The Miseducation of Aomori, Japan

Over my brief tenure as a teacher I have had several eye-opening realizations about children and the way they think. Some have been fun, like noticing the small gaps in the younger children's short term memory when, 5 minutes after giving a welcome speech in Japanese, I am accosted by 20 or more of them asking if I know any Japanese words (in Japanese, of course). I also love that, despite the fact that I clearly understand every word the ask, they continue to believe that I can't speak any Japanese.

Some experiences, though, fall on the slightly more disturbing side of the spectrum. One of said moments occurred last week at one of my favorite schools, Sugisawa Primary and Junior High. The entire series of events in more or less irrelevant (I believe the word tora, meaning tiger, came up and from there one of the other teachers asked if I had seen the war film Tora Tora Tora), but it quickly came to light that the children had never heard of Pearl Harbor. In fact, the lot of them actually assumed that it was an island down south near Okinawa, which I guess is partially understandable seeing as how it does have a Japanese name (真珠湾), but I was still rather shocked. I was not alone. The other two teachers in the room pushed the issue, throwing out terms like "Pacific War," but still to no avail. When told that it in Hawaii and was the site of the Japanese sneak attack on the United States which signalled it's entry into the war, their jaws hit the floor. They honestly had no idea that Japan had attacked the US first. About half didn't even know that we were on opposing sides during the war.

Now I'm all about forgive and forget, but this is ridiculous. These kids are in the equivalent of our 8th grade, people! Now not knowing all of the gritty details that age is completely acceptable, but being that oblivious to one of the most important events in the history of BOTH countries is by no means. Though I usually find myself pleased with the overall quality of the primary and secondary education systems here, I am still borderline appalled at this oversight. It makes me wonder if I should be sitting in on the history lessons, not just English. Or maybe I'll just give them all copies of Ben Affleck's magnum opus, Pearl Harbor. I do love Ben Affleck...




Since I do love posting related, or at least semi-related, videos, enjoy this little bit of WWII fun with a bit of a modern twist: