the full picture. If this were a chat forum, I'd have loads to say, but I'd rather have a dialog from a Fourth Way perspective if possible.

Have you had a chance to check out Gurdjieff's work yet? Chapter 4 of In Search of the Miraculous would provide a wonderful background for a valuable discussion of this topic, OSIT.

Otherwise, from my conventional point of view, I'd say your questions may be too specific with respect to what this teacher is trying to accomplish in general. I like that other teachers sit in his class to learn more about his teaching style. I also like that he encourages and allows the children to be emotionally vulnerable, to express themselves emotionally and thus to bond with each other. I especially like the way he comforts them when their compartmentalized emotions come to the surface.

I was beginning to wonder if his methods might predispose the students to even more pain as they progress up in grades, leaving this particular teacher behind. In the future, if they suffer from harsh treatment by peers or other teachers, will they, metaphorically speaking, rebound deeper into a psychological closet because of it?

Then I recalled something the teacher said to the interviewer/narrator: "When someone really listens, you carry them in your heart forever." Experientially speaking, I can vouch for that--especially in relation to this forum membership. In difficult emotional times, these kinds of memories can also be a comfort.

Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, but if you'd care to say a little about what your questions are in connection with, it might also help a discussion. Is this related to your group that you mentioned in your first post by any chance? Just wondering.

I enjoyed the videos. Thanks for posting.

 

[Aya]

Anyone here seen this yet? If so, do you feel that the teacher's 'emotional manipulation' is giving his students the opportunity to experience moral courage in a 'safe' setting? Or is it merely manipulative in a negative sense? Do you consider his general methods to be an 'appropriate' way to model and foster empathy?

_http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/children-full-of-life/

I just watched this documentary. I think he is a great teacher considering experiences of emotional aspect in value and giving opportunities for students to express it in a proper way by writing and sharing, to the extend of his capabilities.

In Japan, usually one teacher teaches 30-40 students on his own throughout the year in an elementary school, from math and science to language and morality. Not only that, the teacher needs to look after everyone when they are cleaning, having lunch and spending recess. I do not think this setting is proper for teachers from the beginning.

Nowadays those teachers also need to take care of students' private matters that have not been taken cared of by their parents. I remember my own homeroom teacher was struggling with this and he had never given us opportunities to learn or teach the importance of life and emotional experiences etc. So, considering the above all, I think his students are very lucky to have valuable life learning experiences each day.

 

[kalibex]

Buddy said:

Have you had a chance to check out Gurdjieff's work yet? Chapter 4 of In Search of the Miraculous would provide a wonderful background for a valuable discussion of this topic, OSIT.

I've started on that book, but not gotten to that chapter yet. When I do, will add a further reply.

Is this related to your group that you mentioned in your first post by any chance? Just wondering.

No. The group I referred to may have been an instinctive attempt to 'network' (albeit on a small scale) by folks with a growing interest in the esoteric, or it may have been an arranged manipulation from beginning to end, or something in between. I don't have enough knowledge to say at this point.

Looking back, I think my motive for posting this was mostly "Look! Candle in the darkness?", wishful thinking though that may be, as well as a way to put my toe in the water, so to speak, regarding posting here.