Engaging Sincerely and Expanding the "World." | Manabiba Student Staff Interview

What is Manabiba to Kanoha?

-- Kanoha, thank you for joining us! First of all, what kind of place is Manabiba to you?

A spiritual home is how I would describe it.

-- I see. What does that mean?

At Manabiba, there is a sense of security, like being protected by something. A hometown is a place you can think back on, right? I find myself thinking back on the students who came to Manabiba, the students I built Manabiba with, and the working professionals.

-- I see, why is that?

Perhaps it's because of the process of talking and thinking a lot about the students' lives and my own life together with other students and working professionals. Also, I feel like I got inspiration and energy from interacting with the students. That's why sometimes I suddenly wonder, "What is everyone doing now?".

-- I see! I hope the students get to experience that feeling of thinking back on someone too.

Why Manabiba?

-- Why did you decide to join Manabiba, Kanoha?

It started because I wanted to do some education-related activity using my final time as a student. At that time, I resonated with Manabiba's concept of "expanding the world.".

-- I see. Why is that?

It relates to my own original experience, but I actually transferred from an urban area to a rural area when I was in junior high school. When I lived in the city, my parents took me to various events, so I had many opportunities to experience culture, but after transferring to a rural area, those opportunities and places were gone.
Thinking back on it now, I think I might have been able to broaden my perspective and imagine my future more if I had had more of those opportunities, so that might be why I resonated with "expanding the world." Because of that experience, I studied sociology of education at university.

-- So, based on your own experience, you were interested in the "gap between urban and rural areas" in education.

What was an impressive experience at Manabiba?

-- Among all that, do you have any impressive experiences at Manabiba?

It would be when a junior high school student asked me, "Please tell me the significance of studying sociology."

-- Why was that impressive?

I was shocked to witness the student's motivation to learn. I was overwhelmed in a good way. (Laughs) But maybe I was a little happy that such a child existed.

—I was overwhelmed. (laughs) Anything else?

Yes. Another thing was that I had a sense of the issue, and I witnessed firsthand how difficult it is for students to broaden their perspectives. When I asked the students what jobs they wanted to do in the future, almost all of them only came up with the professions of their family members or the adults around them, and I felt that their perspectives remained narrow. That's why I wanted to help expand the students' "worlds."

—I see. Increasing the number of professions and job types they know is one way to "expand their world," isn't it?

What did you gain at Manabiba?

—What kind of things were you able to gain at Manabiba, Kanoha?

Perhaps how to communicate with people in different positions.
I myself usually tend to avoid asking people about things that are too personal. But when I thought about wanting to expand the students' worlds or wanting to provide some kind of trigger or impact, I decided I didn't want to run away. I think I was able to feel that I wanted to engage with the students sincerely as "one person to another."

—I see. So you were able to engage with them sincerely.

That's right. So, rather than being overly considerate of the other person, I may have also acquired the boldness to ask about things I'm curious about.
Because I had that kind of personal change, I think that's why I'm thinking about the students as I mentioned at the beginning. I'm glad now that I have such people in my life.

How is your experience at Manabiba being applied to your daily life?

—So, after Manabiba ended, are there things you feel you are applying from your experience here to your daily life, Kanoha?

Regarding "influencing someone," I used to think about it negatively, but I've started to view it a bit more positively. That might be because I was able to have the kind of sincere, deep communication I talked about earlier, and I found people I care about. I realized that maybe I don't have to be so afraid of stepping in. I want to try to have this kind of communication in my daily life little by little!

Also, I think I'm starting to view my current job at an advertising agency, which involves influencing others, more positively as well.

—I see. So there's been a change in how you perceive your daily life, including your work!

Who would you recommend this to?

—Finally, who would you recommend Manabiba to?

Someone who can engage with others sincerely, I suppose.

—I see, thank you, Kanoha!