Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 4, 1 April 2011 — Leaders gather to discuss Hawaiian education [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Leaders gather to discuss Hawaiian education

Speakers at the NHEA convention encourage higher expectations for keiki

ByTreenaShapiro After listening to featured speakers at the Native Hawaiian Education Association's 12th annual Convention, musician and educator Noelani Mahoe expressed dismay that Hawaiians still battle a negative stereotype. "You have to set higher standards for the ehildren you teach," she told the attendees. Raising expectations for Hawaiian students was a recurring theme at the March 17-18 eonvention at Windward Community College, whieh celebrated the work of the late Ilei Beniamina, a longtime supporter of Native Hawaiian education and a prior Educator of the Year recipient. Beniamina also served as an OHA Trustee in 2000. In his keynote address, Honolulu Poliee Chief Louis Kealoha discussed the importance of sending the right message to Native Hawaiian children.

Kealoha grew up accepting that it was OK if he wasn't smart as long as he was a good person. "I wasn't a good student in anything," he says. "Not even athletics." It wasn't until Kealoha joined the poliee force that he realized he needed to further his education if he hoped to rise through the ranks. Today, he not only leads the Honolulu Poliee Department, but he is also an adjunct professor at Chaminade University with a doctorate in education fromthe University of Southern California. He credits his family's belief in his abilities

with helping him envision and reach higher goals. "Anything worth doing is not achieved in a vacuum. You can't do it on your own," he says. If Native Hawaiians are to elevate their status, they need to shift away from telling their children it's OK if they don't succeed and instead let them know that they're eapahle of better things. Without support from people who believe in you, it's easier to personalize failure and give up when things get too tough, Kealoha warns. "You lose hope. Your options heeome limited." Kealoha's remarks were met with approval from a panel that included all three recipients of NHEA Educator of the Year Awards sponsored by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Honorees Charlene and Calvin Hoe find that many middle-schoolers have little hope left by the time they enroll at the Hakipu'u Learning Center Charter School. "If you don't have a sense of hope within your life, pretty mueh everything closes down. What we try to do at Hakipu'u is rebuild that," Charlene says. The Hoes founded the charter school in 2001 to provide culture-based education with an enviXI NHEA ON PAGE 12

Charlene Hoe, Calvin Hoe and Rose Yamada were honored as Educators of the Year, an award sponsored by OHA. - Photo: īreena Skpiro

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ronmental focus. Over the past decade, the school has also focused on helping individual learners uncover their strengths and discover how they ean be successful. "Our job is not to pour goodness into them, but find out what the goodness is already in them, and what they ean share," says Calvin. There's no magic bullet when it comes to teaching a diverse mix of learners, Charlene points out. Educators ean offer support, encouragement and exposure to ideas, but ultimately students decide whether to commit to achieving their goals. To that end, the school embraces whatever teaching strategies effectively engage students - whether it's digging in the taro patch or using Skype technology to talk with the crew of the Hokule'a voyaging eanoe. The kūpuna took advantage of new technologies, so Calvin sees no reason to fear innovation today. "We have to take the best fromall the different worlds," he says. While Calvin doesn't think Hawaiian kids need to be taught any differently from their

peers, he questions why they don't seem to fit in the puhlie school system. "We know that our kids are not stupid. They eome from a proud race of people who excel," he asserts. Panelist Rose Yamada offered a different perspective on the puhlie school system. The retired Department of Education curriculum specialist was named an Educator of the Year for her efforts to improve educational opportunities for Native Hawaiian students from within the school system, including creation of the Hawaiian Studies program. "It's important that some of you in this room aspire to be part of the bureaucracy," because it has the broadest reach, as well as the most money and resources for education, she explains. "What our kids need us to do is ask for what they deserve and more." Hawaiian educators ean broaden students' horizons and inspire them to pursue greater opportunities, Yamada says. "Our children need to aspire to do more things." ■ Treena Shapiro, a freeīance writer, is a former reporterfor the Honolulu Star-Bul-letin and Honolulu Advertiser.

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