第227回目のポッドキャストのテーマは「つらい学校生活を乗り越える」です。今日のエピソードではクリステンとカイが子供の頃の学校体験談について会話を続けます。クリステンは具体的に苦手だった教科について話をし、カイは学校でいじめられたことを打ち明けます。二人がどのような学校生活を送ったのかを聴いてみましょう。

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会話内容「つらい学校生活を乗り越える」

【Kristen】That was the thing too. And then, um…just none of the subjects were very…I—I hated math. I didn’t…

【Kai】Oh…

【Kristen】I was bad at math, terrible at math.

【Kai】Oh…

【Kristen】Even now, I, like can barely count. But like, science too, and then…I was always—I was always strongest with, um English and literature and like, those kinds of classes. But, you know, schools I feel like, usually put more emphasis on math and science.

【Kai】Yes.

【Kristen】So I had a really hard time. And so, I was like…I would, like—I cried a lot.

【Kai】Right.

【Kristen】And like, I had a hard time like, keeping up. I always got good grades but I worked very, very hard for them.

【Kai】Mm.

【Kristen】Especially when it came to math. I would stay after school every day, like get help from my teacher, and like—it was just really frustrating a lot of the time. But actually I have one math teacher who I think made a huge impact on me.

【Kai】Oh.

【Kristen】Um, in my third year of high school…

【Kai】Mm.

【Kristen】…because I was taking—it was like, geometry, or something. I was just doing terribly and having a really hard time. And I would, like be at her classroom after school for an hour every day trying to, like bring up my grade and, like do well.

【Kai】Mm.

【Kristen】But um, one thing she told me that, like… “Everyone has different strengths.”

【Kai】Right.

【Kristen】“Some people just aren’t made for math, and that’s okay.”

【Kai】Mm.

【Kristen】“So you’re just the type that’s not made for math. You’re made for languages.”

【Kai】Mm, right.

【Kristen】“You’re made for literature, reading, and English and foreign languages. And that’s great. Go with that. When you get to college, it’s going to be much better. So just try to get through this and it’ll get better.” So that really helped me and made realize—‘cause (because) I feel like the school system makes you feel like if you’re not good at everything, you’re a failure.

【Kai】Right.

【Kristen】You’re not—you’re just no good.

【Kai】Right, right.

【Kristen】So that made me feel really stressed and bad about everything. But then, after that, I was like, “That’s true. It’s okay that I’m not good at math.”

【Kai】Right.

【Kristen】 “’Cause I am good at French.”

【Kai】Right.

【Kristen】‘Cause I took French for four years and I was also taking Japanese and Mandarin, um so…and I was doing really well. Like, top of the class in all of those. So I’m like, “You know what? That’s good. That’s okay.” So that really helped me a lot and it got—it did get better in university, but I still had to take a lot of general education classes, which I hated.

【Kai】Right.

【Kristen】“More science? I have to pay for it! It’s terrible.”

【Kai】(laughs) Yeah.

【Kristen】So it was just like, “Why?”

【Kai】Yeah.

【Kristen】But, yeah. So it’s so different. I’m always like surprised to hear that you were so, like…

【Kai】(laughs)

【Kristen】…into it while I…

【Kai】I mean, there was a period where it was a little dark.

【Kristen】Mm hm.

【Kai】Um…I mean, this doesn’t really happen in the America school side, more towards the Japanese school side.

【Kristen】Yeah.

【Kai】Like, being half-Japanese…

【Kristen】Yeah, yeah, yeah.

【Kai】…I got bullied a lot, so it was a really dark time for me.

【Kristen】Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can see.

【Kai】And I used to cry a lot.

【Kristen】Mm.

【Kai】But as I got older, like, you know, my mom would, like talk to me about it.

【Kristen】Yeah, yeah.

【Kai】Tell me, “You know, you can’t change who you are. You can just change how you feel, so…”

【Kristen】Yeah, yeah.

【Kai】“…just keep, like going for it and…”

【Kristen】Yeah. That’s good. That’s good.

【Kai】“…don’t give up.”

