Findings
During this investigation, I was able to collect data from a variety of student activities including reading response journals, class discussions, surveys, interviews, and interactive projects. Several students commented that this was the first class in which they spent considerable time reading and discussing Hawaiian literature, culture, and conflicts. Their work also revealed that non-Hawaiian students felt more appreciation for the land and empathy for indigenous people, while Native Hawaiian students made connections with their experiences inside and outside of the classroom. The most prevalent common theme that emerged for all students was the impact setting had on their engagement with local texts.
Many responses went beyond literary elements and demonstrated a significant interest in the causes of homelessness in Hawaii. Another significant finding is that many students showed evidence of their learning in their response journals (i.e. many explained how their thinking changed as they were reading and interpreting the text). Finally, it was bittersweet to observe that several students chose to discuss the issue of Covid-19, tourism, and how local perspectives often clash with those who are not from Hawaii.
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I believe that the following examples demonstrate that place-based learning and indigenous texts have a profound effect on student engagement and learning. Several of the narratives truly are Ho'ike Na Ka Pu'uwai, "revelations of the heart." There are so many wonderful narratives that I had a difficult time trying to decide which examples to share here. In the future, I intend to expand this section of the website to include a categorized gallery of their perennial work.
Throughout my life, I have read many books, for school and for fun, but I never could fully relate to the setting or characters. Written in the sky made it easy to connect to since it is based on a place I have lived in my whole life.
- Kiana
As Hawaii grows older, the more we are exposed to different things and I appreciate how they incorporate this into the book. There are positives and negatives all though, My ancestors were most likely brought here for the plantation but eventually grew deep roots like most of the people in Hawaii with our people coming so did different traditions, practices, and beliefs, like buddha or taking your slippers off before entering a home.
- Rylan
Since I’m also of Native Hawaiian descent I related to this book in many ways, culturally. I enjoyed the book because of this, it felt more personalized. When the author added the Hawaiian language and Pidgin dialect to the story, it especially touched my heart because I could understand it on a deeper level. I speak some Pidgin and Hawaiian which helped me understand parts of the book where the meaning is left anonymous for people who only speak English or other languages. - Camille
In the story Written In The Sky, I think it changed my life a little bit. I feel like it really opened my eyes. People think Hawai'i is just a place of paradise and pretty beaches. Or the beautiful culture and the music. But Hawai'i is also the people that come with it. I can only say that most of Hawai'i sees America or Americans as thieves. They stole what was ours and made like it was theirs. It wasn't right. I feel that it is possible to write our own stories to shape our own lives. Being observant and open to new ideas and writing about it. - Breyanna
Up until now, I had lived in a place where ethnically speaking white was the majority. This was not the case in Hawaii, where there is an Asian majority. At first, I didn’t really understand what this meant. I thought of Hawaii as a place similar to Florida, where I spent most of my summers. I had no idea of the conflicts between tourists and Native Hawaiians. My mind was a blank slate when it came to Hawaii. When my family visited Mauna Kea on the big Island I was just beginning to realize what it meant to live in Hawaii. We drove up and up the mountain. The first thing I saw when we got to the top was giant white telescopes dominating the landscape. It wasn’t until after I saw the telescope that I noticed the dark red soil. This was before the protests began. I didn’t realize then that it was a sacred site, the gift shop only advertised the astronomy aspect of the mountain. Not what it meant to the people around. The Hawaiian culture is deeply spiritual, something I had never really cared about. However, when I listened to my hula teacher talk about Hawaiian culture it made me feel more connected to the place I live. The Aloha spirit means something different to everyone I suppose, for me it means generosity. I have never lived in a place before where people let you in at an intersection even when there are five lanes of traffic and everyone wants to get home. It also means gratitude. People here are more thankful than anywhere else I have visited, and I think it has something to do with the fact that they live in a place of such abundance that they have lots to be grateful for.
- Opal
What I liked most about the book is that it is the only book that I have read that is about people in Hawaii. I can relate to ‘Ikau because we share many cultural things.can also relate to him culturally. He is Hawaiian and I am Tahitian. Hawaiians originally came from Tahiti. They sailed on double-hulled canoes that went in different directions to find new places to live. when they stumbled on Hawaii the language changed a bit. A lot of words are similar to the Tahitian language but the Hawaiians don't use T and R for example. But most of the techniques, if not all that they used to navigate and stuff like that is the same and so are some of their ways of living. My Grandma is similar to I’kau’s grandma. She knows how to make a lot of ointments or medicine out of common plants and they both play a big role in our families. I think I’kau is so connected to his grandma because she is all he had as a family and, as Polynesians, I think we respect our kupuna more than other races because we see them as very wise people. In Pacific Islander culture, we can go to our kupuna for anything, like advice and things like that. - Ka'ili