National Social Studies Supervisors Association

Annual Conference

Workshop/Session Proposal Application Form

November 30, 2006 Washington , D.C.

NSSSA workshops and sessions should address the needs of NSSSA membership. NSSSA members have supervisory responsibilities for the social studies curriculum and instructional program pre-kindergarten through grade twelve. This includes individuals with such titles as director, department head or chairperson, curriculum coordinator, consultant, supervisors, specialists, or assistant principal.

Title of Session / Workshop:

A War of Words: Textbooks, History, and Politics Today – A Joint Presentation by Social Studies Educators from U.S. , China , Japan , and South Korea

The following proposal is for a: x Workshop (2 hours) Session (1 1/4 hour) Either

Program participants: Give all the information below for each participant including yourself. Please indicate who will act as the chair, the main contact person for all NSSSA correspondence. List only those individuals from whom you have received a firm commitment as presenters. Please list the person who will act as facilitator for your presentation. All presenters must be a member of NSSSA.

Please type the following information:

Chair/Presenter (Contact Person): Dr. Yali Zhao x NCSS/NSSSA Member

Presenter : Dr. Yali Zhao

Home Mailing Address: 2215 Heritage Trace View

City/State/Zip: Marietta , Georgia 30062

School/Business: Georgia State University

Position Title: Assistant Professor

Phone: 404-651-2584 (school) 770-992-3126 (home)

Email address: yzhao@gsu.edu

Presenter: Dr. Masato Ogawa X NCSS/ NSSSA Member

Home Mailing Address: 14614 Bach Dr. #536

City/State/Zip: Carmel , Indiana 46032

School/Business: Indiana University Kokomo

Position Title: Assistant Professor

Phone: 765-455-9418 (school) 317-575-8729(home)

Email address: mogawa@iuk.edu

Presenter: Dr. Lin Lin ____________________________ x NCSS/NSSSA Member

Home Mailing Address: E157 Village Terrace Apts. 1 Holiday Dr.

City/State/Zip: Cortland , New York , 13045

School/Business: SUNY at Cortland

Position Title: Assistant Professor

Phone: 607-753-4234 (school) home

Email address: linlin@cortland.edu

Presenter: Dr. Bok Young Kim x NCSS/NSSSA Member

Home Mailing Address: 177 Dohwa 2-dong, Nam-gu

City/State/Zip: Incheon , Korea 402-749

School/Business: University of Incheon

Position Title: Associate Professor

Phone: (82) (32) 770-8167 (school) 019-274-7949 (home)

Email address: bok@incheon.ac.kr

Facilitator : Ronald Levitsky x NCSS/NSSSA Member

Home Mailing Address: 1099 Polo Drive

City/State/Zip: Lake Forest , IL 60045

School/Business: Sunset Ridge School

Position Title: 8 th grade U.S. history teacher

Phone: school 847-881-9446 home 847-604-6911

Email address: levitskr@sunset.k12.il.us

The facilitator oversees the session/workshop, checks that the room set up and AV equipment are ready, sees that the session/workshop begins and ends on time, passes out, collects and returns evaluation forms.

Abstract : Please type a description of your session/workshop as you wish it to appear in the printed program. You must describe the content, purpose and format . Limit your description to 50 words . Please use complete sentences and edit your abstract carefully.

This interactive session -- presented by social educators from the U.S., China, Japan, and South Korea -- addresses why a current Japanese history textbook provoked protests in Asian countries, how history textbooks help to shape the thinking of their people, and how they can impact international relations.

(50 words)

Interactive: Estimate the percentage of time that will be interactive in your session/workshop. 40 %

Audiovisual : NSSSA will provide an overhead provide an overhead projector and screen in each room for requests made prior to June 30th.

Check if you need an overhead projector and screen x YES

All other audio visual equipment is the responsibility of the presenter NSSSA will provide presenters with ordering information and costs for audio visual equipment through the NCSS Conference provider.

Audience : Early Childhood/Primary Elementary Middle/Jr. High

Secondary Pre K-12 x General

Room Set-up : All sessions will set theater style. For workshops, indicate the type of room arrangement desired. Every effort will be made to provide tables, but this cannot be guaranteed. Remember that tables reduce the room capacity by one-half.

x Theater style Tables

Registration : All presenters MUST be registered for the NCSS Annual Meeting.

