Ke Alahou, Volume I, Number 3, 1 January 1980 — HAWAIIAN STUDIES IN THE DOE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HAWAIIAN STUDIES IN THE DOE

an interview with Robert L. Snakenberg

The Department of Education is reaffirming its committment to teach Hawaiian language and culture in the public school system. This is the impression given by Robert Lokomaika'i Snakenberg, the Hawaiian Studies Coordinator for the DOE. The Department is now in the stages of completing its studies on Hawaiian Studies and will be concentrating its efforts in seeking more and new classes to be available for students. Snakenberg says that the Department is seeking a special budget of $400,000 from the up-coming legislative session of the State. The funds will be used to establish positions for educational specialists and teachers. Most of the teacher's positions will be available for the hiring of elder Hawaiians. These positions will help the existing programs in the fourth, seventh and eleventh grades where Hawaiian history and culture is taught and also in existing language classes. The Department will begin to implement plans to teach Hawaiian in the kindergarten to third grade classes as the start of their long range program to offer Hawaiian on an equal basis as other languages. "The children should start getting language skills when they are young so in the secondary level they will want to choose Hawaiian as an elective" Snakenberg reasons. He adds that by beginning at the younger levels a well developed program can be planned In the high schools and university levels as the children become more skilled. However, he concedes that this program can not be done in a short time and there will be students who will be caught in the transition and miss the new programs. Another problem is the availability of elders to be hired to teach. The Department is in favor of using community resource persons like the elders, but the teaching schedules and responsibilities have limited their participation. We anticipate in the years to come the expansion of Hawaiian Studies in all the educational systems, however Snakenberg warns that we should not become so dependent upon the schools to teach our children our own language and culture. He says each student must make an effort to do more studying, talking to others in the language and be able to do things at home with his or her family if we want our language and culture to survive.