An Amazing Morning

 So many schools and teachers are doing amazing things, but we aren’t always aware about them. Unless we are friends on social media or we know someone in the school or someone writes a news article or it’s shared on the nightly news, we might never know. Until I listened to Josh Reppun’s podcast (Episode 93), I had no idea about the Career and Technical Education (CTE) agriculture program at Leilehua High School.  

Today, my husband Randy and I were able to visit that CTE pathway. They are growing squash, pumpkins, corn, broccoli, Japanese cucumbers, and other vegetables which they give away to the students in their program or sell to their faculty or the community. Many of those crops were planted to be sold at the Fall Festival coming up in October. Additionally, students are growing flowers, a project that started during the pandemic where they discovered that people were eager to brighten their homes with the colorful flowers, mostly dahlias in all colors and shapes as well as anthuriums. (What started out as 60 anthurium potted plants has grown to over 400 pots, and the number keeps increasing!) They discovered that Wahiawa’s climate is perfect for raising protea, and now, they are cultivating protea plants; there is a market for these flowers which are generally only grown in certain areas of Maui. There are other sources of food on their premises - taro, banana, lemons, oranges.  There are animal pets - ducks, pot-bellied pigs, turkeys, a goat, a mule, and hens which lay eggs daily. There are even beehives .

Students don’t just learn about agriculture, though. A GEER grant provided funds to purchase equipment such as FarmBots. A space was cleared out for solar panels and solar battery storage which will power the FarmBots, and students will use this technology to hopefully increase production of food sources. The plan is to use the FarmBots to raise Romaine lettuce which will be served in their school cafeteria. As students experience success in using these FarmBots, I am certain they will use them to provide an ideal environment to grow other vegetables.

Here in Hawaii, 90% of our food is imported. We recognize the need to change that, statistic,  and it is possible. Starting in our schools is one of the best ways to change our habits. Just recently, Civil Beat published this article about Hana, Maui, where they are working to make their community more self-sustaining, starting with students at the school growing and harvesting local foods. In the rural community of Ka`u, students are also making a difference for their community and learning to not only grow and harvest food, but to market them as well. (Read article.)  These rural communities recognize the need to provide opportunities for their children to live and work in the area where they were raised. Leilehua High School is involving younger students as well with partnerships and mentoring for elementary and middle schools in their area. Hopefully, all of their complex area schools can be involved in the future. 

Schools are still recovering from the pandemic. Yes, there was learning loss, but students need more than academics and test-taking skills to be successful in their future. They need these kinds of hands-on, real-world experiences where they can apply the academic skills they are learning, where they work with others to achieve success, where failure sometimes happens but they problem-solve to make improvements. I believe that innovation in schools needs to be encouraged. Leilehua’s CTE agriculture program can be a model for other schools to follow. 

With Principal Nakamoto and Teacher Jackie Freitas

Students are already harvesting and selling some of the squash that are growing. 

One of the larger pumpkins that are growing; the school is preparing for the Fall Festival for the community that will be held on October 22. 

These are some of the students in the CTE agriculture pathway. They are weeding the area where the protea are growing.

These colorful dahlias were an unexpected hit during the pandemic. People wanted something beautiful in their homes during that time. Now they are expanding their flower sales to include different kinds of flowers including protea.

They are growing Japanese cucumbers in this hydroponic system. 

One of Jackie’s students painted a mural to honor her teacher and the Leilehua CTE agriculture program. 

This area will soon have solar panels as well as a solar battery system to power the FarmBots in that greenhouse. The students also have composting pits and a vermiculture bin, and only organic products are used for the crops. 

Third Culture Kids

Imagine moving from Indiana to Japan at the age of 3, the only blonde kid in your school. You spend six years in Japan, then move back to your home country, the United States, only to be teased and bullied for speaking with a Japanese accent and not being able to understand the nuances of the  language. You persevere through several other transitions, each time building your resiliency and transitioning between two cultures. Meet Casey Eugene Bales, 35-year-old author of the recently-published book, Invisible Outsider: From battling bullies to building bridges, my life as a Third Culture Kid. 

Imagine living in Spain for three years then Italy for four years as the child of a parent who served in the diplomatic service. Returning to your passport country, you are totally clueless about the American culture. You look like everyone else, but your clothes are wrong, your haircut is wrong, you don't know how to dial a phone, and you are used to riding in a car with American flags on the hood. You share your experiences in a blog about the bullying you endured when your family returned to the United States. You  turned to reading: "Keeping my nose in a book helped bridge the chasm between my old life and my new existence, and reading about young, strong main characters enabled me to put those bullies in perspective." Meet Margo Sorenson, author of more than thirty books for young readers and a Third Culture Kid.

