水川小学校には、生まれで約半年の赤ちゃんと親に学校に来てもらい、6年生の子供たちと一緒に過ごしてもらう授業がある。①授業は月に1回、全部で3回行われる。一人の赤ちゃんとその親と生徒二人がグループを作る。各グループのメンバーは毎回変わらない。命を大切にする心や親に感謝する気持ちを育てることが目的だそうだ。
実際的に見学させてもらった。授業の前には、生徒たちは赤ちゃんと過ごすときの注意点や抱き方などを習う。それでも、一回目の授業で初めて赤ちゃんが来たときは、みんな不安そうな顔をしていた。
初めは、赤ちゃんを見ながら、お母さんに赤ちゃんの名前や一日の生活について聞いているだけだったが、しばらくすると、あちこちから「わあ、かわいい。」「あっ、笑った。」などという声が聞こえ始めた。そして、赤ちゃんに触ったり、抱いてみたりする生徒も出てきて、だんだんにぎやかになった。中には、赤ちゃんを笑わせようとして泣かれてしまう生徒もいた。
2回目からは、生徒たちは赤ちゃんに会うのをとても楽しみにしていた。そして、会うたびに②びっくりしていた。1か月見ない間に、赤ちゃんはとても大きくなり、よく動くようになっていたのだ。
授業の後には、「柔らかくてこわれそうだった。」「守ってあげなきゃと思った。」「お母さんたちはミルクをあげたり、おむつを替えたりして、忙しそうだった。」「私のお父さん、お母さんも大変だったんだろうな。」などの感想が出た。
生徒たちのようすを見ると、③授業の目的がきちんと伝わっているようだと感じ、いい授業だと思った。
AI translation, cross-checked between two models.
Mizukawa Elementary School has a class in which babies about six months old and their parents are invited to the school to spend time with sixth-grade students. ① The class is held once a month, for a total of three sessions. One baby, one of the baby’s parents, and two students form a group. The members of each group remain the same every time. The purpose is said to be to foster respect for life and feelings of gratitude toward one’s parents.
I had the opportunity to observe the class in person. Before the class, the students learn things such as what to be careful about when spending time with a baby and how to hold one. Even so, when the babies came for the first class, all the students looked nervous.
At first, the students simply watched the babies and asked the mothers about the babies’ names and daily routines, but after a while, voices could be heard here and there saying things like, “Wow, so cute.” “Oh, the baby smiled.” and similar remarks. Then some students began touching or trying to hold the babies, and the class gradually became livelier. Some students even tried to make a baby laugh, only to make the baby cry instead.
From the second session onward, the students really looked forward to seeing the babies. And each time they met, the students were ② surprised. In just the month since they had last seen them, the babies had grown a great deal and become much more active.
After class, students made comments such as, “The baby was so soft that it seemed as if it might break.” “I felt that I had to protect the baby.” “The mothers looked busy feeding the babies milk, changing their diapers, and doing other things.” “My father and mother must have had a hard time too.” and other similar comments.
Watching the students, I felt that ③ the purpose of the class had been properly conveyed to them, and I thought it was a very good class.
Comments