Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 7, 1 July 1993 — Public school immersion: Learning in Hawaiian, thinking in Hawaiian [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Public school immersion: Learning in Hawaiian, thinking in Hawaiian

by Jeff Clark Public Hawaiian immersion education began in 1987 with state Department of Education kindergarten classes at Waiau (Pearl City, O'ahu) and Keaukaha (Big Island) elementary schools. This year those trailblazing students will be moving up to seventh grade. Other DOE elementary schools with immersion programs, known as Kula Kaiapuni Hawai'i, are at Pā'ia, Maui; Kapa'a, Kaua'i; Pū'ōhala, O'ahu; and Kualapu'u, Moloka'i. Students leam all their subjects, including math and science, in Hawaiian. Until the fifth grade, when English is taught for one hour per day, the only English they speak is when they interact with non-immersion students during 'āina awakea, or "luneh," and on the pā pā'ani, or "playground."

Some question the wisdom of educating students in a language not used by society: will these children be able to function in the English-speaking world? Immersion students, like all DOE students, are evaluated in the third and sixth grades. Anita Bruce, who oversees the Asian, European and Pacific languages program in the DOE Office of Instructional Services, said thirdgrade immersion students take standardized tests that have been translated into Hawaiian, and sixth-grade immersion students take the tests in English. Their results are comparable to those of their English-speaking peers. If that's not convincing enough, consider this: the winner of last year's statewide student Englishlanguage poetry contest was a Hawaiian immersion student, Kekua Burgess. The language immersion pro-

gram is supported by Hale Kuamo'o, the Hawaiian language center funded by the state Legislature to support and advocate Hawaiian immersion education. Hale Kuamo'o, whieh develops materials and trains teachers, is based at UH-Hilo. While Pūnana Leo requires parental involvement, the DOE cannot. But some parents want to learn, so the teachers hold night classes. "We don't teach the language, we teach through the language," said Keiki Kawai'ae'a, luna ho'oikaika papa ha'awina (curriculum developer) for Hale Kuamo'o. For example, nonimmersion students might learn the concept of kuleana through a story or parable, whereas immersion students don't need a lesson on kuleana because it is one of the Hawaiian concepts they live daily.

Funds are available to establish more Pūnana Leo sites. How about one in your eommunity? photo by 'Aha Pūnana Leo, ine.