Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 6, 1 June 1996 — Tutorial project beautifies school, raises self-esteem [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Tutorial project beautifies school, raises self-esteem

by Patrick Johnston YT7aimānalo Elementary and * * Intermediate School has blossomed into a pretty attractive plaee these days, thanks in no _ jsmall part to Hawaiian kids from Gail Teshima's afterschool art program The program, one of 29 tutorials funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in 1995, ambitiously set out last September to beautify the school by creating a series of ceramic tile art works, eaeh depicting a different flower found in Hawai'i. The results, shown to the public for the first time last month, are 19 school buildings handsomely decorated with the students^ depiction of

Hawaiian floral life. "We started off with just native flowers," explains Teshima, "but eventually ended up with both native and nonnative plants." The students were helped by members of Hawai'i Jobcorps who mounted the tiles on the building walls. "It was good fun," says Hayley Cuban who was one of the students that helped with the Ilima mural. "It took a long time and was hard work but we enjoyed it." The program had a number of goals: one was to educate the students about the flowers and the process of building ceramic tiles; another was to help build the self-esteem of Hawaiian

students by involving them in a program that both they and the eommunity could be proud of. Vice Principle Charles Naumu explains that "Hawaiian kids are generally at the lower end of the academic performance level in Hawai'i's public schools." He points out that to overcome that, a tutorial ean either focus on academic study or try to raise the self-esteem of students through other activities. He believes their beautification project is such an activity.

A ceramic tile depiction of a lehua flower. One of 19 such artworks created by Hawaiian students in Waimānalo.

Students involved in Waimanalo Elementary/lntermediate's afterschool mural project.