Imagine living in Italy from age 6-13, immersing yourself in that culture and becoming fluent in the language, then coming back to Philadelphia, not understanding the language because everyone was speaking slang. You need to navigate middle school by yourself because your older sisters are now in high school. Basketball is your ticket to re-assimilate into American culture. Meet Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time and a Third Culture Kid.

What is a Third Culture Kid? According to Wikipedia, "Third culture kids (TCK) are people who were raised in a culture other than their parents' or the culture of their country of nationality, and also live in a different environment during a significant part of their child development years." 

I had never heard of "Third Culture Kids" or TCKs  until I read Casey's book. There was much to absorb about his description of the different stages of his life as a TCK, and I found myself reflecting on what I read during and after each chapter.  It was not an easy journey, and he shared in an email to me, ". .  . if more educators and kids understood the existence of TCKs, there would be more patience and understanding towards kids with bi/multi-cultural backgrounds. " 

As I reflected on both Casey and Margo's experiences and their comments, I recalled my time as a principal at a military-impacted school and realized that those students could also be considered Third Culture Kids. Like Casey who attended several different schools in Japan and the United States, our military-impacted students often find themselves having to adjust to a new school many times in their lives, often in the middle of the year. TCKs and their families could benefit from learning how to transition to their new environment and to understand the culture of their new home and new school. We in Hawai`i have a unique culture, so students and their families could also learn more about our multicultural society, to respect our unique history, and to care for this place we are proud to call home. Every school should have these kinds of support services, whether from a transition coordinator or a counselor or another staff member or even from trained student ambassadors. When dropped down into a new unfamiliar culture, students may need someone to help them navigate the changes.

I notice a commonality between Casey and Margo as well as many of our TCK students. They are resilient. They persevere. They are empathetic. They are observant. And they are survivors; they may get pushed down, but they get back up. In this mult-cultural world we live in, we should all strive to be like Casey and Margo who share their experiences to bridge understanding between people. Casey writes on page 4 of his book,  "How I wish I could tell my younger me that travel and culture shock would be my birth pains leading to a lifetime passion for developing tolerance, celebrating diversity, and manifesting acceptance toward all cultures. At last, I understand that having so little in common with my peers was the push to make me realize how much I have in common with people the whole world over." And in her email, Margo writes, "I am more than grateful for the experiences, because it has shaped how I interact with people. We TCKs know we need to read body language, listen to intonations in voice, and process cultural differences - which we have done since day one (well, three months old!) - and accept without questioning that other people are different and we are not all the same and that we value others, despite how different they might be."  

Our world is getting smaller. Technology makes it possible to lessen distances between countries and between people. We travel more and relocate more so Third Culture Kids may become more prevalent in the near future. I think of my niece, her husband, and their young children who live in Paraguay. They are having rich experiences, meeting people, and learning a new culture. They will benefit from their TCK experience. Casey closes his book with this: "If I have learned anything from my TCK experience, it is this: anyone is capable of developing tolerance, celebrating diversity, and manifesting acceptance towards others. Inclusion is not a head issue; it's a heart issue. To accept those who are different is a choice." 

Spark and Inspire!

 

I had the amazing experience of attending this year's Spark and Inspire event this past week. Sponsored by Teach for America Hawai`i and HawaiiKidsCan, this event invited three educators to pitch their ideas to those in attendance to gain funding for their projects. It was definitely inspiring as all three teachers were articulate, and their project ideas were outstanding and relevant.

First, Cerina Livaudais shared about how she had wanted to be an engineer but as a female, she felt out-of-place and ignored in her college classes. Now she teaches computer science at Dream House Ewa Beach so that no student ever feels that they don't belong. Cerina's goal is to make computer science available to all students, not just at her school, but in all schools in our state. Listening to Cerina made me wish that I could go back to school to take computer science classes and to understand about coding, Minecraft, and creating apps that reflect our unique culture here in Hawaii. (Link to Cerina's video)

Next, Zachary Morita, a music teacher from Niu Valley Middle School along with students from his Youth Advisory Board, spoke eloquently about music performance and how much they grew in confidence through their participation in the Music Olympics. They would like to expand that program to include more K-12 students, especially those who aren't able to take private lessons. I was fortunate to attend the first Music Olympics back in 2019, and all of the participant groups were poised, played music beautifully and with confidence. Schools today often eliminate the arts in order to balance their budgets. This is why programs such as the Music Olympics needs to be supported. (Link to Zachary's video)

