A Boy’s Story Sixty Years Later

On March 16, 2008, I came across an article in the Star Ledger called “Hiroshima, through one survivor’s eyes”. This related the experiences of Kenji Kitagawa in Hiroshima on the day the bomb was dropped. That time, he was 10 years old. Mr. Kitagawa is now 72 and he share his memories of the atomic bomb being dropped by an American B-29 bomber, flying 26,000 feet above his hometown. He was at school. He said: “There was an amazing roaring sound and the entire school started to collapse.” He said: “I remember falling and feeling like a hammer was hitting me over the head.” When he came too, the classroom was in total darkness. He ran home only to find his mother and brother dead because their wooden home had collapsed and burned. Of the 120 students in his 5th grade class, only 3 or 4 survived. The high temperature from the bomb literally ignited the street of Hiroshima. Mr. Kitagawa is part of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. He said it is hard to relieve the memories, which he had suppressed for so long. He is now on a mission to raise awareness of the destruction of nuclear weapons. His message is “Never again!”

This article would work well with my Unit on World War II. It gives a Japanese prospective. It humanizes history. This article shows the results of nuclear weapons on a child. It further shows the metamorphosis of the child into adulthood where he is not bitter but is helping to make mankind become more responsible for their actions.

A Veteran

Recently I read an article in the Star Ledger, March 13, 2008, about France’s last veteran of World War I, Lazare Ponticelli. He outlived 8.4 million Frenchmen who fought in “la Grande Guerre” from 1914-1918. He was born in Italy but choose to fight for France. He was 110. It is to him and his generation that we owe in large part the peaceful and pacified Europe of today. Only a handful of veterans who fought in this war are alive in Australia, the United States and Europe. He is being given a state funeral.

Ponteicelli escaped a tough childhood by run away at the age of 9. He traveled 21 miles to the nearest train station and took a train to join his brother in France. There he made a life for himself. When the war broke out he was 16. He lied about his age to enlist and fight for France. During the war, he served first in northeast France where he dug trenches and burial pits. He said initially the soldiers barely knew how to fight and there was very little ammunition. “Every time one soldier died, the others fell silent and waited their turn”, he said in a 2005 interview.

If I was teaching a lesson on World War I, I think this article would make the war a little more personal. It would enrich my lesson because it describes the war from a French perspective. It is hard to believe that after the hard life this man has lead, he was able to give his insight into the war in the interview in 2005. I feel that all veterans are and were very brave men and their lives should be celebrate when we teach our lessons. Their determination has allowed us to live in a better world; we often neglect to think of this. .

Contest for Students in New Jersey

I recently read the March 2008 issue of NJEA Reporter. In this article, there was an article called “Your Students Can Nominate Hall of Famers”. These nominations must be postmarked by March 31, 2008. Entries need to be sent to NJ Hall of Fame Contest, NJEA, PO Box 1211, Trenton, NJ 08607-1211, Attn: Dawn Hiltner. Students are asked to nominate potential inductees, living or dead. They can be individual citizens who have done extraordinary things. Students are asked to write an essay of less than 500 words on why they want this person nominated. The entteries will be divided into two categories: Intermediate (Grades 4-8) and High School (Grades 9-12). Winners will be notified by mid-April and invited to the Induction Ceremony on May 4, 2008.

I think this would be an excellent Social Studies or Literature project. This project meets the requirements for NJCCS for Social Studies in the following areas: 6.2.12D1 (Citizenship) 6.4.12A and B (United States and New Jersey History). This essay works on research, state pride and writing skills. By doing this project, the student gets a more personal meaning of social studies; previous Hall of Famers included Walt Whitman, Althea Gibson and Paul Robeson. It great to learn about George Washington, Ronald E. McNair but it would be even nice to know that someone from New Jersey made a special contribution to make our world a little richer.

Pennygate

Last week 29 seventh and eighth graders in Readington Middle School in New Jersey were threatened with detention for trying to buy their lunch using $2 of pennies. The students were objecting to the 30-minute lunch period. During this time, the students leave last morning class, go to lockers, drop off AM books, get PM books, use the bathroom, get on line for lunch, eat lunch, wash hands, and return to class for their PM classes. After the national media spotlight on the school and its administrators, school official stepped back from the punishment and asked the parent to decide whether detention was the proper route to take. The parents of five agreed that their children should go for two days and three took a single day for this prank.

I feel this was a form of nonviolent protest. When I was in high school, I couldn’t buy lunch. The limited number of attendants prolonged the buyer’s stay on that lunch line. I’m sure this occurs in many schools. When Pennygate occurred, the administration should have sat down with students in groups to work on a mutually agreeable conclusion. When I first read this article on March 1, 2008 in the Star Ledger, I felt empathy for these students. I knew what drove them to such lengths – dissatisfaction, hungry and indigestion. Aren’t educators supposed to work on problems and help students reach their potential? Clearly, this administration wasn’t listening to their students and the students felt this was their only outlet to effect change!

For Your Consideration

I recently read a story in the Star Ledger’s February 29, 2008 edition, “Some Students Spurn Campus Alerts”. It alerted students of the necessity to sign up for a text messaging system. Only about 28 percent of the student on Blackboard Connect use its ConnectEd emergency alerts, one of the alert systems currently available. Alert systems can only as effective as their ability to make contact with a person. It reported that at Virginia Teach where a gunman killed 32 people and himself last April, only about 60% of the students have signed up for this service. That means 40% are not being alerted.

Student’s reluctance to sign up has been linked to feelings of invincibility, a reluctance to disseminate personal information, and a reluctance to pay the extra fees ($1 - $4). According to the article, safety experts feel this should not be the only way an alert notification is given. There should be sirens, loudspeakers, security cameras, website announcements and more. According to experts, in order to have a saturation of information, you don’t have to have everyone enrolled, if you reach a quarter of your population on campus; they can start to spread the word. Currently, Boston University mandates participation and other schools, Florida State and Colorado State ask student to either sign up or decline in writing before they register. In view of our recent lockdown, it is something we all need to consider. I feel I don’t want to have to wait for someone else to warn me. I’d rather be in the position where I help someone else. I question – In what situation could I be in, if I did not get the alert? Ask yourself the same question.

Searching for a New Source

I recently became aware of a vendor called The Learning Connection whose address is 1901 Longleaf Blvd, Suite 300, Lake Wales FL, 33859. Its phone number is (800) 218-8489. Web address is www.TLConnection.com. The shipping is free which is important to teachers who get an appropriation from the school district to spend on teaching supplies. They do not want to waste it. They want to utilize the money for supplies and not shipping.

This company deals in thematic literacy in all fields of learning. Of interest to me, as a social studies teacher were the libraries on issues related to social studies. These were: civil rights, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, the Native Americans, the Civil War and the Westward Expansion. These books have received the following awards: Newberry Medal, ALA Notable Award, and the NCSS Social Studies Award. The series on Dr. King also received the Coretta Scott King Award too. This award winning series could be used for differentiates instruction and are included with a guide. Each book series ranges from $79 to $119. This series could be used for extension of units and cross curriculum learning because they meet the core curriculum standards in literature and social studies.