Mark Your Calendars: Association of Asian Studies 2011 Annual Meeting in Honolulu

On Thursday, March 25 the Honolulu Advertiser featured an article about the gathering of scholars around the world in Philadelphia. The occasion was the annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies.

The article disclosed for the first time that the annual meeting of the Association of Asian Studies will be held in 2011 in Honolulu.

The 2011 annual meeting is scheduled for Honolulu from March 31, 2011 to April 3, 2011.

The AAS hosts regional conferences. Click here for more information.

Also, go to this link for Calls for Papers and meetings worldwide.

Professional Development for Teachers: What is Good Government?: A Historical and Philosophical Examination of the American Political System

Hawaiʻi Friends of Civic and Law-Related Education, the Judiciary History Center, and the Department of Education are pleased to announce: What is Good Government?A Historical and Philosophical Examination of the American Political System. This free training will be conducted on July 19 and 20, 2010 at Aliʻiōlani Hale, home of the Hawaii's Supreme Court since 1874. Free transportation and lodging is available for up to ten neighbor island teachers. This is an excellent opportunity for teachers for grades 5 and 8 Social Studies, Participation in Democracy, and U.S. History and Government. We the People is a nationally acclaimed program that helps students understand the history, principles, and application of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Participants will receive free classroom sets of We the People textbooks and instruction in constitutional history and theory, the Bill of Rights, citizenship, congressional hearings, standards-based lessons, and formative and summative assessment strategies. The workshop will be conducted by Robert Leming, the Director of the Center for Civic Education and Dr. Tom Vontz, Ph.D., Professor of Education at Kansas State University. Three PD credits are available. Those wishing to obtain PD credits must attend additional workshops on December 4, 2010 and May 7, 2011 and complete a PD portfolio. To apply for PD credits, you must sign up at this link.

Register Now!

For more information please contact Sandra Cashman at cashmans001@hawaii.rr.com, or Keahe Davis at the Judiciary History Center, keahe@jhchawaii.net, 808 539-4999. Registration is limited and interested participants should complete registration as soon as possible.

Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor Announces Women in Aviation Conference

UPDATE: Click here for a story in the March 31 edition of the Star Bulletin

Women in Aviation Conference

April 16-18, 2010

Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor

Come Fly with Us!

Have you ever considered a career in aviation?

Are you curious about the role of women in aviation history?

Would you like a unique chance to meet and talk to local aviators and aviation professionals?

Schedule of Events

Friday, April 16, 2010

9am-5pm ~ Museum Open

2pm ~ Friday Matinee Movie: Amelia ~ Free with paid admission to Museum

Saturday, April 17, 2010

9am-5pm ~ Museum Open

9am-5pm ~ Enhanced Museum Exhibits ~ Get your picture taken with Amelia Earhart, Rosie the Riveter, and more!

Aviation Industry and Career Fair ~ Discover education and career opportunities in aviation

10am-3pm ~ Seminars and Workshops ~ Share in the insights of local aviation professionals as they present on a variety of topics to guide young women and men toward aviation and other science-related careers.

4pm-5pm ~ Women in Aviation Panel discussion ~ Unique opportunity to ask questions of local aviation professionals about their experiences and issues facing women in aviation today.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

9am-5pm ~ Museum Open

2pm ~ Sunday Matinee Movie: Amelia ~ Free with paid admission to Museum.

See website for more details ~ www.PacificAviationMuseum.org

Enter to Win Aviation Prizes:

~ A Robin Olds signed F-4 Phantom II Model Plane

~ Stearman Biplane Rides

~ Flights on Mokulele/go! Hawaii's low-fare airline

~ Two one-day tickets to Wet-n-Wild Waterpark

~ Signed aircraft books by author and our Curator Jim goodall

~ Museum memberships

~ Museum logowear and more

Military and Kama'aina General Admission:

Adult - $10.00

Children (Ages 4-12) FREE Saturdays and Sundays*

General Admission includes one-day admission to Hangar 37 and all conference events.

*One free child admission with each paid adult admission ticket. Regular military and kama'aina child admission price is $5.00.

