Should we make 24 hour child-care center?

Moderator: Angelina

Agree

Laura: Her family is double income and work over night, so she needs a 24 hour child-care center. 

Mac: Taking care of children is important. He works over night, so he needs it too. Also, he thinks the government should help it.

Disagree 

Bella: It's difficult to be admitted by government. She doesn't think the government will support it.
Jack: He has a child and lives with his grandparents. He thinks we should rely on our relatives.
Tama: It's dangerous. She thinks baby-sitting is better than child-care center.

They can't rely on child-care center's stuff. Safety is the most important.

Questions/audience
•Does the center have an age limit?
•who is the manager of this center?

Consensus
We suggest that citizens of Apollon make 24 hour child-care center, and government should reconsider the budget in order to give aid to them.

Final comment
The good point is that they stand up when they talk. It's easier to understand their opinions. Taking care of children is important, so I think the government should support it too. If they make child-care center at each office, it will be nice to parents who works late at night.

We should prohibit students from working part-time job.

There is no age limit for working part-time job, and no support from government for education now, so they think we should make a law about it. Also, students mean junior high school students and high school ones here.

Moderator: Carol

Agree
Finnian: Students need to concentrate on studying and club activity. If students want to work, they can do it after graduating.

Hanna: Studying is the most important for students. If they earn money by theirselves, they will get everything they want and won't obey to their parents.

Kofy: Students should focus on studying and reading. She is a writer and wants them to read many books in their students life. She was the one who got interested in writing when she is a student and  has gotten the job now. They get knowledge from reading. She is afraid that their studying time will decrease by working a part-time job.

Disagree
Lucus: He doesn't go to school now, because he doesn't have much money for that. He worries about children who are like him. Some work to live, so he thinks making a law is hard for them.

Allie: Working outside is a good opportunity for students to learn the importance of money and to help family's income, to make some friends.

Consensus
Junior High Schiol Students have to get permission from their parents and school when they work part-time jobs. Each school can choose from making a part-time job club or providing students part-time jobs so that they can control. All students can work, but there is a rule that they have to be home by 10pm.

Final comment
I think making a law was hard because it depends on schools or parents or students. But there were many good opinions in this discussion.

Can we submit a bid to host the Olymipc?

Moderator: Sara

Agree side
Emily: If we hold the Olympic n Apollon, many people come here. They will bring us benefits. Also, it's a good oppotunity to advertise Apollon.

Isabella (I): I'm a high school student and a cheerleader. I would like to join! I think young people are interseted in Olympic, especially, sports players. If we can join and held the Olympic in Apollon, their spirit or motivarion will be up. It's good for their future. Also, they may have more interests to Apollon and other countries.

Lucy: Holding the Olympic is a good way to exchange with other countries. Also, our economy and the image of Apollon will be better.

Disagree side
Sofi: Big problems are money and places.

Ashelly: She also worries about money and places. It costs much to gather players all over the world and to build a stadium. Also, there were some evidences that some countries couldn't success and they got the red.

Opinions and Questions/Audience
1. The scale of Olympic is too big for Apollon.
2. Why don't we have a smaller event like a Sunflower Marathon?
3.Money is the bigges problem, how can we overcome that?

Consensus: We hold a Sunflower Marathon on Sunflower day.

Final Comment
We could make it to the consensus that has the points of both sides this time. The biggest problem of this topic was obviously, money. I didn't think well about how to overcome it. Main purposes of holding the Olympic in Apollon for me was to communicate with foreigners and make young people think better for Apollon and their futures. In the end, the scale got smaller than I exspected, but still I can accomplish them, so it was good. I wish I could say my opinions more clearly. Also, I want to thank to the audience for good suggestions.

Should we introduce sales tax system?

Moderator: Kate

Opnions/Agree
Anna: Government can't get money easily but needs much money for reducing national debt and introducing Apollon, for example, Sunflower Festival.

Alex: She needs money for her son's education.

Disagree
Rie: It makes gap between low income people and high ones and it is not fare. Also, it may cause defletion. Why don't we introduce corporation tax or income tax?

Amy: She is a doctor, so when she buys big medical instruments, it costs a lot. Also, our income won't change so if we introduce sales tax system, our burden increase.

Rachel: If we introduce sales tax system, low income people have difficulty to live. Aslo, she worries that tourists may decrease because of high tax.

