「黒い水事件」から公害のないまちづくりを学んだ子どもたち

抄録

  This study aims to clarify children’s learning experiences during “kogai” (pollution environmental disruption) studies using the “Black Water Incident” as the main teaching material. “Kogai” is represented as a “difficult past incident” related to human suffering. Reexamining the educational value of “kogai” is essential because its study encompasses environmental education. This study considers the example of Urayasu, which has thrived in the seaweed and shellfish farming industries since the Meiji era. However, due to rapid economic growth, the “Black Water Incident” occurred, when pollution caused by wastewater from a paper factory caused enormous damage to the fishing industry. Moreover, Urayasu’s fishing rights were abandoned due to the Tokyo Bay Large-scale Development Project which developed the area as a tourist city. This study analyzed the fifth-grade social studies class video and the children’s worksheets at an elementary school. The findings show that children could associate the meaning of the “kogai” with the people of Urayasu through their views and ideas acquired as evidence when understanding the essence of the material. Therefore, the study of “kogai” does not focus only on social structure but also people’s experiences. The bird’s eye view of the spatial configuration of the subsequent development of towns to protect the environment can help us learn properly about the experience of people who lived through “kogai.” This study may pave the way for new paths of Japanese moral education.