8th-Graders Make History Come Alive : Education: Debate centers on whether Japanese officials should have been invited to Pearl Harbor ceremonies.

For the 50th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Santa Monica teacher Steve Kramer wanted his eighth-grade students to do more than just absorb a chapter in a history textbook and answer questions about the event.

He wanted to make them think deeply about it--and bring some of the issues it still raises alive.

So on Friday, the humanities teacher at Lincoln Middle School instructed his 27 students to divide into two groups, sitting on either side of the bungalow room.

They would debate a hypothetical question: Should the United States have invited Japanese officials to the 50th anniversary ceremonies at Pearl Harbor?

“What I’m basically trying to do is give the kids a lot of information, let them argue about it, and see what they think,” Kramer said. “Just taking a chapter in a book and reading about Pearl Harbor is not going to have a lot of meaning for the kids.”

So on the eve of the anniversary date, 17 students chose to seat themselves on the side of the room designated for those who oppose inviting the Japanese to the ceremony, and 10 seated themselves on the side that favored it.

The students were armed with notes. Their heads were filled with a week of study on issues surrounding the attack. They had watched films, read first-hand testimony from officers on both sides of the battle and watched television documentaries for extra credit. They had discussed the use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the internment of Japanese-Americans.

Debating began calmly, with students eloquently expressing their views. But the excitement soon heightened, with some students trying to speak out of turn, only to be hushed by classmates.

One girl who was against extending the invitation to the dignitaries said, “It’s like if you got murdered and the murderer was coming to your funeral. I wouldn’t want my murderer to come to my funeral.”

But classmate Jasmine Ismaili quickly countered, “I think it’s horrible that (the Pearl Harbor attack) happened, but I think we need to forgive and build for a future where there’s not going to be another war.”

At one point, tears welled in the eyes of Emi Kotah, one of the few Asian-Americans in the class, as she bravely argued that that the Japanese did not live in a democracy and had to follow the orders to attack.

“There’s a saying in Japanese,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion. “ ‘Yesterday’s enemies are tomorrow’s friends.’ We have to have peace.”

At one point, the debate veered off onto the question of whether Americans should accept a Japanese government apology for the attack. Some maintained an apology was meaningless.

“The Japanese were happy to bomb us,” said a girl with curly, blonde hair. “One bomber said when he saw the Arizona rise out of the water before it sank, he felt the joy rise inside of him. So I don’t think they should be able to apologize.”

Another student, Luke Oppenheim, said: “This is all totally irrelevant. It was over 50 years ago. Today the battle is economic.”

Toward the end of the debate, after a particularly heated exchange between the two sides, Jasmine implored her classmates to not take the exercise too personally.

“Let’s not become enemies over this,” she said.

After the debate ended, the students fell back into camaraderie, with persons on both sides complimenting each other on their arguments. Throughout the debate, they applauded each other when they felt an argument was well presented.

Kramer wrapped up the exercise with a little perspective. He explained that so much attention was being paid to the attack because it was the 50th anniversary.

“It’s not going to be like this every year,” he assured the students.