Questions and Opinions/Audience
1. What kinds of tax system do we have now in Apollon?
→Residence tax etc... but no sales tax or income tax
2. Tax rate
→3%
3. How do we know who is rich or poor?
→Government research

Consensus
We have oppotunities to introduce sales rax and income tax but haven't decided yet.

Final comment
I got confused from the meaning of sales tax and consumption tax. I didn't know that there were tax system besides income tax and sales tax. I think those two systems are the most important so I agree with introducing them, but they needed more imformation. As Rovert said, their discussion sometimes stuck. I couldn't get what they really wanted to say.

Let's make point-system in Apollon

Information: 

•if people do something good for Apollon, they can get points in your card and they can use points with the card.

•money for the system is given by the government 

•if we get all your oks, we'll discuss 1. How we can collect points 2. Where can we use them 

•we'll permitted to make the system by the government already. 

•we'll make a website about the system and we'll call for volunteers. I ask them to make an application before. 

Moderator: Belle 

Discussion1: How we can correct points 

Jack: •Tour guide volunteer (need to take a program to gain knowledge of tourism. 

          •participate in photo contest at Sunflower Festival 

Tama: stuff for Sunflower Festival 

Mac: buying goods made in Apollon 

Angelina: recycle box 

Questions/Audience 

•How do we use them? 

Discussion2: Where can we use them 

Jack: •public transportation fee 

         •charges for public service 

Mac: shopping mall (using points as money)

Angelina: it's not good to use points for hobby or amusement 

Final comment: I felt like there were only few people talking during discussion. I'm not sure  this system would give us benefits. I think good will (volunteer) is important but it is not supposed to payed off. Panelists give us whole new idea, it was quite interesting.

We should make a national holiday, Sunflower Day

Information: Now, there is no national holiday. Sturday and Sunday are holiday.

Moderator: Lucus

Opinions/Agree; they want to held a Sunflower Festival on Sunflower Day.

Finnian: Sunflower is a charactor of Apollon, if we make a national holiday and held some events, Apollon will develop.

Kofy: As long as we live in Apollon, we sould be aware of Apollon. People tend to forget about symbol of Apollon; sunflower. We should unite as one nation by a national holiday.

Allie: She wants to make a national holiday to be like a Thanksgiving.

Disagree; agreed with making a Sunflower Day but not having events.

Carol: She is worried about money, places and people when we held some events. Also, She worries for students who will lose their school day. She thinks Saturday and Sunday are good enough. It's possible that making a national holiday on weekends.

Hanna: Using sunflower for introducing Apollon is good, but young people are not interested in sunflower, so if we held some events, many might not come. Also, she thinks that making some vagetable would be better than making much sunflower.

Questions and Opinions/Audience

1. What is the difinition of Sunflower Day?

Consensus: We make a Sunflower Day on the last Saturday of July and held a Sunflower Festival.

Final comments: I regarded as a Sunflower Day to not a holiday but a special day, because holidays are supposed to be get a day off. I thought their discussion ran off sometimes and made me a little confused, but ovarall, making a holiday will be good for Apollon's people. They did great jobs!

Do we associate with other country?

Background: Apollon's main industry is tourism, but tourism is unstable, because it's depends on visitors from the other countries. We think if a number of visitors decrease, our economy would be bad. Considering of our future, we decided to have a backup plan; to associate with other country.

Moderator: Emily Thoma

Opinions/Agree
Lucy: Associating with other country is good for Apollon's development. We can know the other country's culture. Also, our business grows wider and we can introduce Apollon more.

Ashly: There are good points on associating with other country. We can learn technology from the other country and help each other when disaster occurs.

Sara: She is a photographer, so she wants to enjoy the other country's photograph.

We can let people who live in the other country know Apollon by trading.

Disagree
Sophy: We've lived our lives without it so far, so if we associate with the other country, there would be some problems.

Isabela (me): I'm worried about losing our culture by associating with the other country and a war.

We should develop our tourism by ourselves or focus on not only tourism but the other business. For example, having events such as Apollon's day. We sould make visitors amuse and satisfy more.

Question from the audience:
1. What's the merit of the other country?
2. Why tourism is unstable?

Consensus: we should try to have asociation with other country for developing our tourism.

Final comments: I got confused by contents of association. Also, we needed more examples. We tried to think about living better life in Apollon, but we ended to make audience some confused, so we should've talk about it more specifically with backgrounds.

Should the elementary school students have their own cellphones?

Background: 50% of elementary students have their own cellphones now.

Moderator: Anna Jones

Opinions/Agree
Amy Green: Cellphone is a good crime prevention for children. Children need it on their way to school or back home. But parents need to teach correct way to use it to their children from their age.

