Session 4 readings, 9/25

[Valerie Doby]

When I was 13 years old I visited Pearl Harbor with my grandmother.  I didn’t know about Pearl Harbor until I arrived and when I left I had a very lasting impression and a very real connection to history.  The discussions about Japan in the war gave me such great insight to this part of Japanese and American history and how we have come to be allies.  The best part of this lecture was Prof. Yamashita’s personal connections.  It also helped me realize that when I make those personal connections in my class how the interest rises.  Also, it reminds me when my students can make those same connections they are more engaged.

[Jacqueline Mercado]

As a teacher of English, I was particularly intrigued by the reading of the diary of an evacuated schoolgirl. Not only does this diary present a voice not traditionally studied or widely know as the Diary of Anne Frank, for example, but it renders an honest account of how Japanese children were indoctrinated, trained and encouraged to become these young World War II enthusiasts who readily assimilated the nationalistic tendencies of their country.  From the deferential reverence of dead soldiers to references of daily occurrences such as practicing to hit the enemy, training for hand to hand combat and grenade throwing as fun, this diary gives us a view of how evacuated children were encouraged to approve of the war and Japan's involvement in it. Nakane seems to assimilate the nationalism that is before her and sadly, does not seem perturbed by the war but rather desires to be a good citizen of her country by persevering until the Japanese win.   I am glad to have been exposed to this primary text and will include it in any classroom discussion of World War II as I believe it is important for students to be introduced to multiple voices and perspectives.

[Erin Tanguay]

I was thinking about how I could use this document in my 7th grade class. Students seem to enjoy reading diary entries of other young people. What really stood out for me was that during Professor Yamashita's lecture about Nakane Mihoko he stated that the teachers at the evacuation camps would read the diaries and that the students had to submit them weekly for review. When I first read them I thought that some of Nakene's comments seem to excited and too hopeful for an evacuation camp. For example, in the April 26th entry it ends with, "Our haircuts made us look really beautiful." and on April 29th she ends with, "It was happy, happy, emperor's birthday," and and on May 5th,  she ends with being given red beans and "I felt really grateful. It was all really delicious." I wonder if she would have been so patriotic in her diary if her teacher wasn't reading them and making comments along the way. This could bring up an interesting discussion about primary sources as diaries and is this account an actual diary? 

[Christine Xu]

Japanese armies invaded china’s northern provinces and captured the capital city, Beijing. The Japanese troops responded the Chinese resistance to their invasion by orgy murder, rape, looting, and burn. The photo “ burial alive at Nanjing” showed Chinese at Nanjing are being buried alive by Japanese troops. They were competing with each other to invent new and more terrible way to kill Chinese people. Those crime shocked the civilized world at the time. Although it has been forgotten in many countries, it is still a good rigorous teaching of history, and it is becoming neglected discipline. The Nanjing Massacre is the best documented of Japanese atrocities in China.

"Nanjing Nanjing” is a well know movie that it showed the city of life and death, and the following massacre committed by Japanese army during the war.  

 

[Kimberly Jones]

The books and diaries of Japanese sixth grade student evacuees of the war are great resources to present to my students to explore the life of Japan for children during the war. The diaries are highly engaging and will elevate students' interest in Japanese culture and history. Specifically, it can be a great motivating resource to get students to understand war and its role in civilization and human society.  "The Tale of the Heike" and "Heroes of the Water Margin" are great Chinese Classic books to analyze Japanese wars.

It would be great to present and compare and contrast Twilight Samurai Movie produced in Asia v. Last Samurai produced in Hollywood 

The chart of Oil tonnage in war shows how Japan surpassed USA . Japan has one ocean to protect and US has two oceans.  Great chart to show students of war battle contenders.

 

The biography on Koyabashi Ichizo, the entrepreneur, politician, and diplomat is a great short article that I can give to students to read and utilize the marking the text strategy.  I really found the invention of the train and  girl's theatre company  and it's high standards of virtue to be very interesting and an event that my students would want to learn about to better understand Japanese rise in East Asia.

 

 

 

 

[Stella Castro]

Valerie I totally agree with you when you say that the students are more engaged and interested when you make personal connections. This also happes to me.  I find that their interest levels rise, when I add personal comments or stories anout myself to the lesson.  Then the students try harder and I find tis to be awesome.  I  also always give them many words of encouragement and also tell them to try and do their best.  

[Stella Castro]

Jaqueline, I also was intrigued by this reading as I also thought of how young these chidren were,being taught to do had to hand combat, how to simulate throwing hand grenades, how to use swords, and how to change into their air raid clothings. These chidren are young,and in the case of Nakane how she seems to damn the Americans and the British and states that she will be sure to seek revenge, And all the while she seeks to become a better and perfect child.

