The whole lesson was quite long, but this will be the conclusion part.
There have been instances of praise causing changes in society.
Here's one such example.
Rather than attempting to reduce traffic accidents by cracking down on drivers, telling them "Don't do this!" or "This is not allowed!", are you aware of a movement that is reducing the number of traffic accidents through praise?
They deploy patrol cars - "Praise Patrol" - that praise drivers for good driving habits, or allow you to praise drivers for driving well by sending them email called: "praise-mail".
Truly a movement that seeks to reduce traffic accidents through praise.
The movement began in 2009 in Aichi prefecture, in response to the 277 traffic fatalities that year.
It was ranked as having the highest number of fatalities in the nation for 5 years in a row.
In order to prevent further tragedies, its citizens and NGOs came together and started a campaign to praise individual drivers.
Whenever someone is praised, they'd think "Wow, I want to do that again!"
And as a result, the number of traffic fatalities in Aichi prefecture, witnessed a drastic decrease in comparison to the previous year, with 197 fatalities.
With this, the 5-year trend of having the most traffic fatalities in the nation was broken.
5 years ago, the number of traffic fatalities had surpasses 350, and now the number of fatalities have decreased by over 150.
"Praising" made a huge impact and led to these results.
The power of praising is amazing!
The same old sights around you, the everyday things you take for granted,
they're all the tangible result of many people's efforts to help others and the environment.
If you live your life applauding all the everyday objects and people around you,
your world will begin to shine brightly.
The person you praise will feel happy,
and you will also feel happy in turn.
This is "Pachipachi"
Do you now understand the importance of applause?
Let's hear a round of applause once again!
Go ahead and clap!
*applause*
And so... in conclusion, I'd like you to take this thought home with you.
Always have applause in your heart.
Arashi no Wakuwaku Gakkou ~5 Lessons to Make Every Day Shine Even Brighter~
A lesson on 「Pachipachi」
- by Sakurai Sensei
When things doesn't make sense at all:
Pachipachi : Imitative noise for the sound of people clapping.
Arashi no Wakuwaku Gakkou : Arashi's Exciting School
Some facts:
Arashi no Wakuwaku Gakkou, was a charity event held in June (if I'm not mistaken) 2011 at Tokyo Dome as a support to the victims of the Tohaku Earthquake in March of the same year, replacing the supposedly planned concert there.
Credit:
To the lovely Ninjas at PIKA*NCHI Subs. All these are NOT MINE.