Alex Bell: Since she has a son, she thinks that elementary school students need to have their own cellphones. Actually, her son has one. She and her husband are double income, so they have to leave their son alone at home. They're always worried about him. But thanks to a cellphone, they can keep in touch any time, even if emergency or natural disaster happens. Also, GPS helps children preventing crimes.

Disagree
Rie Chein: Cellphone is not good for children's eyes. Playing on a cellphone is wasting of time, also it's unhealthy.

Kate Hail: It's a wasting of time on playing a cellphone. Children sould rather know how to communicate with people.

Rachel Williams: The internet is dangerous for children. Also, having a cellphone costs some.

Audience: Do you want to make a rule?
Answer: we want to make a rule when elementary school students use their cellphones.

Consensus: We should make family rules depends on their situations.

Final comments: I think its hard to make a rule about having cellphones for elementary school students, because it depends on their parents or situations, and there are many kinds of cellphones. I'm not sure that thier discussion was success or not, because they didn't make any differences from the beginning to the end. Maybe they should have thought of living better lives for all people in Apollon and should have thought of background's detail. But overall, they did great jobs. I could understand what they want to say.

Should we use a soular energy instead of a nuclear energy?

Moderator: Isabela Horan
Panelists:
Ashley Turner (female, model, 23 years old, have a twin sister, celebrity)
Lucy Walter (female, librarian, 30 years old, have a boyfriend and will get married soon)
Sara Cooper (female, photographer, 26 years old, single, have a dog, love nature, hate crowd, hobby is walking)
Sophie Dawson (female, entertainer, 16 years old, have a boyfriend called Austen, have a concert in NY soon, hobby is shopping, love animals)
Emily Thoma (female, singer, 24 years old, single but have a boyfriend who is an actor. hobby is cosplaying)




Opinions/Agree
Lucy: A solar system can save energy. She will be getting married soon, so she is worried about her children in the future when a nuclear give a damage to them.


Ashley: A solar system is cheaper than a nuclear one in a long term. It only costs for the first time. She thinks that a solar system can save energy too. She is worried about a damage to their environment.


Sara: A nuclear is harmful for humen and nature. Also, it has a risk, for instanse, a radiation problem. It has nothing happened so far, but she is worried about the future.




Opinions/ Disagree
Sophie: If they built a solar system, it would be needed a large space. For that, they have to kill nature and many plants. There are many rare plants in Apollo and many people come to see them, so if the palnts would be gone, it would affect to main industry in Apollo.


Emily: A solar system is unstable and depends on weather. She is a singer, so when she has concerts, she needs much energy. If the energy was unstable, it would affect to her job and life.


Opinions/Audiance
1. Why did you guys choose a solar system though there are other systems like a wind power or a geothermal power?
2. Why don't you guys try to campaign for saving energy?

Consensus
They think that a solar system is not good enough for them now, so they keep using a nuclear power until they find a better system to live better lives. Also, they try to listen to what people who live there think of it.






Final comments              
It seemed that they just picked a solar system randomly. They should have thought about it deeply.  Yet, in the end, they realized it and think about their future more wisely, so I think the discussion was a sucsess. Listening to the citizens' opinions more lead them to a better idea.

Childhood

 We had a presentation about our childhood.

I talked about my special memories when I was a child. I was born in Aso and I grew up with nature and wonderful people. I still remember that when I was a fifth grader, I had my birthday party with my friends and built a house at parking lots. Also, I played many sports with my siblings.

Kana: She talked about how she has changed. She was shy when she was a child, but when she entered junior high school, she turned to cheerful and powerful person. She tried to keep smiling and talk many people, think positively. But her hobbies have never changed. She’s liked reading, relaxing at home since then.

Strong point: She talked about her picture she brought and she described well.

Taiga:  He talked about how he has changed. He was such a bad boy when he was a child because he teased girls and made them cry. After entering junior high school, he switched schools three times, so he was struggle with making friends, but after joining a club, his life changed. He became a president in junior high school. Since then, he has been cheerful and powerful.

Strong point: His tuning item was a comic book called “SLUMDUNK”.

Nozomi: She talked about how she has changed. She learned many things when she was a child. For example, she had lessons of English, piano, swimming and calligraphy. She liked learning something new, but she didn’t like practicing, so she quit some of them. Also, she liked taking care of younger children and wanted to be a nursery teacher like her mother, but now, she wants to be something else and realized that practicing is so important to be good at something.

