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Teacher to visit Pearl Harbor
The South Range teacher will bring his first-hand account back to his classes.
CANFIELD — Paul Lindstrom has been to all 48 states in the continental U.S., and that’s an asset for an American history teacher.
In July, he’ll check off number 49 when he travels to Hawaii to visit the site of a great tragedy.
The South Range High School teacher is one of 80 educators in the country to be chosen by the East-West Center in Honolulu for a workshop on the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese aircraft. The East-West Center is a research and education organization formed by Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations among the U.S., Asia and Pacific Islands.
The Landmarks of American History and Culture workshop is sponsored by the National Endowment of the Humanities, an independent grant-making agency of the federal government. The NEH is sponsoring two workshops on Pearl Harbor this summer, each for 40 educators.
There, Lindstrom will study the impact of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack when Japanese warplanes drew the U.S. into World War II by bombing the naval base, killing more than 2,300 and injuring more than 1,100 Americans.
His itinerary will include visits to attack sites, including the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, where many bodies are entombed in the remnants of the battleship sunk during the attack. Lindstrom will also have an opportunity to meet with survivors of the attack, WW II-era residents and Japanese-Americans who spent time in internment camps during the war.
U.S. and Japanese scholars will meet with the teachers to discuss topics including the impact of Pearl Harbor and the relationship between the two countries today.
Lindstrom, also the school’s assistant football coach, said he plans to take photos and video footage of his trip to include in lesson plans for the next school year.
“It’s about going to the source,” he said. “It’s about remembering.”
There is no cost to the district for the trip. Lindstrom will pay for his airfare and receive a $500 stipend from the NEH to help with lodging and meals. He will be staying in a dorm at the East-West Center.
Principal Phil Latessa called Lindstrom a “progressive” educator, and said he’s sure the trip will have a big impact on Lindstrom and his students.
“He’s not just reading about [Pearl Harbor], he’s going to be there,” Latessa said. “Whenever you get to experience history, you’re better off for it.”
The center will also make lesson plans available for teachers to take back to their respective districts.
Lindstrom applied for the program in March and was accepted in April after submitting a resume, reference letter from Latessa and an essay.
In his essay, Lindstrom said he wants to be able to share first-hand accounts of the tragedy with his students.
“I want my students to understand that our history consists of sacrifice and perseverance by the common man and woman and not just the great men written about in textbooks,” he wrote.
Lindstrom settled in Canfield three years ago after moving from southeastern Massachusetts with his wife, Kathy, and children Kendall, 11; Casey, 9; Stephen, 6; and Shane, 4.
He grew up in New England, attended the University of Utah and lived in Colorado, Virginia and Germany, where he was stationed with the Army from 1988-1991.
He said he makes a conscious effort to travel and bring back lessons to his classrooms whenever he can so students have a perspective different from the one offered in textbooks.
“I always try to bring a human element into my teaching,” he added.
Since he still has Alaska to check off his list, Lindstrom said he plans to see if there are any history-related programs out there for teachers.