A Magical Morning

 What a magical moment, spending time this morning with Jennifer Lee's first graders at Haleiwa Elementary School! I shared a little bit about Jennifer's classroom in an earlier blog ("In Every Crisis Lies the Seed of Opportunity") and today, my husband Randy and I visited to experience the butterfly garden, first-hand.

It started when a caterpillar crawled into their classroom, and the idea for a butterfly garden grew from that one serendipitous moment. Jennifer shares that the students were excited and had so many questions, so naturally, she saw this as an important learning opportunity. By accessing grants as well as community partnerships, the students have become experts and proudly answered our questions and explained different aspects of their garden. They pointed out teeny tiny eggs on the bottoms of milkweed or crown flower leaves. They found caterpillars of all sizes and placed them gently into habitats where they could observe the transformation into butterflies before being released. They separated the milkweed seeds so they can plant more milkweed plants, a favorite food of the monarch butterfly. They asked questions, did research, and wrote their own information books about the monarch butterfly. And they are discussing how they can sustain the project by selling products at an upcoming school Pop-Up Fair. A couple of their ideas are selling a make-and-take habitat for a caterpillar so families can observe the life cycle or selling the milkweed seeds they have laboriously collected in a jar to grow more plants for food for monarch butterflies..

I would not have known about this butterfly garden if I hadn't crossed paths with Jennifer on one of our daily walks. We talked and her excitement was so infectious. Jennifer sent me a few photos along with an invitation to visit. I am so glad we took her up on her invitation.

So many teachers are like Jennifer. They are doing great things in their classrooms, but as teachers, we don't often have opportunities to learn with and from others except with those at our own school. A few years ago, teachers had "professional development leave" and they could attend a conference, visit other schools or classrooms, work on their university coursework, or participate in other professional learning opportunities. I know our teachers took advantage of this PD leave, and we supported and encouraged them to do so. Alas, a few years later, that PD leave became "personal" leave. 

There are many teachers like Jennifer who welcome visitors and who would love to hear new ideas from their colleagues from other schools. Wouldn't it be wonderful if teachers had professional learning days in addition to their sick leave and personal leave days? Perhaps teacher professional development should be more personalized and include opportunities to learn with and from others, to discuss challenges and to try out new ideas, and to learn from others including colleagues from other schools. In this day and age, we should be able to collaborate instead of everyone trying to reinvent the wheel. 

And if you get the opportunity, go visit the butterfly garden at Haleiwa Elementary School! 

P.S. Do you know how to tell which side is the head of the caterpillar? Do you know how to tell if a monarch butterfly is male or female? I learned something new from the students today! 

Students were excited to share with us about what they were learning. They certainly had sharp eyes, pointing out teeny tiny eggs as well as teeny tiny caterpillars!

These are milkweed seeds. They reminded me of dandelions because the winds sent them floating in the air. Students were separating the seeds; they have collected a lot of seeds for replanting.

A caterpillar and a monarch butterfly. I didn't get a good photo of a chrysalis, but there were empty ones that indicated a new butterfly had emerged.

It was really neat to see the metamorphosis of the students as writers! When a couple of them read their earlier books to me, they realized how much they had grown as writers. "I didn't spell very well when I wrote this book," one student shared. Yet the content and the voice of the students were evident in each book.

My New Purpose

When I was preparing to retire in the summer of 2018 after 45 years as an educator, I wasn't really sure  what I would do with the rest of my life. I knew that I would continue to follow education issues but I did not have any specific plans. Then our world turned upside-down. Our middle son, Jarand, was diagnosed with Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease in January and a scant five months later in May 2018, he passed away peacefully in his sleep. He was 38 years old with the whole world ahead of him (Aloha, Jarand) I was devastated. 