Questions of the day（今日の質問）

1. What two subjects did Kristen dislike in school growing up?
   クリステンが子供の頃、学校で好きではなかった2つの科目は何ですか？
2. Summarize the words of encouragement Kristen’s teacher gave her regarding school.
   クリステンの先生が、学校に関して彼女にかけた励ましの言葉を要約してください。
3. What negative experience did Kai have in Japanese school growing up?
   カイは日本人学校でどんなつらい経験をしましたか？

 

Answers（解答）

1. She disliked math and science.
   彼女は数学と科学が好きではありませんでした。
2. Kristen’s teacher told her that some people are more skilled in certain subjects than others, and that there was nothing wrong with that, and that Kristen should focus on what she was good at: language.
   得意・不得意は人によって違って当たり前なので、クリステンは得意な語学に集中するよう、クリステンの先生は言いました。
   
3. He was sometimes bullied at Japanese school.
   彼は日本人学校でいじめられることがありました。

 

Summary（要約）

Kristen and Kai continue talking about their experiences in school growing up. Kristen began the discussion with her feelings towards the different subjects in her school’s curriculum.
クリステンとカイが、子供の頃の学校生活について議論を続けます。クリステンが、学校のカリキュラムにおける様々な科目について、感情を込めて話し始めます。

Kristen generally disliked math and science in school. She often struggled with both and although she earned good grades in those subjects, she had to work very hard in order to earn them.
クリステンは学校で、数学と科学が好きではありませんでした。どちらの科目も成績は悪くありませんでしたが、そのために必死で勉強しなくてはなりませんでした。

One of Kristen’s teachers, who helped her with her math, gave her some words of encouragement. This teacher told Kristen that not everyone is suited for math, and there is nothing wrong with that. Kristen was gifted in studying languages, and she did well in Japanese, French, and Mandarin.
そんなクリステンに、ある数学の先生が、「全員が数学に向いているわけではないし、それはそれでいい」と、励ましの言葉をかけます。クリステンには言語の才能があり、彼女は日本語、フランス語、中国語が得意でした。

Although Kai enjoyed school growing up, there were some times of difficulty for him. Being half-Japanese himself, Kai was occasionally bullied by other students at Japanese school. But his mother told him that he can’t change who he is, only how he feels.
カイは子供の頃、楽しい学校生活を送っていましたが、つらい時期もありました。ハーフである彼は、日本人学校で他の生徒からいじめられることがあったのです。しかし彼の母は、「ハーフであることは変えられないけれど、感じ方は変えられる」と彼に言いました。

 

Phrases of the day（今日のフレーズ）

1) Put emphasis on（〜に重点を置く）

何かに重点を置いたり、何かを重要視することをput emphasis onと言います。Putをplaceやlayに置き換えてplace emphasis onやlay emphasis onと言うこともできます。また、「非常に重要視する」はput great emphasis on、「あまり重視しない」はput little emphasis onのように、emphasisの前に形容詞を置いて、強調したり逆の意味にしたりすることができます。

2) Keep up（ついていく）

Keep upは「遅れずについていく」という意味の表現です。ジョギングで仲間のペースについていく、といった物理的な速度を指す場合だけでなく、会話の内容やテクノロジーの進歩についていく、といった場合にも使うことができます。

• 「〜についていく」は、keep up with____の形をとります。

3) Not made for（〜に向いていない）

Not made forは、苦手なことについて話す時に使われる口語表現です。否定文で使われる傾向がありますが、肯定文で使ってもOKです。

• その他、not cut out forも同じ意味を持つ口語表現です。

4) Go with（〜にする）

Go withは、複数ある選択肢の中から何かを選ぶ時に使える日常表現です。ある提案やアイデアに同調する時に、「Let’s go with that.（それにしよう！）」と言ったり、レストランで注文する時に、「I’m going to go with a hamburger.（ハンバーガーにしよう）」と言います。

5) Get through（乗り切る）

Get throughは、状況に応じて様々な意味を持つフレーズですが、今日の会話では、つらい出来事や困難を何とか「乗り切る」ことを表します。

 

Vocabulary（単語）

• Barely・・・ギリギリで・何とか
• Frustrating・・・イライラする・もどかしい
• Geometry・・・幾何学
• Bully・・・いじめる

Expressions（表現）

• Terrible at ~・・・〜が苦手
• When it comes to ~・・・〜のことになると
• Make a huge impact・・・大きな影響を受ける
• Bring up grade・・・成績を上げる