Japanese, American students forge link through paper cranes
Jun. 4, 2015
by Nobutake Tanaka, Staff Writer
Second-year students at Senogawa Junior High School in Hiroshima’s Aki Ward have exchanged paper cranes with students at a junior high school in the United States and are using the cranes as a way to consider global and peace-related issues. The project was the idea of Gary Malone, 41, and his wife, Amber, 38, junior high school teachers from New York who visited Hiroshima last summer and sought the cooperation of the local school. Last week 1,600 folded paper cranes were delivered to the local junior high.
The cranes from the U.S. bore cards with messages from the students such as: “I hope these cranes give you hope” and “Thanks for taking the cranes to the Peace Park.”
The Malones said they introduced the story of Sadako Sasaki to their students and have urged their students to examine history from a variety of perspectives.
At Senogawa Junior High 134 second-year students folded a total of 1,000 paper cranes and sent them to New York bearing messages in English, such as: “Like everyone, I hope for a peaceful world,” “Let’s spread smiles,” and “I enjoy my club activities.” The cranes will be taken to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the former site of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the 2001 terrorist attack.
Tamaki Oshige, 13, a member of the committee in charge of the exchange with the American school, said, “I’m happy to be able to communicate with foreigners in English. I want to send them love and smiles.” Akane Kawahara, 13, another member of the committee, said, “I’d like them to know about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which overcame the destruction of the atomic bombings, and about Japanese culture, such as anime, too.”
The Senogawa students will offer some of the paper cranes they received from the U.S. at the Children’s Peace Monument in Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. Others will be displayed at peace-related events, such as those at which A-bomb survivors recount their experiences.
English teacher Hiromi Kakuzaki, 54, said, “The students seem to have gotten a stronger sense of their connection with people overseas through the paper cranes, which are tangible. I’d like them to be able to tell others what they have thought about with regard to peace.”
(Originally published on May 30, 2015)
Second-year students at Hiroshima’s Senogawa Junior High School exchange messages; cranes to be used in study of global and peace-related issues
Second-year students at Senogawa Junior High School in Hiroshima’s Aki Ward have exchanged paper cranes with students at a junior high school in the United States and are using the cranes as a way to consider global and peace-related issues. The project was the idea of Gary Malone, 41, and his wife, Amber, 38, junior high school teachers from New York who visited Hiroshima last summer and sought the cooperation of the local school. Last week 1,600 folded paper cranes were delivered to the local junior high.
The cranes from the U.S. bore cards with messages from the students such as: “I hope these cranes give you hope” and “Thanks for taking the cranes to the Peace Park.”
The Malones said they introduced the story of Sadako Sasaki to their students and have urged their students to examine history from a variety of perspectives.
At Senogawa Junior High 134 second-year students folded a total of 1,000 paper cranes and sent them to New York bearing messages in English, such as: “Like everyone, I hope for a peaceful world,” “Let’s spread smiles,” and “I enjoy my club activities.” The cranes will be taken to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the former site of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the 2001 terrorist attack.
Tamaki Oshige, 13, a member of the committee in charge of the exchange with the American school, said, “I’m happy to be able to communicate with foreigners in English. I want to send them love and smiles.” Akane Kawahara, 13, another member of the committee, said, “I’d like them to know about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which overcame the destruction of the atomic bombings, and about Japanese culture, such as anime, too.”
The Senogawa students will offer some of the paper cranes they received from the U.S. at the Children’s Peace Monument in Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. Others will be displayed at peace-related events, such as those at which A-bomb survivors recount their experiences.
English teacher Hiromi Kakuzaki, 54, said, “The students seem to have gotten a stronger sense of their connection with people overseas through the paper cranes, which are tangible. I’d like them to be able to tell others what they have thought about with regard to peace.”
(Originally published on May 30, 2015)
