My first teaching position at a reputable college opened up a few
doors. Occasionally, I was asked to participate in a speech contest,
acting as one of the judges. I recall one such event sponsored by Kyoto
University School of Medicine. As medical students, quite naturally,
these are arguably some of the brightest and most gifted young minds in the
country, and their presentations would clearly unmask their unlimited
potential. Inspiring topics such as “How medical technology can change
the world” or “The future of Cryogenics” were just some of the possible
subjects my co-judges and I were eagerly looking forward to hearing. As
the program was about to begin, we settled into our seats with raised antennas
that stretched to the ceiling.
When the first students began, instead of enlightening us with
ideas of their intellectual wizardry, they instead spent the entire afternoon
enthralling us with uninspiring topics as Why I Like Shopping, My
Trip to Disney World, and my all time favorite, Spring Cleaning My Room.
The judges just paused and looked at each other. Was this some kind
of joke? If it was, the joke was on us. These were the first
topics introduced at the beginning of what would become an extremely long day
as each successive presentation continued to mirror the first. Some of
the topics managed to be even less inspiring. We kept asking ourselves
how in the world can the brightest and best students in the country lack such
imagination and drive? It was a question that would linger for years,
but would largely come to represent my overall experience in dealing with
Japanese people in their homeland.
Comments
Post a Comment