The final educator to share his project was Isaiah Pule, a teacher at Kamaile Academy. Isaiah remembers the time when a teacher made a difference in his life. As a young student who didn't realize his own identity as a young Hawaiian, the canoe E Ala helped Isaiah learn about his roots and the connection between land and sea. It helped him to appreciate and be proud of his heritage, and now he shares those hopes and dreams with the students he teaches. The E Ala has been dormant for the past five years and Isaiah hopes to revitalize the canoe so it can be used to give students in the Waianae area real-world experiences that can help them to rediscover and be proud of their roots. (Link to Isaiah's video)

As I left the Spark and Inspire event, I was a bit troubled. Here were three teachers who were pitching excellent projects and hoping for donations from businesses and other education supporters. All of their projects were worthy, but without extra funding, their dream projects may not be realized. 

Many teachers have wonderful project ideas, but continued funding can be a barrier. Grants may be available, but often, they are time-limited with restrictions. Once the grant funding is over, schools need to find the funding to continue the program, and unfortunately, that is not always possible. 

I wish that all educators had more opportunities to receive funding for projects that will make a difference for the students they teach. There are funding sources such as Good Idea Grants and Donors Choose that teachers here in Hawaii can apply for. That's a good place for educators to start, and hopefully, more funding will be available in the future. Let's support our teachers by providing more opportunities for them to receive funding for the kind of projects that we learned about at Spark and Inspire. 

Teacher Reclassification

I've been following a Twitter conversation about professional development and reclassification for teachers here in Hawai`i. There is a level of frustration with the requirements, and unfortunately, many of the courses that pass as "professional development" fail to inspire. 

When I began teaching in the Department, I was pretty clueless about reclassification. Back then, the classes for teachers were held in-person, usually during the summer, and I was teaching summer school at that time. The classes were often in large meeting rooms, where the incentive to get a credit or two outweighed the fact that the classes had no relevance to teaching and learning. When a new Superintendent was appointed in 2001, she announced that classes like "basket-weaving" would no longer be eligible for recertification. 

Things changed for the better. At the time, we could receive credit for school-sponsored professional development courses that focused on a school-wide goal. Our principal set up the PD class, and we attended the sessions and implemented lessons that demonstrated our understanding. But somewhere along the line, things changed, and suddenly, teachers were required to submit portfolios as evidence of fulfilling the requirements of the class. From the aforementioned Twitter conversation, that portfolio has been a stumbling block for teachers even though many of them are leaders within their school or community.  Additionally, Department-approved courses that are relevant for teachers may be lacking. Our counselors shared that there were very few courses they could take in order to reclassify; this is unfair to those in positions with few options. 

I understand the frustration of these teachers on Twitter. It takes  leadership to call attention to something that isn't working and to offer suggestions. 

One suggestion is to allow teachers to share their learning in multiple ways just like we do for our students. A portfolio binder which is now a requirement, is just one way to show evidence of learning and application to the classroom. Just as students have options - electronic portfolio, video, blog, poster, oral presentation, etc. - we should leave it up to the course instructor, not someone sitting in an office, to determine if the course requirements were met. Maybe the instructor could have options as well; if a student did most of the work but failed to complete one section, perhaps that student could earn 1 or 2 credits for a 3-credit course. 

When our  Department implemented the Educator Effectiveness System, one of the major changes (after an initial year of mayhem) was a focus on Professionalism. I felt that we were finally on the right track with teacher development. (Read my blog about it back in 2015.) Perhaps this can be another option to ensure that all teachers have the opportunity to grow and to gain Department-approved credits in the process. School leaders would meet with teachers throughout the year to provide guidance and support, and at the end of the year, there can be a public exhibition where teachers share evidences of their learning and growth. There could be a system in place where teachers can earn up to a maximum number of credits for the year.  In this way, every teacher has the possibility of moving towards reclassification, not just those who have the time or who have course options.

It was suggested that perhaps a group made up of different stakeholders could tackle the professional development reclassification system. This is a great idea; that group can be convened to create a fair and equitable system that ensures that our teachers continue to grow as professional. When our teachers are trusted to be creative and innovative and to own their own learning, they will be more excited about teaching, and that enthusiasm and confidence transfers to their students. 

I hope that those teachers who shared concerns on Twitter about the professional development reclassification system will work towards that goal. Sharing concerns on social media reaches a limited audience. I encourage discussions and a plan of action. Times have changed, and expectations for our teachers need to change as well.