2月25日（金）に中学3年ではスピーチコンテストを行いました。
先日中学1年生のレシテーションコンテストの様子をレポートしましたが、本日は中学3年生のコンテストの様子を紹介いたします。

中学3年のコンテストも中学1年と同様に一般生の部と帰国生の部の2部構成で行われました。
一般生の部は、予選を勝ち抜いた10名の生徒が、帰国生の部では同じく4名の生徒が、各自で作成したスピーチを披露します。

一般生、帰国生ともに圧巻のスピーチでしたが、目を見張ったのはその内容です。
社会的な問題を独自の視点で見つめ、自分の意見を論理的に構成し盛り込んだスピーチは見事の一言でした。

一般生の部のスピーチの中から、最優秀賞に選ばれた生徒のスピーチ原稿を掲載いたします。

My Ambition
“Japan’s agriculture is in decline!” What do you think when you hear this?
This is a “fact” that many people understand. If you live in the city, you don’t have a rice field in your backyard, or near your house, so I think it’s hard to imagine.
I was born and raised in Tokyo, but for some reason, when I was in the sixth grade of elementary school, I began to think that I wanted to be involved in agriculture.
Three years ago, in the school newsletter of the elementary school. They asked sixth graders, “What is your dream for the future?” What do you think I wrote? I wrote that I want to be a farmer. What do you think of a sixth grader’s dream of being a farmer?
On the day when the school newsletter was distributed, my friend’s mother called my mother on the phone. She said, “Your daughter wants to be a farmer? Isn’t she out of her mind? She studied a lot after school, went to cram school, and got accepted at Senzoku Gakuen, the best girls school!” My mother said, “No she’s not. She’s not a farmer in your image…” My mother and I were very close. So she knows what I really meant by saying that I wanted to be a farmer.I have omitted too much on the news letter. What I meant was that I wanted to support the development of agriculture, but my friend’s mother took it to mean that I wanted to move to a countryside where it’s quiet, clean air…grow vegetables…
Now as I said, I want to “support the development of agriculture in Japan.” There are many ways to support it, but I want to support it by using biotechnology. There is also why I want to make full use of biotechnology.
Have you ever eaten “Amaou”? When I ate for the first time, I lost my back. It was so sweet!! I love strawberries, but I was amazed that such delicious strawberries exist in this world. At that time I was still in the middle of elementary school, and I asked my mother, “Why is Amaou so delicious?” My mother told me, “They improve the quality to make them more delicious. It’s not just strawberries. For example, grapes, apples…and other fruits.”
At the moment, I felt the romance of agriculture, and I thought, biotechnology can create a new product not just produce it but bring happiness to our daily life. In addition, improved quality makes them easier to grow and less susceptible to disease.
Therefore, my ambition is to use biotechnology to make Japanese agriculture more interesting and attractive, and to support the development of Japanese agriculture.

一般生、帰国生の双方が良い刺激を受け、英語力向上と社会的な問題に対する視野を広げることへの決意を新たにした、大変良い機会となりました。