Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 10, 1995 TAG: 9502100030
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LAURA ZIVKOVICH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Sidney Linkous, Daniel Morgan, Joseph Pomrenke and Lee Skidmore, four fifth-graders studying Japanese culture with teacher Rosary Beck, launched the picture-drawing campaign upon the request of their electronic pen pal in Japan.
The pupils found their pen pal, Akira Umezawa of Kawagoe City, Japan, in November after he responded to a call for information on Japanese culture posted by the group on an international electronic bulletin board. They hoped to get first-hand reports or research leads to help with projects in a unit on Japanese arts and culture.
Umezawa, who has two children of his own in elementary school, told them he could not help, but would ask teachers he knew to reply.
They kept in contact, Beck said, because they found "a kind person saying 'I'm out here and I hear you in Japan.'"
Umezawa told the pupils about Japanese holidays, the weather and how his children played in front of the house because they had no "beautiful nature."
"By using telecomputing, we open up the classrooms and make the world smaller," Beck said. "The learning becomes more personal."
"In some ways the world feels bigger because you learn about cultures you never knew were there," Sidney added.
"We have been studying American history so long, it's nice to learn about something else," Joseph said.
The students wrote back with questions about Umezawa's region of Japan, Saitama.
"Every time we wrote him, he wrote back," Sidney said.
In January, after reading and discussing news articles about the earthquake in Kobe, the students thought about their far away friend and his family. They sent a new message to check on him.
"We wanted to see if he was OK," Daniel said.
As predicted, he replied and wrote in broken English, "Thanks for your mail and consideration. I'm a well. Kobe is a long way from Saitama. We haven't an effect on this earthquake."
He included information about the earthquake's damages and casualty numbers that exceeded those quoted in American news reports at the time. The updated information and speedy reply impressed the pupils. "It seems as if he's across the street," Lee said.
"The whole world is linked by one computer," added Daniel.
Umezawa also included an address to which they could send messages of hope and goodwill to the children of Kobe. He suggested they send pictures instead of letters to avoid language barriers.
The four reported back to their language arts class, led by teacher Lynn Dickerson, and together devised a plan to get all the school's pupils in on the project.
Lee, Sidney, Joseph and Daniel each led four-member groups that visited all classrooms in the school, explained about the earthquake in Kobe and read Umezawa's letters.
"... We asked everyone in the school to make pictures for the kids in Kobe," Daniel said.
More than 100 pictures are on the way to Kobe, where, according to Umezawa, "they can be used to brighten up the city."
by CNB