Strong point: I could tell that she wanted to learn something new.

Rina: She talked about how she has changed. When she was a child, she was tall and active. But when she entered junior high school, she got bulling from her classmates. From that time, she became negative and shy, and didn’t like human being, so when she was a high school student, she didn’t make many friends. But now, she feels time goes by so fast and tries to think positively and move forward.

Strong point: She had sad memories, but she became stronger.

Chiaki: She talked about how she was when she was a child. When she was taken pictures she was doing back peace, because that’s the only thing she could do at that time. Since she was a child, there is something that she’s liked to join. It was a festival called “BOSHITA”. She likes dancing and having fun with her family and friends. Recently, she couldn’t join, so she’d like to join. 

Strong poit: Boshita is so memorable event for her. 

Best Friends

We had a presentation about our best friends. 

First, I am going to talk about my best friend.
I and she are from Aso, and we've been friends for more than 15 years.
We had studied English together. 
She is so active and kind. She works for a kindergarten in Thailand now.
Even we are apart, I always think of her and respect her. 

Takahiko

Best Friend: Rikuo
He is energetic and funny. They've been friends since junior high school students.
His best friend went to study abroad when he was a high school students. 
They are planning to go back to Nara by hitchhiking.
Strong point: When his best friend came back from studying abroad, he felt same feeling as used to and could get along well again.

Chihiro
Best Friend: Mai
She is active and smart. She lives in Saga now.
They've been friends since high school students.
She can talk to her everything. 
She wants to invite her to Kumamoto as her birthday present.
Strong point: She can talk naturaly after while and be relax when she with her best friend.

Yoko
Best Friend: Risa, Tomohiko
They are from Amakusa and they've been friends for more than 10 years.

Risa: When Yoko met her for the first time, she was very cool and Yoko didn't think they could be best friends, but she is like an older sister for her now. She learned from her that she should not judge from first impressions.

Tomohiko: He is smart and goes to Waseda Uni. They know each others personality well.
Strong point: It's not awkward when they don't talk. She likes the feeling.

Ayaka
Best Friend: Miyuki
She is active and funny. She's lived in Nagasaki.
They've been friends for more than 10 years.
She was a transfer student to her school.
For her, she is her teacher because she gaves her good advice and has a lot of experiment.
Strong point: They went to have fun in an island before they entered their high school.

Ai
Best Friend: Risa
They've been friends for 7 years.
They used to belong to same tennis team in junior high school.
She knows her best friends' feeling. 
Strong point: They've had fights many time, but they get along well.

Self-improvement

 We had presentations about self-improvement.

 First, Suzuka talked about her confident. She wants to have more confident to approach everything. To be more confident, she said she needs to obtain knowledge and try something new. Also, she needs to experience a lot and learn from the fails. When she talked about herself, she didn't see her paper much. I think she could talk with her eye contacts and smile. From her presentation, I could get her energy.

 Second, Nagisa talked about her brave and smart and funny. To be brave, she said she needs to challenge new things. To be smart, she needs to have interests, good judgements and a lot of experiences. Also, she strongly wants to be a funny person because she wants to make people happy. When she talked about herself, she used some pictures. It made us easier to understand what she meant. And I thought it's a good way to be funny to make people happy.

 Third, Takahiko talked about his eating habit. To improve his eating habit, he said he needs to reduce the number of times eat out and do homework earlier to have a chance to cook. Also, he wants to have three meals a day. I thought his ideas of improvement was clear and simple, so it was easy to understand. Also, I need to improve my eating habit, so I'm agree with him.

 Next, Nozomi talked about her confident and methodical and good time manager. To be confident, she said she needs to study harder and practice many times. To be methodical, she needs to pay attention and keep things clean. To be a good time manager, she needs to reduce the waste times and think the order of priorities. When she talked about herself, she was very calm and her ideas were clear, so I could understand well what she meant.

 This time, I will talk about my self-improvement. I want to be more successful. To be successful, I think I need to use time successfully and take actions.
 
Lastly, Rin talked about her confident and smart. To be confident, she said she needs to work on something in all seriousness and know herself well. Also, she needs to not listen to others criticism. To be smart, she needs to experience a lot. I also could get her energy from her proper volume of voice and smile and eye contacts during  her presentation. And I thought she has own strong opinions.

Nice to meet you :)

I'm Koharu Iwanaga.
I'm from Aso. I want to study hard and enjoy this class!

Hello!

Hello!