Associate Professor Ryo Uchida

Researchers’ Voice No. 17

Graduate School of Education and Human Development

My favorite phrase: If you can say “I am sorry” and “thank you,” you will get by.

Q: Why did you choose this phrase?

Many things can go wrong in this world. If we can say “I am sorry” and “thank you,” and keep our heads down, we can get through it.

If it seems you cannot get through it, ask someone for help. There will always be someone who can help you. Be kind to others, but be even more kind to yourself.

Q: What is your specialty “sociology of education”? Please tell us about the specifics of your research.

This discipline is based on sociology. I use sociological methods to examine education.

In my own way, the sociological method is to reconsider individual experiences and feelings from a broader social context. Did you catch a cold because you were careless? No, you did not. Because …” (You can imagine your own answer to the rest. That is where the sociology begins.)

Q: You are a graduate of the School of Economics at Nagoya University. Please tell us how you became interested in research while you were still a student.

I chose it because the entry exam had the subjects I liked. As long as it was in the field of humanities and social sciences, I could have chosen the School of Economics, School of Letters, or anywhere else. However, after entering university, as I came across various social issues that could not be studied in high school, I began to think that I would like to study more and address those issues.

Q: When you were a student, when did you realize how interesting or rewarding research is?

Regardless of the academic field, I was attracted to unconventional ideas. Common sense allows us to live without thinking, as long as we follow it. However, that does not allow us to see the people who are in trouble or suffering because of common sense.

Q: Looking back on your school days, what is your most memorable moment?

I do not really want to recall because I was not really doing good deeds.

Q: Is there anything you regret doing when you were a student that you can talk about now?

I think I slept too much every day. This does not mean that I would have been able to reduce the amount of time I spent sleeping back then.

Q: You have been actively promoting the “visualization” of risk, and have been featured in the media a lot. You are also famous for your hairstyle, but do you have an agenda?

The title of “university professor” is a form of “authority.” Everyone including the students tend to believe what the authority says. I do not want my students to believe what I say. In the Japanese education world, blond and brown hair is unpopular, so I try to erase my authority as much as possible by having my hair dyed as such.

For your information, the slogan of Nagoya University is “Courageous Intellectuals.”

Q: Do you have a message for the new students of Nagoya University, your junior students, or students taking entrance exams?

If you are not careful because you have entered a reasonably well-known university, you will soon be overtaken by students from other universities and classmates who have chosen to work hard. The worst thing is to have a great academic background but no brains.

When you enter Nagoya University, you are for better or worse, an elite student. You are the leaders of a global society. In that case, what can you do and whom can you save? I want you to be aware of this and work hard in your studies.