[Stella Castro]

I also have visited Pearl harbor, and all i can remember is the great sadness I felt  in my heart knowing of all the death that occured because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  It was a solemn and sad day for all those visiting Pearl Harbor, I noticed all the people were not talking, they just walked about like zombies, and some were crying.  It was supposed to be a fun day, and after visiting Pearl Harbor, we were supposed to go out and have some fun, but after leaving this place all I/we wanted to do was go back to the hotel. Sadness took over!

[Jacqueline Mercado]

I agree with this observation.  I personally thoroughly enjoyed getting a panoramic view of the history of Japan and its economic growth and development from 1800's to post World War II.  I was particularly intrigued by Professor Yamashita's presentation of Japanese life during World War II, a perspective not emphasized in my education of history. From full support of the war, bravado to disillusionment and ultimate resistance, food shortages and how bad things were in Japan at this time that led to the demise of Japanese order and morality. My imagination was captured by Professor Yamashita's insert of specific  detail and accounts of journal entries into his lecture.  This brought to mind the importance and usefulness of primary texts in any study of history and how these inserts and research helps fluidity, engagement and exectution of lessons.  I see that not only is preparation/research important in lesson planning, but so is the inclusion of primary texts like journal entries.  This was particularly useful to me because I am not a teacher of history and feel that I need more exposure to other primary texts to enrich my lessons.  Professor Yamashita's lecture is a good model to emulate and an example of good teaching.

[Jacqueline Mercado]

I like this idea.  I think that using this diary to present a different perspective and a slice of life in Japan during Worl War II is an useful teaching tool because it is easy to read, engaging and accessible to students as they can to relate to a young girl's voice. While these two diaries are different and present different views of the war, they are also alike in their portrayal of these two young girls' innocence and sensibilities.

[Evelyn Mendoza]

I found the 4th session to be one of the most engaging so far... perhaps because I was a little more familiar with the events occuring in this time period than the previous sessions. I never really comprehended the attack on Pearl Harbor, but after this session, I feel like I have a much better grasp on it. Also, I don't recall ever learning in middle or high school how Japan recovered from the war, so that portion of the discussion was also enlightening. As Professor Yamashita talked about the horrors that people faced, I recalled the anime "Grave of the Fireflies" by Isao Takahata. I also found that the diaries Professor Yamashita translated reminded me of the suffering the children in this story faced. 

[Cristina Hernandez]

I used some of the readings for this lecture to teach my reading students how to use graphic organizers.  One of the topics that really ignites their curiousity is always the side of the underdog, the people who are fighting for their freedom.  While talking about the comfort women and how the Japanese were trying to control other places, I took the opportunity to introduce the concept of graphic organizers and we, as a class, place all the information along with questions in a visual form.  After that, the students were able to pick and choose the topics that they wanted to learn more about.  It is very interesting to observe how students get to learn new strategies by using topics that are intereting and new for them. Cheers!

[Gerlinde Goschi]

I found this reading very interesting, especially, because I am planning to use it in the first grade classroom.  It is a great testimonial about World War II in Japan from a young girl's perspective.  Reading about a child their own age would help my students visualize the circumstances and see the happenings through the eyes of someone who they can identify with.  I liked Prof. Yamashita's presentation as it showed many photos, a tool I could effectively use with my students.  I am planning to use this diary as a journal writing piece.  After I read a portion out loud, students will write a paragraph about Nakane Mihoko's day. Then, students will write a letter to Nakane Mihoko asking her three questions.  I would imagine questions like: "Did you miss your mom?" etc.  I would also use the pictures shown in the book's pages to start a discussion about what my students think life was like during this time in history.  Finally, I would compare Nakane's life to theirs today (IB Unit:  Where We Are in Time and Place).

[Lin ZhaoDavison]

Key public service people were killed in late 1800 and early 1900.  The "Blood f Brotherhood" gang killed Takama Dan, CEO of Misubichi ,and the Imperial Navymen killed Inuki Tsuyosh, Prime Minister.  What was the motivation of such killings and what were the consequences to the society?  These questions remain in my mind.  I would encourage my students to research on the fact and find out how to draw lessons from the Japanese history.

[Lin ZhaoDavison]

When the "Sunshine policy" was implemented in Korea from 1998 to 2008, family members of North Korea united with those in South Korea.  The "Sunshine Policy" won the Nobel Peace Prize.  Needless to say, this policy reduced tension between North and South Korea as well as well as promoted peace and harmony between the two nationals.  I would ask students to do a research project on the "Sunshine Policy" and articulate its contribution to the world peace through a writing assignment or a group presentation.

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