My Opinion about "Graying Society"

Hi! I’m Mariko Fujihara from Keio University. Just call me Mariko. I’m a student of literature, especially specializing in modern English novels.
At school I’m taking teacher-training course other than my major.
The other day I visited an old-aged home in Odawara to look after the inhabitants, which is one of the obligations to gain a teacher’s license in Japan.

For 5 days I had to do many things which were the first experience for me; the assistance with meals, taking bath and using toilettes. Besides, I was perplexed to see elderly people who had Alzheimer’s disease. At first I was at a loss not to know what to do about nursing care, and not to know about how to communicate with elders. Nevertheless, I tried to speak to them as possible, even though sometimes I was ignored. As time went by, they spoke to me little by little and told some stories to me. I was immensely touched to know that they finally opened their hearts to me.

My experience at the old-aged home made me think of the issue about “graying society” in Japan quite a lot. I look into the issue from cultural and educational standpoints. I would not lament the decreasing population in Japan. It’s because we have great human resources, the large number of aged people, who now have time and energy to give their help to the community. Schools have been criticized in that they’re not open to the community. I think they should be more open to volunteers, that is, aged people with various rich experiences, skills and specialties to pass on to the younger generations. It’ll enrich our culture.

In my view, able-bodied people rarely know how to act toward the disabled elderly or old people who cannot communicate. Many are usually embarrassed by those who are physically or mentally impaired. Unfortunately, our society provides neither any real help for those who are handicapped (I’m not quite sure whether ‘handicapped’ is a suitable word or not) nor a place to which they feel they can usefully belong and contribute their skills. To make matters worse, plenty of people who are not disabled are unprepared for coming into contact with the disabled. But we should recognize the elders as ordinary people and should not ignore them. On one hand, there is no need to stare at them but on the other hand, it’s hurts them if we look away in embarrassment.

In addition, we should always respect their independence and not rush in to help them. If we want to help them, we should ask them precisely what we can do for them. Finally, we should appreciate what they can do in the community. There are many things they can do to be of use to society. And they often have different and valuable insights to offer.