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!