Pure Manaʻo

Passion I have. What I need is to practice my elevator speeches, those short informative program synopses that can be done in the time it takes to ride the elevator.  Of course it will take me 4 posts. Post 1: The honua: building on solid ground The Alana culture-based education course is graphically depicted by the above logic model. The honua (green box), the earth, represents the mo'ok ūauhau, the geneology of this program that informs and guides the building of this course. Dr. Shawn Kanaʻiaupuni and her team lay the foundation for culture-based education (CBE) modeling and immersion within the course. Dr. Walter Kahumoku and Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa, in consultation with Dr. Bernice McCarthy (4Mat) bring to the geneology the work of moenahā, a curriculum planning concept based on the way kupuna taught. Makawalu, literally eight eyes, is a concept practiced by Kaʻimipono Kaiwi and her teachers at Kamehameha Kapālama to encourage multiple perspectives in the standards-b...

Timeline Summer 12 - pre-proposal, lit reviews, submission for B-credit, negotiations for a course (place, time) Fall 12 - build the course using the village, build in  indigenous, developmental evaluation and sustainability Spring 13 - submit IRB approvals, pa ʻa the logic model, recruit teacher leaders Summer 13 - Alana Summer Institute Fall 13 - teacher action research and gathering of data Spring 14 - analyze data, write Summer 14 - write, collaborate, present This is a "in an ideal world" timeline that does not take into account the village, the permissions from higher ups, the ability to exist on a non-budget, the recruitment of teachers willing to participate in this work with me, the full time job duties that I already have AND the fact that Iʻm supposed to be in 6 or 9 credits worth of my own courses in the Summer of 13 on Oahu when I want to serve my Big Island teachers. Any suggestions?

"From the vantage point of the colonized, a position from which I write, and choose to privilege, the term 'research' is inextricably linked to European imperialism and colonialism. The word itself, 'research,' is probably one of the dirtiest words in the indigenous world's vocabulary." ( Tuhiwai Smith , 1999) Paula Moya, a Chicana researcher says, "identities are fundamental to the process of all knowledge production" ( p. 102 ).   Like Tuhiwai Smith, I must also embrace my identity as a colonized researcher.  Moya goes on to say that education,  "should not be about merely inculcating status quo values,"  but to reject the status quo as a way to inculcate a "transformative multicultural education" that will educate all learners for democracy and social justice  (p. 109). The Alana Project, starting with this professional development course, which becomes my dissertation action research, sees transformative multicu...

Honua -  Land, earth, world; background, as of quilt designs; basic, at the foundation, fundamental (Pukui, Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary) Honua is what we start with. It is the solid foundation on which we build our own project. Honua is also the prior knowledge and experience that we all bring to this community of learners. What each participant brings to this community is their own personal sovereignty . We value the unique skills and talents that are inherent in each individual. The foundational work that comes before us are the key ingredients from the previous post (Chopped All Stars). The ho'o kahua is the structure that we build on this solid foundation.  This post is a mini shed to house a part of the literature review section that informs the Alana Culture Based Education Project (yes, I have a name now and an intentional design ).   Culture-based practices: Why this? Why now? "Indigenous culture-based educational strategies sugg...

My dissertation proposal as a culture-based education (CBE) version of Chopped All-Stars Please indulge my need for metaphors and analogies to make sense of my world. This is Part 1 of  4 blog posts to clarify my thinking on my proposed dissertation topic.  How will this study work? Gather strong chefs, leaders and innovators in their own right and challenge them to create synergistic culinary masterpieces in the CBE Project,  a professional development program. change chef to teacher; change culinary masterpieces to culture-based education-infused practices and curriculum )  The parameters:  time (Kamehameha Hawaiʻi 4-week course with deadlines for teachers' own action research and learning portfolio to follow) key ingredients ( CBE practices , moenahā framework, makawalu ,  and the   National Writing Project program model) the course (teachers' own content area and current curriculum) The question: How doe...

I have sat in on leadership meetings where we talk about extrinsic motivators for positive student behavior. When students are asked, "what would motivate you to do your homework, tuck in your shirt, not chew gum in school. . .?" students have answers, from the far fetched to the practical. Homework passes, free dress day (if uniforms are the norm), pizza party (or other food incentives), pool day, inflatables, etc. Sound familiar? We are trying to incentivize challenging tasks for the 13 year old who is in a hormonal battle that tops the cognitive/logical battle. I know I will sit in on more of these types of meetings, and I will be as professional as possible and "watch my face," but really, it's not going to work. Dan Pink's point on this TED talk is that science has found that the more challenging the task, the less people are affected by extrinsic motivators. In fact, the more incentive offered, the lower the performance. Dan Pink's TED talk...