The Heart of Japan...

You can tell a lot about a culture by the way they care for the weakest in society.  One of these weak groups is special-needs children.  My son goes to a government nursery school for such children.  Today they held a graduation ceremony for those moving on to elementary school or regular kindergartens.  They had a slide show for each graduate, with a teacher talking about all the ways each child had grown and improved.  They gave out certificates, sang a special song, and had the graduates walk out (though most were in wheelchairs) with confetti coming down.  In the classrooms afterwards, each teacher gave a heart-felt speech, and then presented the students with albums of the crafts they had done, a card with special photos, flowers, little cakes and more.  Several of my son's teachers cried.  One young male teacher literally wept.  I could go on even more about the mothers there, from whom I received notes and gifts, who are an inspiration to me.


Now, maybe they do the same exact thing in America and many other countries, and I surely hope so.  But there is something pretty wonderful about a society who treats these little ones so.  In Japan, childhood is the ideal time of life, and this school went out of its way to create happy childhood memories for the children and maybe especially for the moms.  A lot of other stuff goes on here...some of it really funny to an American.  But today I had the privilege of seeing the heart of Japan.  It made me want my little Japanese son to be proud of his country one day.


Oh, I guess I have to give some kind of marketing insight...okay, Japanese love to wear black semi-formal attire to every major event, from weddings to funerals to nursery-school graduations.  They love to dress up in general and haven't gone grunge yet...another good thing about this country!  www.noah-digital.co.jp/english/