General Admission tickets available ONLINE at www.PacificAviationMuseum.org or at the Arizona Memorial Ticket Office. If you purchase online, print out your ticket voucher and hop the shuttle, avoiding the Arizona Memorial ticket lines.

Check out our website for more information on admission, conference, and access to historic Ford Island.

Star Bulletin: Let libraries operate independently from the BOE

We'd like to call your attention to an editorial in today's Star Bulletin. Shelly R. Brown is president of the Librarians Association of Hawaii. She has argued that the state's public libraries, which operated under the Hawaii Board of Education, should be given autonomy. Go to this link for commentary.

Nisei Warrior Staff Sgt. Robert Kuroda: Remembering Heroes of the Pacific Now Buried in Punchbowl, the Puowaina Place Of Sacrifice

We'd like to call attention to a published article on Nisei Warrior Staff Sgt. Robert Kuroda that appears in Hawaii Reporter today. Duane A Vachon PhD works at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Mr. Vachon has been writing a series of such articles under the title Remembering Heroes of the Pacific Now Buried in Punchbowl, the Puowaina Place Of Sacrifice.

150th Anniversary: Japanese Embassy to USA Stopover in Hawaii 1860

This month marked the sesquicentennial of the stopover in the Hawaiian Islands in 1860 by the first Japanese Embassy delegation to the United States.

The Japanese Embassy was scheduled to visit San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York City. One of the ships was the U.S.S. Powhatan, which was one of Commodore Perrys Black Ships, and a Dutch-designed state-of-the-art steamship from Japan, the Kanrin Maru. On board the Kanrin Maru were the Japanese Minister of the Navy and Captain Katsu Rintaro along with American crew members from the Fenimore Cooper, which had been shipwrecked in Japan.

Nakahama Manjiro -also known as John Manjiro- was aboard the Kanrin Maru, too. Years before he was a young fisherman who had been shipwrecked at the age of 14, rescued by Captain William H. Whitfield and taken to the United States. Manjiro studied English, and after his return to Japan was assigned to the embassy and served as a translator.

Both the Powhatan and the Kanrin Maru encountered very rough seas. The Powhatan was in need to repairs. So as the Kanrin Maru continued on to San Francisco, California, the Japanese Embassy boarded the Powhatan and stopped in Honolulu for a visit that lasted almost three weeks. This visit was covered in the Honolulu press and caused quiet a sensation in the local community.

The Japanese Embassy -as well as Admiral Tattnall and his officers from the Powhatan- were received at the Hawaiian Royal Court in the old Iolani Palace by Kamehemeha IV, Queen Emma, and other members of the Hawaiian Government. A lavish ball was held. On March 18, 1860 they departed Honolulu on the Powhatan for California, then on to cross Panama for the trip to Washington, D.C. and New York City. On its return trip the Kanrin Maru stopped in Honolulu on its journey back to Japan.

The Consul-General of Japan in New York has a superb educational web site, though almost nothing is mentioned about the Hawaii visit. This official 150th anniversary web site is highly recommended.

When I found out about this anniversary I also discovered that none of the local historical and cultural organizations picked up on this. I decided to have my students at Hawaii Tokai International College take this on as a class project. The students produced a vodcast-style newscast. In addition, the students and I alerted members of the Hawaii State Legislature of this important anniversary.

The result was the Joint Declaratory Certificate pictured below, and I'd like to thank Hawaii Senate President Colleen Hanabusa and her staff for helping to produce this. My students and I presented the actual certificate to our Chancellor Naoto Yoshikawa.

As president of the History Education Council of Hawaii I am seeking partnering individuals and organizations to hold some kind of event to honor this anniversary, perhaps in late May or June. Please contact HECH at historyeducationhawaii@gmail.com with your ideas, support and suggestions.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Bingham Mead

President, History Education Council of Hawaii

Hawaii State Coordinator, National Council for History Education

Adjunct Lecturer, Hawaii Tokai International College

National Humanities Center to be at NCHE Conference in San Diego

We received word that the National Humanities Center will be at the annual conference of the National Council for History Education scheduled in San Diego later this week. Look for Carn Koplik, Editor, TeacherServe® and Marketing Coordinator, Education Programs. For more information on the National Humanties Center go to this link.