高校の部 2位
柏木　杏（山脇学園高等学校）

One for All, All for One

 Let me ask you a simple question. Can you see me smiling? I think most of you will say yes. For me, "I don't know" would be the answer. I would say, "I can't see your expression. Can you describe it to me instead?" I have what is medically known as "low vision." With my glasses, I can only see about a meter in front of me. This unfortunately cannot be fixed with surgery, and I've had this condition since I was born.
 There are many types of people in the world, but it seems that society was created for the majority. I feel this every day. In the future, I want Japan to be a place where the disabled and abled support each other.
 People could tell others about their disabilities, or whatever other weaknesses they have, and everyone would accept them. They could assist each other when they needed it, and they would have places to use and heighten their abilities to their full potential. People with visual disabilities, for example, may not be able to be someone's "arms or legs," but they could be the "brains" of the operation.
 To achieve our goal, we need to change the education that schools give. I've heard the term "Inclusive Education" on TV, and researched if further. Basically, it means that all students, regardless of whether they are disabled or not, take the same classes. All students are able to receive extra assistance if it is needed. I think this will help both the disabled and abled students as they can learn from each other. Disabled students can get extra help from abled students, which means their communication skills increase. For abled students, they learn to accept differences, and to help others when they are in need. A good example is when people tell me to "look over there." I usually can't see what they are seeing. This could be solved by telling me specifically where it is. You could say, "The flower right next to the tree on the right," instead of just pointing to it and saying, "That." This technique is also effective for the abled since they explain things more clearly, and they can cut down of the amount of miscommunications with people around them.
 However, the disabled need to adjust their attitude as well. Some disabled people go to a special school to learn with people who are in a similar situation. For them, it is easier to get help. To these people, inclusive education may seem like a scary thing to do. I believe that those people who have been in a more "sheltered" environment are limited, and that is keeping them from reaching their full potential as an adult in the world. I have gone to an "abled" school, and my experience has been successful. I explained my disability at the beginning of the school year using specific examples to help with the understanding of my condition. Making the speech itself wasn't easy because I had to describe something I'm already used to. As soon as I finished my speech and sat down, a girl sitting next to me said, "If you have anything you need help with, just ask me." We became friends over the next few months. I usually helped with her English homework and communication, and she helped me whenever I couldn't see something. By the end of the year, we were best friends, and she would always tell me when there was a set of stairs coming up, or she would read me signs that I couldn't read.
 To summarize, I want Japan to be more approachable to people with disabilities. To achieve that goal, we need to change our education system, and we all need to alter our mindset. I've researched about "the International agreement on the rights of disabled people," and it says that disabled people have the same rights to be included in society as everybody else, and that disabled people are to be respected for who they are. This aligns with my objective of everyone working together, and it shows that the all of the world is already working towards this goal.
 I believe we can start making a change now by helping others around us, and by learning ways to explain what we are like to the world. If everybody paid just a little more attention and had an "All for one, one for all" attitude, Japan definitely would change for the better.