American Teacher and Students Visit Japan: A Look Back at History as We Consider Nuclear Non-Proliferation in a Dangerous World

Around the time of the United Nations conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation, nearly 100 people gathered in a small American school in the St. Luke’s Auditorium in New York City for the Nagasaki Workshop on May 4. Mr. Hunter, a retired teacher from the school, movingly recounted his father’s difficult memories as a soldier in the Pacific in WWII who was posted in Japan after the war. He then introduced two Japanese survivors of the 1945 atomic bombs, Mrs. Kodoma, from Hiroshima, and Mr. Kido, from Nagasaki. Among the witnesses were our 8th grade class, some of their parents and other adults from our community, their teachers, and 30 other Japanese visitors, including a contingent of Japanese high school students, teachers, and lawyers. According to student Rachael Johnston, “Hearing the survivors talk was really amazing. You learn general information in class, but when you hear about it from them, it changes your perspective.”

The genesis of the Nagasaki Workshop was a three-year relationship the school has maintained with movie director, Seiji Arihara, and the survivor community in Nagasaki. On September 11, 2007, we screened his animated film, “Nagasaki Angelus Bell – 1945,” the true story of a doctor and nurse and how they survived to rebuild their community. Students in Grades 7 and 8 then leapt into action, writing letters about nuclear weapons to then Senator Clinton, who answered us. Pictures of these actions and copies of these letters were sent to Nagasaki, and the director himself returned to rescreen the film on May 4 of this year. In the May workshop, activities involved everyone in the room; activities were translated into Japanese, so discussions about the movie took place in both languages, and among adults and students. We also wrote letters to our senators. The event was broadcast on Japanese national television. Such workshop activities, in which feelings and opinions are included, are not widely practiced in Japanese education, and the Japanese guests were intrigued.

In August, social studies teacher Kim Allen will follow up on this work by accepting an invitation to share her experiences at St. Luke’s with a wider audience in Japan. Also invited were former parent Mutsuko Okuda, who brought the film to us in 2007, and another St. Luke’s current parent, Lydia Andre, who helped to promote the film in 2007. It was determined that it would be far more effective to have students present their own work, so their children, Pauline Ceraulo and Nick Wilson, both now in high school, will conduct workshops with Ms. Allen in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, chronicling their work with the Nagasaki film and survivors, how they teach and learn about difficult history topics, and how students take action in their community. They will also collect thousands of signatures on a petition asking the U.S. Senate continue to work toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, which they will take to New York Senator Charles Schumer. At the end of the trip, Pauline, Nick, and Ms. Allen will make a presentation directly to the survivors of Nagasaki who invited them to Japan, making a solemn promise to take their stories back to America.

プレスリリース
《日米高校生平和交流ツアー：米国人教師と生徒が訪日〜歴史を見つめ核不拡散を考える〜》

報道関係者各位

　 終戦６５周年となる２０１０年、アメリカ、ニューヨークの私立セント・ルークス校の社会学教師キム・アレンさんと、卒業生のポウリーン・セラウロさん（１６）、ニック・ウィルソン君（１６）が「日米高校生平和交流ツアー」を企画し、広島・長崎の原爆の日に合わせた７月２９日から８月１２日まで東京、京 都、広島、長崎を訪れます。現地では被爆者と面会し、日本人の高校生たちと原爆に関する教育方針について意見交換するほか、長崎への原爆投下を描いたアニ メ映画 「ＮＡＧＡＳＡＫＩ・１９４５〜アンゼラスの鐘〜」（有原誠治監督）の上映を予定しています。また核廃絶に向けた活動が今後も米国で続くように要請する署 名活動を各地で実施し、帰国後、民主党のチャールズ・シューマー上院議員（ニューヨーク）に届けます。日本でのワークショップの内容は米国でも伝えていき ます。
　取材のご希望、問い合わせなどは下記までご連絡ください。

有原誠治（ありはら　せいじ） arihara3@gmail.com

〒177-0033　東京都練馬区高野台３-11-12采明ビル２bアニメ活動センター内、有原まで
℡：03-6915-9281 　ﾌｧｸｽ：03-6915-9282　Email:eisanro@gmail.com

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　アメリカ、ニューヨークのセント・ルークス校は２００７年９月１１日、「ＮＡＧＡＳＡＫＩ・１９４５〜アンゼラスの鐘〜」を上映しました。医師や看護婦 が 原爆投下直後の惨禍を生き抜き、焼け野原を再復興させる姿が描かれており、心を動かされた生徒たちは核廃絶を訴える手紙を当時のヒラリー・クリントン上院議員宛に送付しました。この手紙のコピーとワークショップでの写真は長崎にも送られました。同校では、この上映を機に毎年、この映画を用いて反核平和教育 に取り組んでいます。
　今年は、国連で開催された核拡散防止条約再検討会議（ＮＰＴ）会期中の５月４日にこの授業が行われ、有原監督が再上映するため来米されました。また、広島の被爆者の児玉三智子さん（72）と、長崎の被爆者の木戸季市さん（70）、日本から訪れた高校生も参加し、現地ではこの機会に原爆について学 ぼうと中学２年生の生徒ほか、保護者、教員らが出席しました。ワークショップは全員参加形式で日本語と英語により映画に対するディスカッションが行われました。学生のレイチェル・ジョンストンさんは「被爆者からの話には驚いた。通常の授業では一般的なことしか学ばないけど、当事者から聞いて物事の見方が変 わりました」と話していました。