This is the true story of one man's past and the family that weaves through it.
Taking the Tokyo University entrance exam without cram school! Child-rearing experiences of a family at the bottom of the pyramid
7 episodes, postscript
reality
Whether you are interested in this story or not, thank you so much for reading!
Initially, I was reluctant to tell my story.
What image do you have of the word poverty?
No one has a good image of them.
I have always had a strong negative image of poverty as shameful, miserable, and deplorable, and I felt that to be open about it was to expose myself to the shame of my own life.
That is how much "darkness" that has accumulated since childhood does not disappear so easily.
But I am not trying to brag about my poverty or talk about poverty.
What I want to tell you is [reality].
We cannot choose the environment in which we are born, nor can we choose our parents.
All people grow up in a given environment.
What is important in this context is how to live in the real world.
We have no choice but to live in a society created by man.
Whether we don't like it or not, we have to live within that framework.
Growing up in a poor family without a father, I experienced many things as an adult, and when I eventually had children, I was confronted with a reality that was far from happy.
I thought I was free to do as I pleased and enjoy my days, but I had no money, no education, and no weapons.
Can such a person raise children who will live in the future?
Without even enough money to live on, they can't break even.
The more I think about the future, the less hope I have for the future, and I can only see a future where I will suffer the same poverty I did in my childhood.
I thought many times that I wanted to die with my whole family.
But a baby in front of me grabbed my index finger with an innocent smile.
This child has just been born and the future can be changed in any way.
Do not let your parents inherit the poverty they created.
If parents and children work together, we may be able to break out of this current situation.
I have no choice but to put everything into keeping my children alive rather than my own future, which has no future.
Can you or can't you? It is not a question of can, but must!
I have been working with this thought until now, but I am more than happy to say that I have been raising my children.
I have raised my children with this in mind, but [growing up with them] is a more accurate term.
I think parenting is the only chance for parents to grow.
The more desperately you think for your children, the more you will grow as well.
It must be rare because I have never seen or heard of a case like mine.
That is why I am writing my autobiography, in the hope that these experiences may be useful to others.
Admissions Policy and Educational Policy of Todai
My son is currently studying for the entrance examination for Tokyo University, and the admission policy of Tokyo University states.
I was astonished to see this.
Why?
This is because the admission policy of the University of Tokyo and the educational policy I followed with my son were of the same nature.
The fundamental idea is the same in how to differentiate yourself from others and acquire non-cognitive skills, which I have been doing since elementary school.
The same was true when I was accepted to a public junior and senior high school without cramming.
You don't need to study to get in there.
If what you are doing is genuine and you have the necessary skills, you can handle it.
Yeah, I knew it. That's right. Because we, parents and children, are not seeking an academic background, but are learning to survive in this society, if we pursue that, it will happen naturally.
There is no way that someone as poorly educated as I am could have raised my son knowing the admission policy of Tokyo University, and I only saw this after my son decided to apply to Tokyo University in the winter of his first year of high school.
Twelve years ago, I was not taught by anyone, but only thought about making the best use of my children, which was the essence of learning [the search for self].
People think that the [royal] route is the only correct route, and if you stray from it, they may feel that you are an oddity or an imposter and look at you with a white eye.
Some people greedily seek their own strength and try to drag down those who are trying their best by saying "It's impossible anyway" or "It's a waste of time.
However, none of those people will ever come up on the same stage.
No matter how much people laugh at you, no matter how much you get in the way, if you are serious about doing something that means something to you and it is the right thing to do, believe in yourself and go straight ahead.
The autobiography I am currently writing is the story of my childhood up to my son's entrance exam to Tokyo University and is over 350,000 words long.
If you are interested in this story, I am sure you will like it, and I am not sure how I will present it to you, but I would be happy if you would read it.
