Lesson:
BLACK – The Sad Truth
We have a heavy one today. Recently, a student asked me what I thought about the George Floyd murder and riots in the United States. About 20 years ago, a white American English teacher here in Japan said I was ‘racist against your own kind’ for marrying a Japanese woman. Imagine a white American in Japan, where he is a highly visible minority (so visible he glows in the bleeping dark), making racist comments. He thought he and I were somehow the same. At the time, he did not know I am an Irish Catholic Canadian, which excludes me from being one of ‘his kind.’ Thank God for small miracles. America is probably the most racist nation on earth and, undoubtedly, the most racist Western country. This cancer permeates every level of society from Trumpy on down. Racism, although it exists everywhere, is not natural. It is a learned response to fear. From my point of view, the only thing that all Americans have in common is racism. Why? And what are they so afraid of?
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Example Article
Each conversation topic is based on a theme. In order to help students acquire a basic understanding of that topic, four media articles are provided for them to read. I will never test you on the articles, but I strongly suggest you book lessons far enough in advance to give yourself enough time to properly prepare. The better prepared you are, the more benefit you will receive from our conversations.
Below is an example article for this conversation topic.