I've been getting into my new online education course, titled: Meeting the Needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners. I was hoping this course would give me insight into what life for Lucy would be like in the classroom after moving here. In reading the text's own attempt to clarify its labels for people (Latino/Chino/Hispanic? Oriental/Asian? etc), I was reminded of a dilemma I had in one of my university classes last year. In the middle of a class debate on the resolution, "Japan should ease immigration laws to allow more foreigners to enter the country," one student was trying to support the resolution by explaining the great number of cool people who were a Japanese-foreign "mix," touting their accomplishments and good looks. When talking about these people, however, she kept using a word I couldn't make sense of. Part of the problem was the infamous "r" and "l" pronunciation problem, but what she said sounded like MOHNGULELL. When I asked her to write it on the board, what was written and made me gasp was the word, "mongrel." Yikes! This was the word that came up in her Japanese-English dictionary for the colloquial term, "Half," to which children like my sweet daughter are often referred. At the moment, I couldn't give her a good alternative word. Somehow, "mixed" seemed too simplified, yet, "people of mixed heritage or parentage" was a troublesome mouthful.
Today, in my reading, I was introduced to the newest, hip term some kids of "multicultural backgrounds"(the PC word these days) like to refer to themselves. HYBRID. Sounds kind of technical or molecular, but modern enough and easy to spit out in a conversation. I think I will adopt it for both myself and Lucy until she wants to come up with an even hipper metaphor.
So, those of you who bother to read this may tire of my ramblings for a while, but I think I will continue to share some of my new online-fed insights and analysis here. What kept returning to my pondering today was, how do I continue to teach Lucy her Japanese culture. In Japan I had often said, "If people are going to call her a HALF, I want her to know and identify with both halves of her identity." Now that she will forever be asked to hyphenate herself as a "Japanese-American," I want to continue teaching her the good aspects of both sides of that hyphen. How? Why? ...to be continued in another posting.
（英語の方が長いけど。。。今日は大学の勉強は為になった。日本にいる時、娘Lucyの事はたまに「HALF」と呼ばれた。「半分」の意味である単語ので、あんまり好きではなかった。しかし、もと良い言葉は中々思いつくなかった。ある日、熊大の学生が「MONGREL]の言葉を使って、びっくりした。「雑種犬」の意味であるので、電子辞典を見せてもらった。載っている！その日も私は中々「HALF」の変わり使える言葉は考えなくて困ってた。でも、やっと、今日の勉強の中で、最近にアメリカの「HALFかMIX」の若者は自分が「HYBRID」と呼んでいるらしい。「HYBRID」と聞いたら科学的な物みたいけど、格好いいし、言いやすいし、すっきりじゃない？とりあえず、使ってみよ！どう？
また、ここでこの話題が続くかも〜。 アメリカに来ても、Lucyの為にも自分の為にも日本の良いところは頑張って忘れないように。どの言葉で表してもLucyはHalfかHybridかJapanese-Americanと呼ぶなら、出来るだけ半々で育って行きたいな〜。頑張ります！
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