Pure Manaʻo

Hilo Hotel I'm posting this late, but I wanted to make sure that I answered the question. I'd like to blog about the South Africa lessons I learned too, but it has been a while since I had access to a computer, so I wanted to talk about the question of what difference does place-based education make for our students (Tamara's question)? There are tons of scholarly articles on place-based education , and if you want to read more, I included a link, but on a gut level, do I think that place-based education makes a difference? Yes. From an indigenous point of view, students must know their "mo'o" before they truly know themselves. They need to understand their moʻokūauhau (their geneology), their mo'olelo (the stories of their 'ohana). In the same way, they also need to know the mo'olelo of their  one hānau (the sands of their birth). They should know the name of their mountain, the name of their wind, the name of their rain, the name of their wa...

Wondrous Words , a photo by cathy.ikeda on Flickr. I brought some books with me to leave at the Durban Writing Project site and I've been rereading this Katie Wood Ray classic. Even if you don't teach in the elementary, you won't go wrong with this book that balances pedagogy with practicality. One part talks about selecting books to read aloud, not only to model good reading, but to get the sound of good writing into students' heads (79). For as many pieces that are chosen for students that will appeal to them as readers, we need to fill their diet as writers by including books with stunning, rereadable language. What pieces do you gravitate towards as read alouds with beautiful language? After 20 years of teaching, I never get tired of Sandra Cisneros' House on Mango Street. Her imagery still leaves me breathless. I also enjoy the different kind of imagery in Juliet Kono's "love" poem "Tongue" although I admit to not reading the las...

, a photo by cathy.ikeda on Flickr. I'm at the airport again, faced with another five hour layover. Here's what I learned: • A one day pass for the lounge is worth it if you have a lot of time. It keeps you away from the chaos of the terminal and you usually get free wi fi, drinks and snacks. • The Delta sky lounge in Atlanta, concourse E has a shower. • Hawaii has no exchange site to exchange South African rands. Perhaps it's because there are no direct flights to South Africa. • After the first two hours and a 1/2 hour nap, things get really slow. Buy a book that you're willing to donate to the plane or hotel room. • Use the slow time to actually go over the work you brought. Perhaps, like me you will find out that the large article I brought called "Working with Second Language Learners: Answers to Teachers' Top Ten Questions" only has 8 answers. Doh! Not only that, but when I actually read it I had a "duh?!" rather than an "aha" ...

I am not, by nature, a cocktail party person. I am introverted, more comfortable on the sidelines, and I do not, like engaging in small talk. Writing Project leaders, though, by nature are outgoing, friendly people persons. What do Writing Project people schedule for their first activity at a new site director's conference? A cocktail party of course. An introverts strategy at a cocktail party is to stick close to the person you came with, and if you find yourself separated, then find one person you connect with and stick to them. That's how I met Cheryl Canada Logan, director for the mid Ohio writing project. Something just clicked with us. She was just back from Jamaica, having worked with teachers there. I talked about my interest in culture-based education and we hit it off. Who knew that the encounter at a cocktail party in Arizona would turn into an opportunity to join Cheryl in South Africa two years later, but that's how things seem to happen in life, so I...

Thank you to Barry Lane and Kelly Galagher for reiterating that yes, there is no magic bullet that will "fix" education. The only way to "fix" education is to support dedicated teachers, like these two gentlemen, who are willing to do the hard work.

In this upcoming election, Hawaii voters are being asked to vote on whether we should give up the right to vote for a school board and instead have a board appointed by the governor. Proponents of an appointed board say that this will increase accountability. At this point, since the elected board is powerless without the legislature's funding, and the legislature is powerless if the governor vetoes that funding, then the finger pointing will of course ensue. With an appointed board, the buck stops at the governor. I went to a panel discussion the other day sponsored by the League of Women Voters and former governor Ben Cayetano was one of the two speakers for an appointed board. According to Cayetano, an appointed board would eliminate the micromanaging that goes on with an elected board because they would "know their role" and be in sync with what is best for the schools. He also said that he knows many very qualified people in the corporate world that would be excell...

The Hawaii Council of Teachers of English (HCTE) sponsored "Professor Nana," Dr. Teri Lesesne (rhymes with insane) for their fall workshop this morning at Mid Pacific Institute in Mānoa. Neither the $50 fee nor the fact that this was a gorgeous Saturday and we were in a 1/2-day workshop was enough to dissuade the packed cafeteria of teachers. If you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YA and tween books like I do. . .if it's your guilty pleasure. . .if you read YA books in order to find something one of your reluctant readers will devour, then Professor Nana is the ultimate source in YA books. I first saw her in San Antonio for a literacy workshop with Kylene Beers. I have followed her blog The YA Goddess since 06, and whenever I'm at NCTE, I make sure I go to at least one of her sessions. It's true that her power points are always on her slide share account, but I always get more insight when I watch her because she book talks some of the covers that are in her slide show. ...