It was Jarand's passing that that gave me my purpose, post-retirement. My husband Randy and I made it a point to learn what we could about CKD and to share our message with others, especially with young people like Jarand. When I wrote my first book (Leading with Aloha: From the Pineapple Fields to the Principal's Office), I donated a portion of the proceeds to the National Kidney Foundation of Hawai`i for education programs, and when Randy and I spoke with groups to promote my book, we always ended by sharing about Jarand and telling those in attendance that they needed to take care of themselves so they can take care of others. The message resonated, but I felt that it was just for that moment. Without more information, people don't necessarily make changes in their lifestyle that could lead to better health.

This is why Randy and I were honored to be asked to serve on the NKFH Kidney Walk 2022 committee to bring awareness to this disease. It was a first-time event, and the goal was to raise funds for programs to educate the public and to provide support for those who were struggling with kidney disease. We sent out letters to friends and family and invited them to contribute and to participate in the Kidney Walk. We were able share Jarand's story via a video produced by a good friend, Marvin Buenconsejo, and we continue to tell people about Chronic Kidney Disease. 

The NKFH Kidney Walk took place yesterday, and it was a great success. The number of participants as well as the amount collected for NKFH exceeded expectations. I was pleased to see so many people of all ages walking the 1.7 mile route and visiting the booths to learn more about taking care of their health. I saw several groups with shirts that were made for the Walk, and I talked to a young mom and asked her who she was walking for. She said she was the one with CKD Stage 5 and that she was undergoing dialysis. She recognized me from the video and thanked me for sharing the message about CKD. I wished her the best; she has two young children and my hope is that more people like her can live full lives despite their CKD.  

Randy and I with my cousins on the walk standing by Jarand's sign.

Whenever I see this photo, I get a little lump in my throat. This is how I will always remember our son with a big smile on his face.

I know that much more needs to be done, and Randy and I will continue to share the message about Jarand and Chronic Kidney Disease.  I feel that every time we share Jarand's story, we have the opportunity to make a difference for other families. That is why I continue to support the National Kidney Foundation of Hawai`i. I believe that Jarand lives on if others hear his story and decide to take better care of their health. That is my hope.

If you'd like more information, visit the National Kidney Foundation website at kidney.org or check out the articles below.

Chronic Kidney Disease Takes Heavy Toll in Hawaii

Kidney Disease: The Basics

Race, Ethnicity, and Kidney Disease

America's Health Rankings - Chronic Kidney Disease

Hawai`i Educators Write

 

Back in July 2019 after my first book was published, Kristi Oda messaged me and asked if I would share my writing journey with the Hawai`i Educators Write group. These educators got together once a month at the Entrepreneurs Sandbox in Kakaako to support each other in their writing projects. It was a nice, friendly group which immediately put me at-ease. It was wonderful to see educators who were already writing and sharing their messages publicly. At the time, Kristi mentioned that they were hoping to expand this writing opportunity to the neighbor islands.

When the pandemic shut down in-person events in March 2020, HEW went virtual. These educator writers continued to set aside the last Wednesday of every month to write and meet virtually. Today, March 5, 2022 was the first in-person event since the pandemic began. HEW hosted a retreat at beautiful Kane`ohe Elementary School, and I was excited to see how much the group has grown!

This was taken at the Hawai`i Educators Write session in July 2019 . . .

. . . and this was the group today! There were educator-writers from public, charter, and private schools and included some who flew in from the neighbor islands. In this photo, participants were holding copies of What School Could Be, a gift from Ted Dintersmith and Josh Reppun. 

It was a picture-perfect day! Kane`ohe Elementary is located on the windward side of the island where the Ko`olau mountains are on one side and the ocean can be seen in the opposite direction. It was my first time at the school, and I was so impressed with the whole environment. It's no wonder that the Kane`ohe Elementary school community has a strong sense of place; their values are truly rooted in the culture and history of Kane`ohe.

What an amazing venue for the first Hawai`i Educators Write retreat!

I have been retired for almost four years now, so seeing all these amazing educators in person was wonderful! I met many of them for the first time although we have been friends on Twitter for several years. Talking with other educators about writing was inspiring, and I was so appreciative that I was invited to this event! I have no doubt that this Hawai`i Educators Write group will continue to grow in the future. They are certainly making their voices heard!