A Metaphor for Hope

I love to post photos of rainbows on social media. I’ve been fortunate to capture some unusual or especially vibrant ones on my walks around our neighborhood. Yesterday, I posted this photo while we were in the car. 

As I write this blog post, more than 410,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, and 24.7 million have been infected. This pandemic has drastically altered our lives, and though we all thought it would be over in a few months, that has not happened. 

But I have optimism and hope that things will change. The vaccine is now available, and though many of us are not able to get it yet, we appreciate that our essential workers and kupuna (elders) are the priority. In Hawaii, some of our educators and school staff have already been vaccinated, and others are waiting. Hopefully, this will mean that schools can begin to reopen safely.

This is a perfect time for schools as well as the public to reflect on and to realize that our educational system needs a reboot. We cannot keep relying on test scores and grade point averages to define success. We need to focus on our students - their strengths, their needs, their interests - and help them to pursue their passions. 

During this pandemic, my husband and I watched a lot of DIY (Do It Yourself) shows like “Restoration,” “Maine Cabin Masters,” and “Overhauling.” I am amazed at the knowledge, the skills, and the pride that is evident in the workers throughout these shows. They do outstanding work, problem-solve constantly, work together, and consult with experts, all while keeping within the budget. I wonder what they learned in school and what they learned on their own.

I am filled with hope. My caption for this photo was, “After the rain comes rainbows and then sunshine. I am looking forward to better days ahead.” Let’s all be filled with hope - for our nation, our state, our schools, and our children. They are our future.

An Incredible Experience!

I decided that I had to share an incredible experience I had this past week because I’m still so amazed that I got to witness it. 

On Monday of this week, I noticed a swarm of honeybees in our pikake (jasmine) bush in the front of our home. I knew about swarms, that these bees were starting a new colony and following a queen bee to a new home; there can be only one queen in a hive. I took the following video and shared it on social media. I got lots of advice as well as “wow” emojis. 

I had seen swarms before so I knew that the bees would leave when they found a new place to build their hive, but on Tuesday, I called the Hawaii Bee Hotline to ask some questions and to make sure we had nothing to worry about. He informed me that scout bees had already gone on ahead and would be returning to the swarm to lead them to their new home and that all of bees will leave within a few days between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. 

On Wednesday morning, the swarm looked a little smaller, and at 3:05, I took our dog out and peeked at the swarm. It was still there, but there were a few bees flying around. I went into the house to get my phone so I could get a video, and what greeted me when I came out a minute later was unbelievable! I was lucky to get video of this moment.

This went on for about a minute, and then, the bees were gone. I was giddy with excitement, anxious to share this video with my social media community. 

The thing is that it was serendipitous. What if our dog didn’t have to go out at that time? What if I delayed going back out with my phone? What if I didn’t have it already set to video mode? I would have gone out and the swarm would have been gone. I would have missed it!

Of course, after watching this amazing experience, I had many more questions and did more research to find answers. My only regret was that I could not share it with my grandsons. I will share this blog with them and hope they will be as excited as I still am about witnessing this wonder of nature. 

Can It Get Any Worse?

I started a blog post yesterday. It was going to be a positive post, titled “Looking Back, Looking Forward,” and I planned to share a couple of beautiful photos of rainbows that I took since the start of the new year. I was filled with hope that 2021 would be a better year despite all the challenges we faced as a nation in the past year. 

As my husband and I were taking our daily walk yesterday morning, our son called to ask if we were watching the news. We hurried home and turned on the TV, and for the rest of the day, we watched in horror as protesters stormed the Capitol building as our elected Congressional representatives were meeting to certify the Presidential election.

I reflected back to the summer of 2019 when we took our grandsons who were then 9 and 12 years old, on a Revolutionary-Civil War tour. We visited museums, historical sites and national parks to experience, first-hand, the history of our country. We walked the Freedom Trail, visited museums, took a day trip to Gettysburg, and spent a day at the Capitol where they learned that Congress makes laws that should be good for the people of our country. The highlight was climbing the 300 stairs to the very top where we had a 360 degree view of the city. As we reflected at the end of the day, our discussion focused on why members of the Legislative and Executive branches of government were not working together. We could only hope that things would improve. Yesterday, our grandsons watched in sorrow and disbelief at the events that unfolded at the Capitol. 

How do we discuss this with our children? What can we say to them when they see this kind of destruction by adults? Is it okay to fan the flames of anger when we don’t get what we want and thereby, cause more damage? And should teachers be discussing these types of events in their classrooms? 

Our students today will be the leaders of tomorrow. They need opportunities to learn about and honestly discuss issues that impact them, not just today, but in their future. Teachers need to do more than assign chapters from textbooks and then test students on their recall in order to assign a grade. Students need to discuss current issues, and teachers need to be prepared to lead those discussions with their students. A concern is that teachers will tell students how to think, but that does not have to be the case. If there is a safe culture in the classroom, students will generate the questions and debate the issue respectfully. They will understand that it’s okay to agree to disagree because everyone’s opinions are influenced by their own personal experiences. 

Schools need to provide opportunities to discuss current issues if we want an informed citizenry. When students come to the classroom with questions about an event like what occurred yesterday, we cannot ignore them. This is a perfect opportunity to have respectful discussions, especially if there are differing opinions or if there are misconceptions about events. Teachers guide the discussions; they don’t tell students how or what to think. This blog  post provides some great advice for educators: How to talk to school children about the attack on Capitol Hill matters

This event was unprecedented in our history, and we hope it never happens again. This is why it is important for students to have opportunities to discuss and to share their feelings about events like these. School may be the best opportunity for them to do so.