二年级年级集会——思考多数派与少数派
今天，我们举行了二年级的年级集会。
这一次，由二年级年级主任老师为大家作了主题讲话。
老师首先讲到了自己过去在圣卢西亚生活两年的经历。
当时他以青年海外协力队成员的身份前往当地，用英语给孩子们上科学课。
圣卢西亚是一个以黑人居民为主的国家。
彼此之间都觉得对方“很新奇”。
大人们通过日本汽车多少了解一些日本；
孩子们则是通过游戏和动漫，与日本建立起了联系——
这些都成了非常有趣的故事。
另一方面，也发生过一些让人忍俊不禁的场面。
例如，当地老师一本正经地问他：“日本是不是有忍者？”
这样的对话也让同学们会心一笑。
但是，老师说，除了有趣的经历，也有很多令人深思的事情。
例如，有人听说“日本人会吃生鱼”，就露出非常嫌恶的表情，
让人感觉自己的文化好像被否定了一样，心里很不是滋味。
又比如，在街上走路时，有人冲着他喊“Yellow！（黄种人）”，
他感到很生气，顶了回去，那人却回答：“可你不就是黄种人吗？”
在这些场景中，他强烈地感受到彼此在感受与立场上的差异。
在圣卢西亚，十万人左右的人口中，当时日本人只有大约十个。
作为少数派，老师也经历了各种各样“不太舒服的瞬间”。
于是老师说：“这样的结构，在日本、在北稜中学同样可能存在。”
在这里，日本人是多数派。
而当身处多数派时，人往往会在不知不觉中，对少数派变得“非常不在意、非常迟钝”。
能不能意识到这一点，本身就非常重要——老师向同学们发出了这样的讯息。
老师还谈到了“日本人很亲切”这句常听到的话。
他指出，当你真正走向世界，会发现每个国家都有很多亲切、善良的人，
日本并不是“唯一特别亲切”的地方。
所谓“日本人很亲切”，有时只是我们在这个世界里相对狭小的日本这片土地上，
在“自己是多数派”的前提下，对自己作出的评价而已。
也许正因为身处多数一方，有些看不见的东西，就更不容易被察觉。
最后，老师希望大家能够在班级、在年级这个日常生活的场景中，
重新确认一下：自己的言语和态度，有没有在无意间变得“没神经、不过脑”？
集会的最后，二年一班的班级委员也上台发言。
二学期的到校日只剩下四天。
“请大家踏实地完成作业，度过一个充实而美好的寒假”，
在这样的寄语中，本次年级集会画上了句号。
关键词：二年级、年级集会、圣卢西亚、多数派与少数派、人权、刻板印象、寒假
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【English】
2nd-Year Grade Assembly – Thinking About Majorities and Minorities
Today, we held a grade assembly for the second-year students.
On this occasion, the second-year grade head teacher gave a talk.
He began by sharing his experience of living in Saint Lucia for two years.
At that time, he was there as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, teaching science in English to local children.
Saint Lucia is a country where the majority of the population is Black.
Although people on both sides saw each other as “unfamiliar” or “unusual,”
adults there knew something about Japan through Japanese cars,
and children felt a connection to Japan through games and anime.
These episodes were both interesting and eye-opening.
On the other hand, he also experienced some moments that, while funny on the surface, raised deeper questions.
For example, one local teacher earnestly asked him,
“Japan has ninjas, right?”
It was the kind of comment that made everyone laugh, but also showed how limited images can be.
The teacher said there were also experiences that were simply hard to take.
When people heard that “Japanese people eat raw fish,”
some reacted with an expression of strong disgust,
which made him feel as if his culture itself were being rejected.
While walking down the street, he was sometimes shouted at with “Yellow!”
He felt angry and talked back, only to hear,
“Well, you are yellow, aren’t you?”
Moments like these made him acutely aware of just how different people’s perspectives can be.
In Saint Lucia, out of a population of around 100,000,
there were only about ten Japanese people at the time.
As a member of a tiny minority, he experienced various forms of discomfort and unease.
The teacher then said,
“This kind of structure can also be found in Japan—and even here at Hokuryō.”
In our school, Japanese students form the majority.
When you belong to the majority, you can, without realizing it, become surprisingly insensitive toward those in the minority.
Noticing this—and reflecting on it—is extremely important, he stressed.
He also touched on the often-heard phrase, “Japanese people are kind.”
Once you actually go out into the wider world, you realize that
there are kind, warm-hearted people in every country,
and Japan is not uniquely kind or special in that sense.
Saying “Japanese people are kind” with great confidence may sometimes simply reflect the fact that we live within the relatively narrow frame of Japan,
where we ourselves are part of the majority,
and thus do not easily see what others might be experiencing.
At the end of his talk, the teacher asked students to reflect on their daily life in their classes and as a grade:
to check whether their own words and attitudes might be thoughtless or insensitive, even if they do not intend any harm.
To close the assembly, the class representative from Class 2-1 also spoke.
There are only four school days left in the second term.
With the message, “Let’s work steadily on our assignments and prepare to enjoy a good winter vacation,”
the second-year grade assembly came to an end.
Keywords: 2nd-year students, grade assembly, Saint Lucia, majority and minority, human rights, stereotypes, winter vacation
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