Proposal submitted by NSSSA board member: Ron Levitsky

Proposal

A War of Words: Textbooks, History, and Politics Today – A Joint Presentation by Social Studies Educators from U.S. , China , Japan , and South Korea

The year 2005 was the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Shortly before the celebrations, the Japanese Ministry of Education approved New Japanese History ( Shin Nihon Shi ) as one of the history textbooks for use in middle schools starting April 2006. After its content became public knowledge, widespread protests against the text erupted inside and outside Japan , particularly from China and South Korea . Many historians and educators expressed their concern with the textbook's interpretation of wars launched by Japan as wars to liberate Asia from the Western powers and not for expansionist motivations. The governments of China and South Korea requested revision of the textbook. However, the Japanese government refused to accede to these requests. As a result, government official visits were canceled, many economic and cultural exchange activities stopped, and the relationships between Japan and other Asian countries declined to the lowest point in decades. Japanese textbooks seem to be more controversial than those of other countries, such as the United States and England . Because the Japanese national government has directly monitored, supervised and censored textbook content since the nineteenth century, its textbooks provide authoritative statements of national policy and ideology. Particularly for Japanese history textbooks, the content contained therein portrays the preferred history of the nation, especially in its treatment of World War II and its aftermath.

The Japanese history textbook was not the only one that provoked debate, even hostility between nations. People in many countries have debated how historical events should be presented fairly in history textbooks, a major source of cultural and social learning that shapes young people's minds and impacts their actions in the future. The responsibility of teaching youth about the tragedy and horrors of war rests primarily upon social studies teachers, as does the responsibility of developing the global education curricula. As Victor Mayer has stated, “One of the intended consequences of effective global education programs is to reduce the likelihood of war and its devastating aftermath. Citizens need accurate and unbiased information about the impact of war on combatants and noncombatants. They need an honest portrayal of what led up to a war and of morally wrongful actions on both sides during the war” (2000, p. 711).

In most Asian countries, the legacy of World War II is still part of everyday reality, directly or indirectly influencing national goals and foreign policies, postwar identity and aspirations, and intergenerational relationships. It continues to evoke much ambivalence, trepidation, anger, and pain.  What happened recently surrounding the controversial Japanese history textbook suggests that, even after more than a half century, attention and action are needed. 

This session will be jointly presented by social studies educators from China , Japan and South Korea , and the United States . The session focuses on why the treatment of World War II in Japanese textbooks has been the subject of controversy and how school textbooks in China , South Korea , and Japan portray several historical events during World War II. In particular, this session addresses the following key issues: 1) What do American social studies teachers and students know about Japanese actions during World War II and why are many horrors and tragedies in Asia during the war missing from American social studies curriculum? 2) How do history textbooks in China , South Korea , and Japan portray several historical events such as Nanjing Massacre, Comfort Women, and the Unit 731 Biochemical Welfare Experiment? 3) Why is there a discrepancy in Chinese / Korean textbooks vs. Japanese in addressing these tragedies? 4) What is the connection between the way nations view their past and current politics and culture? 5) As educators, what lessons do we want our students to learn regarding Japanese aggression in WWII and the refusal of Japan to come to terms with its past? 6) How can educators accomplish this previous goal and teach students about the war in Asia ?

This session will begin with a discussion of current reasons for the tense relationship between Japan and some Asian countries, and participants will be questioned regarding what they know about Japanese actions in Asia during WWII. After the questions and responses, a brief overview of each country's textbooks will be presented. Next, participants will work in groups to study specific historical events during World War II, as presented in major history textbooks from China , South Korea , and Japan , including the controversial textbook, New Japanese History , which provoked protests in Asia in 2001 and 2005. This comparative textbook analysis activity will help participants see the strengths and weaknesses of textbooks in each country and understand how the same historical events can be portrayed differently to reflect and justify a particular "official" historical and political view.

Following the textbook sample activity, the session will review the treatment of several historical events during World War II in those three countries. Participants will then discuss why the treatment of World War II in textbooks has been the subject of controversy. Presenters will guide participants in articulating the issues and sharing their ideas and perspectives. Participants will have the opportunity to comment on what shapes historical thinking and perspectives and create an action plan on how the horrors and tragedies in Asia during the war can be included in a social studies curriculum. Our expected outcome is the critical interplay of information and ideas and an enhanced opportunity to share perspectives with educators around the world.