Social Welfare and Change Programs

Published on January 2017 | Categories: Documents | Downloads: 92 | Comments: 0 | Views: 575
of 2
Download PDF   Embed   Report

Comments

Content

Social Welfare and Change Programs
There is a long-standing ethos of support for education, public safety, and public health, which have been government priorities
since the nineteenth century. However, many aspects of social welfare continue to be the responsibility of families, communities,
and other social groups. Traditionally, villages were organized around mutual assistance, and cultural norms still encourage social
groups to take care of the needs of their individual members. Care for the elderly was traditionally a family responsibility, but it has
become an enormous public issue because of Japan's rapidly aging population and the decline in multi-generational households.
Socialization
Infant Care. Infants and young children are doted on, and child rearing is a considered a very important responsibility for women
in their twenties and thirties. Many women give birth to their first child after little more than a year of marriage, and married couples
without children are uncommon.
Child Rearing and Education. Child rearing involves a high degree of physical and emotional interaction between mother and
child; fathers are less involved. Traditionally, sons were favored over daughters, and the oldest son was raised quite differently
from the other sons. Particularly close bonds between oldest sons and their mothers were not uncommon. In modern urban
nuclear families, close psychological ties between mothers and children are extremely common.
Childhood socialization is guided by the widespread belief that a child is a passive and malleable being; innate talent or ability is
less important than is its being properly shaped, particularly by maternal influences. These attitudes carry over into the early years
of education. Differentiation of students by academic ability does not take place until the end of elementary school, and the
emphasis in primary education is on social integration, self-discipline, and the fundamental skills of reading, writing, and
arithmetic.
Read more: http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Japan.html#ixzz3mR0NpV8A
A Japanese Folklore
“Mother knows best.”
A mother’s love is priceless and can never be compared to other things that a child could have. Through experiences she gained
wisdom and out of it she will always guide her loved ones and give them the best of her soft heart.
The story of the Aged Mother is a folklore from Japan, it tells a story about the care and wisdom of a mother to his son, their
situation and the son’s love and tender reverence. The story took place at Shinano, in the foot of a mountain where the mother and
her son who is the protagonist, lived. The mother was already old and widowed while his son was a poor farmer. The son was a
reflection of a very good child having a very loving mother. The antagonist in the story was the ruler who boasted his power and
ordered unreasonable things. The conflicts were divided into separate related parts resulting to an episodic plot. It started from the
first part of the story when the antagonist ordered to kill the elderly. It is a man vs. man conflict as seen throughout the story where
the tension lies between the son and the ruler.
The ruler ordered to kill all the aged people in the province. The son loved his mother so much and so upon hearing the
proclamation he was filled with sorrow and hopeless sighs. He doesn’t want his mother to die in the hands of the bad guys and so
though it was very painful for him, he had to carry his mother to the mountain called the mountain of the “Abandoning of the Aged”

and leave her there. The trail to the mountain was steep and puzzling. They reached the summit and there they bid farewell. The
mother warned his son about the dangers in going down and said that he should follow the path were he can see piles of twigs to
avoid being lost.
“Let not thine eyes be blind, my son… The mountain road is full of danger. Look carefully and follow the path which holds the piles
of twigs. They will guide thee to the familiar way farther down”—- These were the lines that were delivered by the aged mother to
her son. These only show the perfect love of the mother.
But the son did not abandon his mother; he cried and carried her mother again. He hid his mother in beneath the kitchen floor, a
closet inside their house. After some days, the ruler through his heralds announced to the people that his subjected people should
present him a rope of ashes. No one could really make a rope of ashes and in great stress the son told his mother about it and the
mother was able to come up with an idea. She told her son to make a rope of twisted straw and stretched it upon a row of flat
stones and burn it on a windless night. In this part of the story the wisdom of the mother was shown. The protagonist managed to
made one and so the ruler was impressed. Because of what the son did, the ruler changed his mind and from that time he knew
the importance of the elders in the society, leaving the saying, “With the crown of snow, there comes wisdom!”
Mainly the theme of the story evolves in two subjects; the love of family member to each one specially the mother’s love and the
wisdom that she has gain through decades of experiences. Realism was used as a literary trend because characters are real
people and the setting is familiar and current. It contains a lesson and the language used was not too deep to understand.
In the first part of the story the strong and unconditional love of a mother was reflected and the son’s concern to her as a mother.
That though they are incomplete and they faced hardships in life, still they managed to support each other and stay together.
In the latter part of the story when they made a rope of ashes, wisdom and obedience were manifested. The wisdom of the
mother, of being able to think and come up with an idea and the obedience of the son. It covers the fact that elders have
experienced a lot of things and they gained wisdom as the result of learning simply stating that they can be one of the richest
sources of advice and lessons in life. Then leaving a benchmark that they should not be disregarded. It was because of the
wisdom of the mother that saved her son and the people, truly saying that as we grow old and as our hair whitened, wisdom
comes along—“With the crown of snow, comes wisdom.” https://carlspages.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/the-story-of-the-agedmother-a-literary-analysis/
What was the cruel proclamation that was sent out by the governor?
What was the principal food of the poor?
What was the principal food of the poor?
What was the feeling of the son when he brought his mother onto the top of the mountain?
What is the name of the mountain?
When did they arrive at the mountain top?
What did the mother worry about?
Did the young man obey the strange rule?
Why did the young man felt the burden was very light on his way back home?
Where did the young man hide his mother?
Who helped the young man overcame the challenge given by the governor?

Sponsor Documents

Or use your account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Forgot your password?

Or register your new account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link to create a new password.

Back to log-in

Close