LCA国際小学校がまだ低学年校舎と高学年校舎に分かれていた頃、廊下に尊敬する人物についてそれぞれの児童がまとめたものが掲示してありました。

　その中で池上彰さんを尊敬するとして写真とともにその理由が英語で書かれているものが目に留まりました。そのとなりは歌手の石川さゆりさん、これも写真とともに掲示してありました。確か当時4年生の男だったと思います。

 　池上彰さんはNHKの「週刊こどもニュース」のお父さん役で、世界の出来事をお父さんの立場でやさしく解説していた方です。知見の広さや常に現場に足を運んで取材する行動力、そして何よりそれをやさしく解説できる力は素晴らしいと私も思っていました。きっと池上解説を家族で見て話をしている家庭なのだろうと想像できて、嬉しく誇らしく思ったのを今でも覚えています。

 　一方、尊敬する人物は石川さゆりと堂々と書いて掲示した男の子も素晴らしいと思いました。また、背景には「石川さゆり」と書いても冷やかされたりしない校風があるからなのだろうとも思えて、学校自体も誇らしく思えました。

 　池上彰氏と並んで私が尊敬していた人に田原総一郎氏がいます。池上氏の「週刊こどもニュース」も田原総一郎氏の「サンデープロジェクト」という日曜朝の討論番組も2010年に放送を終了しています。この二人は難しそうな出来事をやさしく解説できるところが素晴らしかったのですが、なぜこの二つの番組が同じ年に放送を終了したのか、そこに時代背景があるように感じます。

　サンデープロジェクトの後は「サンデーモーニング」というどちらかというとバラエティー風の番組に変わっています。司会の太田光氏も洞察力があり面白いのですが、タレントを何人も登場させないと視聴率が取れない風潮には何か寂しさも感じています。

 　最近になって池上彰氏の解説する番組が増えたように感じます。大人だってそんなに物事を分かっている人ばかりではありません。池上氏のやさしい解説を必要としている人は沢山いると思います。私もその一人です。

 　公民の授業で政治経済を学ぶより、今この時に起きていることを池上解説で学ぶ方が遙かに生きる力になるなあと思っています。

　特に、経済が滞っている現在、政府はいくらまでならお金を出せるのか、そのお金はどこから来るのかなど、疑問を解決しながら生きた学習をして欲しいと思います。

～See below for the English version

In the past, when LCA was divided into a building for lower level grades and another for higher level grades, students decorated the hallways with information about people that they respected.
Among those that they respected, a write up on Ikegami Akira, complete with a photo and information about him written in English, caught my attention. Next to him was famed singer Ishikawa Sayuri, also with a photo and write up of her own. If my memory serves me correct, both were chosen by boys who were in G4 at the time.

Acting as the fictional father of a family of five on the NHK program, “Shunkan Kodomo News”, Ikegami explained important global topics to children in a fashion that was warm, and easy to understand. Whether he was at the news desk, or reporting live on scene, I have always thought that his delivery was second to none. I still remember the joy of imagining how his explanations were watched by families throughout Japan and then discussed as a household.

On the other hand, I also thought that the boy who chose Ishikawa Sayuri made a fantastic presentation. It made me proud of our school that he was able to honestly write about a singer of a different generation and be respected for his decision.

Alongside Ikegami Akira, Tahara Soichiro is another person who I deeply respect. 2010 saw the end of both Ikegami’s “Shunkan Kodomo News” and Tahara’s debate program “Sunday Project”. Despite both men being capable of breaking down information with such ease and skill, both of their programs came to an end during the same year. Why is that? I have a feeling there is some historical background that merits looking into.

The successor to “Sunday Project” is a program called “Sunday Morning”, a news program that, no matter how you look at it, is heavily influenced by the variety format which has found favor in the last decade. Although the main presenter, Ota Hikari, is insightful and amusing in his own right, I can’t help but feel that the rotating cast of TV personalities is nothing more than a grab for higher ratings.

Now a freelance journalist, the number of programs on which Ikegami is a guest commentator seems to be on the rise. Surely, adults also see the benefit of his easy to understand style when it comes to today’s current events. Many believe that his unique ability to break down information is vital in today’s world. I am among them.

In my opinion, Ikeda’s teachings and knowledge on current events hold more weight and will live longer than anything we could possibly ever learn from a standard lecture on politics and the economy.

In particular, with the currently stagnant economy, many are left wondering how much money the government can come up with, and where that money would come from. There are many questions I would like to see addressed and broken down in such a manner so that we are able to learn as much as possible.