When I saw this, I felt sad and worried. I remembered something I read in a book called “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman. He won the Nobel Prize. In his book, he wrote:
“Your actions and feelings can be changed by things you don’t even notice.”
He reported about a famous experiment. People were given a list of words to read. The words were about old age, like “old,” “gray,” and “wrinkly.” After reading these words, something surprising happened. The people started walking more slowly! They also bent their backs like old people. But here’s the strangest part: they didn’t know this was happening to them.
This experiment shows us something important. We think we control our minds, but we don’t always. The things we see and hear change us without us knowing it. Information doesn’t just go into our heads – it actually changes how we think and act.
This is why I was worried about the TV drama. Millions of people watch this show. They see violence every day. What does this do to their minds? We should be careful about what we watch, read, and listen to.
I called NHK and told them about my worry. They said they would tell the people who make the show.
I don’t know if my call helped, but something interesting happened. The next week, the show changed completely. Now the bullies and the victim were drinking together like friends. Maybe this was going too far in the other direction!
Reading books in English can give you new ways to think. Kahneman’s book opened my mind like this. I have found other books that did the same thing.
For example, I read “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” after I came back from studying in America for one year. This book helped me understand my experience in America. It also helped me see how “Japanese” I really am.
Another book that changed my thinking was “Why Buddhism is True” by Robert Wright. He studies how the mind works. Reading his book felt like a small enlightenment experience.
I hope you will keep learning English. When you read English books, you can have these same eye-opening experiences. Books can change how you see the world in wonderful ways.
私立学校に英語教師として勤務中、40代半ばに差し掛かったころ、荒れたクラスを立て直す策として、生徒に公言して英検1級に挑戦することを思い立つ。同様の挑戦を繰り返し、退職までに英検一級（検定連合会長賞）、TOEIC満点、国連英検SA級、フランス語一級、スペイン語一級（文科大臣賞）、ドイツ語一級、放送大学大学院修士号などの成果を得る。
アメリカで生徒への対応法を学ぶ為に研修（地銀の助成金）。最新の心理学に触れた。4都県での全発表、勤務校での教員への研修を英語で行う。現在も特別選抜クラスの授業を全て英語で行っている。「どうやって単語を覚えればいいですか？」という良くある質問に答える為、印欧祖語からの派生に基づく「生徒には見せたくない語源英単語集」を執筆中。完成間近。常日頃洋書の読破で様々な思考にふれているが、そうして得た発想の一つを生かして書いた論文がコロナ対策論文として最近入賞。賞品の牛肉に舌鼓をうっている。元英検面接委員