Go back to PRESS RELEASES
Mary Graybill, APR, Fellow PRSA,
Graybill Communications
310-441-2899
mary@graybillcom.com
WWII Japanese American Veterans Bring History, Social Studies Lessons to Life
Nisei soldiers' personal stories become learning tools through teacher training
TORRANCE, CA (Nov. 30, 2009) – Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) trains teachers to bring history and social studies lessons to life with second-generation Japanese American or Nisei veterans of World War II as living examples. The nonprofit organization began its fall teacher-training schedule with Looking Like the Enemy: The Case of Japanese Americans in World War II in Honolulu on Oct. 8, 9 and 10, 2009, and is following with A Tradition of Honor: WWII Nisei Soldier Segregated Fighting Forces in Los Angeles on Dec. 5 and 6, An American Story in San Diego on Dec. 7 and A Tradition of Honor: Japanese Americans and the Military Intelligence Service in San Francisco on Dec. 8.
The three-day Honolulu institute, jointly produced by GFBNEC and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, gave educators tools and resources to teach Modern Hawaiian History and Social Studies using the real-life heroes of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service (MIS) and 1399th Engineering Construction Battalion. Subject-matter rich field trips included the Nisei soldiers' exhibit, Honoring the Legacy, at Central Pacific Bank. Teachers came from all over Hawaii to participate and will begin using the innovative curriculum in spring 2010.
"Thank you for the super workshop and resources," said Pohai Wong, Leilehua High School, Oahu. "I look forward to utilizing the information."
The Los Angeles workshop will be held at Los Angeles Unified School District's newly dedicated Young Oak Kim Academy on the first day and move to the Japanese American National Museum's Center for Democracy in Little Tokyo for the second day. In addition to curriculum introduction and individual lesson-plan development, this workshop will include a tour of historic Little Tokyo and an introduction to the Go For Broke Monument by the landmark's Nisei veteran docents.
The Greater San Diego Council for the Social Studies and GFBNEC are jointly presenting An American Story at the San Diego Veterans Museum adjacent to Balboa Park. The program includes breakout sessions with mentor teachers at elementary, middle and high school levels, an introduction to primary source interviews and experiences that can be shared with students in the classroom and an introduction to the GFBNEC website, its Hanashi Oral History Archives and educational resources.
The National Japanese American Historical Society and Presidio Trust are hosting the San Francisco program at the Presidio Officers Club in the Presidio of San Francisco. GFBNEC curriculum specialists will lead the workshop, designed to prepare educators to teach their students about the history of Japanese American soldiers of World War II, the Japanese American incarceration and related civil liberty issues.
Response to GFBNEC's Teacher Training Program has been consistently positive. A US History Teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District described it as "a very powerful workshop. I signed up to get the salary point and learned a lot. It changed the way I look at my surroundings and people of different ethnicities. I am much more aware. I will share what I've learned with my students and my colleagues. Thank you!"
Union Bank is the major sponsor for all three of GFBNEC's California teacher-training workshops. In Hawaii, sponsors were the 442nd RCT Foundation, Central Pacific Bank, Island Insurance Foundation, Pacific Guardian Life, Roy's Restaurants, Pacific Bridge Companies and Sons & Daughters of the 442nd RCT.
For registration information, teachers can go to the GFBNEC website at www.goforbroke.org or contact Lisa Sueki, Ph.D., at 310-222-5714 or lisa@goforbroke.org.
Each of these workshops includes opportunities for teachers to create their own lesson plans and talk with Nisei veterans. Workshop participants take away content, teaching strategies and resources for classes such as access to more than 700 of GFBNEC's Hanashi video oral history interviews with veterans talking about their World War II experiences.
In addition to Hanashi Oral Histories and teacher training, GFBNEC's work includes a Resource Center, interactive educational initiatives and the Go For Broke Monument. The Resource Center and educational initiatives, along with Hanashi oral histories, lesson plans, historical content and membership, are available by clicking on the GFBNEC website at www.goforbroke.org.
Go back to PRESS RELEASES
