Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 9, 1 September 1993 — OHA's education division helps Hawaiians ʻimi ʻike* [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA's education division helps Hawaiians ʻimi ʻike*

by JefT Clark As OHA's education officer, Rona Rodenhurst sees her primary challenge as getting Hawaiians to look at education in a fundamentally different way. She's trying to get a eouple of messages through: First, that education is not just for kids, but for all ages. And, second, that education is not something that occurs away ffom home and family at school, but is inseparable from the 'ohana. "One thing we focus on, and that is a challenge, is that when we talk about education, we talk about 'ohana education. ... Education is lifelong learning, and that's the way Hawaiians learn. Many Hawaiians think education is just school, but learning doesn't stop at 2 p.m., and neither does it begin at 7:45 when you drop off the kid, so there has to be lifelong learning, and the family must get involved." Another attitude Rodenhurst tries to get people to challenge is that education is a luxury, rather than a basic need. She realizes, however, that it's not easy. "It's not a luxury, it's a necessity. But if both parents are holding two or three jobs just trying to pay the rent, where's the time for the children? ... I think Hawaiians see education as a need, a longterm priority, but life gets in the way sometimes." Parental involvement, while helping the keiki learn, also builds self-esteem in the parents

and pushes them to further their own education, Rodenhurst said. "Parents begin to think, 'Well, I've seen my child grow, I've seen my child leam, now what about me?"' Then they are motivated to go back and get their high school diploma, or to explore higher

education. Before coming to OHA in 1986, Rodenhurst was the assistant director of the Hawaiian studies program at the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa. She also spent a number of years, starting immediately after graduate school, teaching the Hawaiian language in UH's Department of Indo-Pacific Languages, and was a program developer for the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center. She's assisted

by education specialist Ka'iulani Vincent, who joined OHA three years ago as the culture specialist. Before that, Vincent, who has a bachelor's degree in Hawaiian studies, was the executive secretary for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Rounding

out the team is division secretary Barbara Yuen. But the activities of the education division sometimes require more than just those three staff members, so Rodenhurst frequently calls on an active cadre of volunteers. "Volunteers are very very important to our divi-

sion," she attests. "Without our volunteers, we'd be dead. ..." Kūpuna Program The division's Kūpuna Program is run by alaka'i (leader) Betty Kawohiokalani Jenkins, who was hired bv OHA in the

early '80s to recruit kūpuna for the Department of Education's kupuna-in-the-classroom program. Jenkins is supported by

Anne Kaapana and nā kāko'o, a group of volunteer kūpuna who participate in a number of ways. The kūpuna speak and give presentations at schools, conferences and various OHA functions, passing on their knowledge of Hawaiian ways and culture. In Ho'olauna, a program put on by

OHA's health and human services division, they provide insight to V e t e r a n s Administration workers on how to treat Hawaiians in a culturally-sen-sitive manner. Onee a year the education division and the kūpuna team convene a conference of Hawaiian elders, or 'Aha Kūpuna. These gatherings serve to recognize and strengthen the kūpuna's plaee

īn tne onana and to encourage them to fulfill their role as the transmitters of culture. As Rodenhurst puts it, while some kūpuna learned the important Hawaiian traditions and actively pass them on, with others that is not the case, and so the motivation behind 'Aha

Kūpuna is "to take the kūpuna that have maintained those things and mingle them with those who haven't." (Editor's note: watch

for a story on OHA' s kupuna team in a future issue of Ka Wai Ola O OHA.) 'Ōpio At the other end of the 'ohana line are the 'ōpio, or youth, and a lot of what the education division does revolves around them. Every June the division, along with the kūpuna and a host of volunteers, hold 'Aha 'Ōpio, the acclaimed week-long youth leadership conference in whieh high school juniors participate in a moek legislature to leam how government works. "I think it's a worthwhile program because you're developing a network of young people who have the potential of becoming leaders within their own eommunity," Rodenhurst says. "Now whether or not they select to be in elective office, that's really not the goal, but if they ean influence their own 'ohana ..." Another way 'ōpio benefit from the education division is through scholarships. This year 39 students shared $50,000, lightening their financial load and thereby enabling them to concentrate on their studies while attending eollege. The division also provides information about other funding sources and works with Kamehameha Schools in coordinating students' scholarship applications. Tutorials For the students still in grade school, the education division uses its budget to fund tutorial programs. Last year $196,274 in tutorial funds benefitted 38 schools, whieh set up their own programs. In fact, tutorial money purchased the classroom computers mentioned in the OHA television spot featuring Brody Tinao of Ho'okena School. Another project the education division takes on annually is the coordination of Ke Kukui Mālamalama, an annual award OHA gives eaeh year to four individuals who exemplify excellenee in Hawaiian education. The education division also takes on special projects as they eome up, for instance helping to organize the Native Hawaiian Education Summit presented last April by the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and holding statewide meetings before and after the summit to collect community input. *seek knowledge

The OHA Education Division, left to right: : Rona Rodenhurst, officer; Ka'iulani Vincent, specialist; and Barbara Yuen, secretary. Call 586-3751 for information on scholarships and other financial aid, ' Aha Kūpuna, 'Aha 'Opio, Ke Kukui Mālamalama, tutorials, and other matters pertaining to Hawaiian education. Photo by John De La Cruz