Fukuzawa returns to us the notion of independence and self-respect not only by exemplifying both qualities in his own actions, but also by largely insisting his students follow in near-perfect alignment. . However, as a father, Fukuzawa is more lenient towards his children. By prioritizing good health above all else and striving to ensure strong immediate family ties, he expresses great partisanship towards his family. Even though her main goals were from different angles, her goal was the same, focusing on independence and self-respect. In both institutions (family, students), however, he strongly insisted on the feeling of equality between his children and his students, without excluding himself. Everything he taught them was aimed at elevating them to another level that ancient Japan would not have reached. He wanted his children and students to think for themselves omitting the teachings of Confucian beliefs. For him, Confucianism was an oppressor, because it discouraged people from thinking individually or being independent. He knew that Japan could not stay away from international affairs forever, so he thought it was worth at least teaching those in his school, as well as his children, the things that would make them more aware of what is happening around them and would keep their eyes towards the stranger. rather than nationally in their ranking in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay When Keio-gijuku (the first school with a modern organization) was established in 1868 (the first year of the Meiji era), there was a period of very, in our terms, the Conservative Japan. People were upset about the impending government changes. There was a constant struggle between the shogun and the imperial court regarding Japan's non-involvement in international relations. The Shoguns, according to the imperial court, were not moving fast enough to eliminate Western ideology from Japan. The imperial court then viewed the Shogun as both disloyal and slow to respond to Western domestic influence. By this time, a number of clans had decided to aid the imperial court by taking a violent but rigid stance towards anyone who was pro-foreign or showed any sympathy towards Western ideas or people. As a result, Fukuzawa had to maintain his own perspective while trying to be nonchalant in the eyes of those who opposed the West. His school was the only school of mainly Western ideas and would in the future become the only school specializing in English as the main language while conventional Japanese still sought the Chinese language and was considered prestigious. In the walls behind Keio Gikuju, Fukuzawa wanted everyone to be main. focusing on education rather than respecting people's ranks, as the Shoguns emphasized. He had preferred that, unlike anywhere else in Japan, his school did not submit to respect for ranks and classes associated with prejudice against others. According to Fukuzawa, this partly explains why Japan is not moving forward. He said Japan's old traditional ways were holding back progress. The Japanese people had lived under oppressive social restrictions for centuries and had acquired the habit of passive obedience. In directing these people toward a more active life, the injunction not to bow was the first step. This implies that bowing is the first step towards submission and that asubmissive person cannot be independent but rather depends on the status or attitude of others. Also, to have self-respect, you must not consider yourself inferior to others. There is yet another incident where the law changed, allowing everyone to ride horses, regardless of the rank of anyone they might have passed on the street. A farmer comes across Fukuzawa while riding his horse. Because he is a farmer, he could not do it under the old law, but at the time of the event it was legal. He did not know this, for he was not educated, and he immediately jumped off his horse in great fear. Fukuzawa was devastated by this and told him to get back on, as there was no reason why he shouldn't be allowed to ride his own horse. From this incident, Fukuzawa understood the importance of being educated, as the poor man did not even know the law. He personally preferred to treat all men equally, as was the case with his parents during his youth. Fukuzawa firmly believed that Japanese education should be independent of Chinese influence. His reasoning was as follows: I believed that Chinese philosophy, as the root of education, was responsible for our obvious shortcomings; he reasoned in itself that Confucianism discouraged independent thought and studies of number and reason in material culture. He thought this was another setback Japan faced. Because Confucianism left no room for individual creative philosophy, it actually oppressed it and, of course, Fukuzawa was against any oppressive ideology. Although very disciplined, Fukuzawa's students never really strayed. In one case, schools were forbidden from scribbling anything. At one point there was a young man's lamp scrawled on it. When Fukuzawa noticed this, he asked the man what the reason was behind the scribbles and the young man insisted that it was not his work. Fukuzawa then punished the young man by making him throw away the old lamp and get him a new one because he (the young man) had been acting foolish and allowed someone else to scribble on his lamp . Fukuzawa had great control over his youth and he did not need to have higher status or inflict cruel punishments to achieve results, such as when the imperial court made a mistake (allowing the violent actions of the clans ). When it came to the immediate family, he was a much more liberal in the sense that he was not fanatically determined to educate only his children as some conventional Japanese were. He never pushed them to read and instead waited until they were 5 or 6 years old before he began teaching them to read and write. He never gave rewards for things that were supposed to be done. For example, he said he never praised his children for reading a book. As for other things as worthless as doing well in gymnastics and things like that, he would give them honorable attention. It was because of his feelings about independence. Learning is something you must pursue for yourself. If you wait to be rewarded, then are you independent or dependent? Within his large family, he considered it essential to maintain close family ties. He encouraged equality within his household, starting with himself. He didn't care about higher titles or special treatment from his family because he was the man of the house. On the contrary, he asked that there be no secrets between the family members present in the house. He also felt a strong feeling of love for his family. Here we.