A Once-in-a-Lifetime Education Opportunity
June 24, 2016
“Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future” — the theme for the 75th Commemoration — is even more powerful when you consider today’s younger generation and the Greatest Generation coming together one last time during this national event as a once in a lifetime education opportunity.
Not only is Pearl Harbor Day a national story, but it is also a local story. There are so many facets to the attack and how it affected not only those in uniform but other survivors: civilians, children, the Japanese-American community, the Hawaii chapter of the American Red Cross and many others who witnessed and survived the attack on Oahu.
Many of these stories will be focal points of the education program that will be a large focus of the events calendar for the commemorative week. Pacific Historic Parks (PHP) has volunteered to be the lead coordinator for the wonderful education opportunity that this 75th Commemoration will present. We plan to engage students globally, nationally and locally to collaborate and understand from their perspective what this commemoration means to them, while connecting them with the surviving members of the Greatest Generation. PHP will facilitate this “talk story” via electronic field trips, virtual reality experiences, youth summits, symposiums and the creation of Hawaii Dept. of Education tool kits for each grade level that will provide curriculum.
PHP is proud to lead this charge, and even more proud to have the support and engagement of Hawaii’s first lady, Mrs. Dawn Ige. We will engage our students and give them the opportunity to learn from this very meaningful and poignant story.