The preschool teacher/YIkeda

I interviewed to my mother. She is 54 years old strong woman. She has a strong belief. She is working for home care aid now. Before that she has worked in preschool that took care of babies for 26 years. I’m interesting in her because she works two different jobs and both of them are very contrastive, but they have a similarity.


What dose the word women mean to you?

Uh…m, it’s a difficult question. Well, for me the meaning is that to born children and to raise them. And, loving the children. Also as a woman, I can tell them about feminine opinion. So I think women would have the role of telling about women’s original ideas.

Can you tell me a story about challenging as a woman?

Ye~s. It was long story… from my childhood. When I was elementary school student, my father died. Then my mother raised me and my siblings alone while she was working on the land steadily. That time, I was just a little girl; however I thought I had to help her as her older daughter because she seemed to be hard. For the reason, I wanted to get a job properly and I wanted to help her as an independent person. So after I graduated high school, I began to study about the child care because I liked children!!! After years, I took the qualification of preschool teacher, and then I worked in a local preschool. I worked in there for 5 years, and then I got married with my husband and moved to husband hometown. At the first, I found a new place that I could work, but there was nothing place. When I bothered, I heard that a hospital would plan to make a preschool for their nurse. So I joined the project, and the other member and I gathered money and we built a small preschool. At the beginning, the preschool was precious! Because there was the only one place that took care of the suckling. I worked there for 26 years!!! All the time I had proud of my job and I felt it was a worthwhile job. However, for declining birth rate, the preschool was closed on March, 2004. The occurrence has already passed for 3 years… Although I lost the job, I heard that the hospital would make a facility that takes care of elderly. So immediately I took the qualification of home care aid. Then I worked the facility. Now, I want to study more about the care so I would take the qualification of care worker that is the professional qualification.

Do you have any memory as preschool teacher?

It was the graduation. I took care of children between suckling and 3 or 4 years old little boy/girl. They could speak although still be falteringly until they graduated… but it was marvelous and amazing things. And as the same time, they became strong, wise, and more human during those short terms through many experiences. So I was always moved when they graduated. It was my best memory.

How do you thing what is differences from preschool teacher and home care aid?

Uh… I think both of them related with human. So, both of them need to respect and support. However, the case of preschool teacher, I took care with thinking about future. Children are filling of hope. On the other hand, caring for elderly, I don’t want to say that… but they can enjoy and satisfy their rest of life. So I support to them with thinking about how enjoying and satisfying, for instance I talk with them and play together.


I think she is a really strong woman. She still keeps her strong belief that she want to be an independent person and she is trying to take a new qualification. So I feel really proud and respect her. From the intervieaing, I got her power. I also want to try my life.