Julie

=**3 Cheers for Peace!**= The interaction of the graders was magnificent in that it allowed me to comprehend their thoughts and beliefs on such a subject as the Hiroshima and the atomic bomb. By connecting with the ES students, I began to learn about their views and their opinions on the atomic bomb. Unsurprisingly, the 3rd graders thought that the atomic bomb was unethical and wrong because it was killed hundreds of thousands of people and caused horrific effects, such as radiation, cancer, cataracts, and leukemia. Several plays or presentations were presented talking about the effects or the development of the atomic bomb in the 1940s. As the ES students presented __Sadoko and the Thousand Paper Cranes__, the high schoolers listened eagerly as they heard a story about a little girl that was subjected to the atomic bomb in 1945 as she suffered radiation and eventually passed away. After the stories were shared, the HS students revisited the ES students for one last time, making paper cranes and enjoying their time together in harmony where not only were the high-schoolers on the same level as the elementary schoolers, but for once, they understood each other and knew where they were coming from. Maintaining peace on all levels, whether physically or mentally, is an important priority for not only nine-year-olds, but also 16-17 years olds too. Peace for everyone!

**The bombing of Hiroshima:**
Hiroshima is a difficult subject to speak about in referrence to the causes, the effects, and the morality as well as the ethical perspective and whether or not it was right to use weapons and violence as a means of ending the war. As the saying goes, "War brings peace and peace stops war" although it is not always the case. Some say that the bombing was a neccessary action to promtoe the emperor of Japan to announce a surrender, while others counter that argument by stating that the atomic bomb was not tested nor researched enough before the actual dropping of the bomb. The result: lifetime effects, such as cataracts, cancer, and leukimia, were inflicted upon the innocent citizens of Japan. Each of these arguments can be construed as valid. There really is no right or wrong answer to the issue. Many issues or debates can be brought up and why not? There are so many issues to be covered and questions to be answered.

__**Peace Quotes:**__ 1) **"//to save succeeding generations from the scourage of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind//"** - UN charter

2) **//"But peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings.//"** -JFK



__Peace quote-__ 1)"Charter of the United Nations." UN. 21 Sept. 2007. 24 Sep 2007 <[|http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/index.html>.] 2)__"__Peace Quotes." Waging Peace. 13 Jul 2007. Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. 24 Sep 2007 <[|http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/issues/peace-&-war/start/peace-quotes/index.htm>.]
 * Citations:**

__Waging peace (picture)-__ "The Carter Center Peace programs: Peace with Justice." The Carter Center. 19 Aug 2007. The Carter Center. 24 Sep 2007 <[|http://cartercenter.org/resources/images/peace/mainpic_peace.jpg>.]

__Paper Crane (picture)-__ "ABC Sunday Arts." Paper Crane. Paper Crane. 24 Sep 2007 <[|http://www.papercrane.org/articles/abcTV/papercrane.gif>.]

__World Peace (picture)-__ "World Peace Center." World Peace Center. 24 Sep 2007 <[|http://peace.mosaicglobe.com/files/image/ourworld-1.jpg>.]