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15

Received my makana for 15 years of service at the Kamehameha Schools today. 15 years went by really fast! So many good memories. My ETS ʻohana, Camp Erdman, Hoʻolauleʻa, Song Contest, field trips, sporting events, student admission interviews, conferences, the laughter, the relationships, and so much more.

Too many good things to mention in one post, but here are a few highlights…

2003 I had the best job in the world at Kapolei Elementary. Still, it’s always a good thing to try something new. I will always remember my very first day at Kamehameha Schools. (No matter how hard I try to forget.) It was a disaster. I flew over to the Big Island campus and laid an egg. An inauspicious debut to say the least.

2004 At first, I supported KS Preschools and Extension Ed. In the Fall of 2004, I moved to the elementary campus. Highlights were Camp Erdman, iMua Video, and my very first ISTE Conference in New Orleans.

2005 Went on my first 6th grade Big Island Huakaʻi. What a blast! Also got to go to ISTE in Philly. Played “hookie” one day and visited NYC.

2006 This is the year that I signed up for over 30 social media accounts. Launched iCan Café (informal professional development.) Our ETS Team also had an awesome retreat at the Punaluʻu Beach House.

2007 I volunteered for our Big Brothers Big Sisters after school program. Chaperoned our Hawaiian Astronomy Class in the summer with Judy. Tiana graduated.

2008 Presented at our first KS EdTech Conference at the Blaisdell. Joined Renee at the middle school. A definite highlight was leading worship for the 7th Grade Chapel. Celebrated 5 yrs at KS.

2009 My first experience as a club advisor. I believe that iMua Sports Network was the first of its kind at the middle school level.

2010 The highlight of the year was traveling to Australia for JEM. My homestay was with Deborah & Henry. Awesome life experience. Tris graduated.

2011 I attended ISTE. It was in Philly again. Also attended Blackboard World in Las Vegas.

2012 In the Spring, I tagged along on an EF Tour to Italy & Spain with Metz. My first time to Europe! In the summer, I attended ISTE in San Diego.

2013 Went on the Koa Planting trip to the Big Island. Moved to the high school to join the Bishop Boys. Celebrated a decade of service at Kamehameha. Presented at the iSummit at RDFZ Xishan in Beijing. Got to walk across the Great Wall of China. Wow!

2014 RDFZ visitation to our campus. Held our very first TEDxYouth@Kamehameha event! Went to ISTE in Atlanta. Serviced the Hawaiʻi campus middle school in the Fall (34 trips.)

2015  Established our TED-Ed Club and held an event. Had summer interns for the first time.

2016 Amazing, amazing trip to Machu Picchu and the Amazon. Bucket list stuff! Also participated in the Takahagi Friendship Exchange Program with the Japanese Club. Helped to bring EdCamp Honolulu to Kamehameha Schools. Incredibly, was selected to the TED-Ed Innovative Educators global cohort. Our Entrepreneurship Club participated in Kakaʻako Night Market @ SALT.

2017 Chaperoned our KES Children’s Chorus trip to Aotearoa. Attended the PL Summit in San Francisco. Was accepted into the Kealaʻula Innovations Institute.

2018 Attended SXSW EDU in Austin, TX. The following week, went on an R&D trip to the Bay Area with Kealaʻula. Capped off the school year with TED-Ed Club @ Hālau ʻĪnana. Phew.

The past 15 years have been an absolute blast! Very grateful for the blessing. Looking forward to the next 15. Imua…

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Stories from My Childhood

Preface
“I remember days when we were younger…”

Growing up in the shadows of the old Honolulu Stadium in McCully was special. It was a place & time that no longer exists. I remember catching crayfish in Duck Pond, riding bike through my neighbors’ clotheslines, Checkers & Pogo, pinball at the Bowl-O-Drome, neighborhood okazuyas, Hawaiʻi Islanders baseball, Chunky’s Drive-in, Kikaida, and the manapua man. We would play all day and go to anyone’s house for lunch (oftentimes saimin & baloney sandwiches.) Ahh, memories.

“So long ago it seems it was a dream…”

Sumo
Dad loved watching sumo on channel 13, KIKU tv.

Too bad for sis.

During commercial breaks, it was ON. I was Takamiyama. I would advance with hand thrusts while doing the referee’s call, “Ta dai, ta dai, ta dai, ta dai!”
Gale would say, “I’m not playing. I’m not playing.”
More attacks, “Ta dai, ta dai, ta dai, ta dai!” “Ta dai, ta dai, ta dai, ta dai!”
Out of frustration, Gale would unleash a combination of hand thrusts, slaps, and windmills at me.
“Woh,” I said. “I’m not playing.”

Kam School
Growing up, my best friend was Nathan (could only pronounce his name as “Natan.”) We’d play football, baseball, marbles, and burn beetle bugs with magnifying glasses. His sister was my first crush.

One day, looking sad, he said, “I’m moving schools. I have to go to Kam School.”
I said, “Then I’m going with you.”
He said, “You have to be Hawaiian. But all you need is a ‘pinky tip’ of Hawaiian blood.”

The next day, we came up with a plan. We would become blood brothers. I ran inside the house and grabbed two pins from mom’s pin cushion and dad’s cigarette matches. We crawled under the house and lit a match to sterilize the pins. We poked our pinkies and rubbed them together. Blood brothers!

Then I heard dad yelling, “What da h*ll are you doing?!! You trying to burn down da house??!”

Nathan ran, “I gotta go home.”

I stayed. I got dirty lickings. Dirty lickings with Hot Wheel tracks.
I cried, but it was worth it. “I’m going to Kam School,” I thought to myself.

Plumeria Tree
We had a plumeria tree in our backyard. It bloomed dark-pink flowers, almost fuchsia.

One day, sis and I were up in the tree. Being the inquisitive boy that I was, I pulled on a large branch, generating a ton of torque. I sorta let go. The inconsiderate branch then catapulted my sister over the fence and onto the sidewalk. She fell flat on her back. I turned pale. To my surprise, Gale instantly sprang to her feet and ran down the sidewalk (like hair on fire) and into the house. It was the loudest wail that our neighborhood has ever heard.

I slowly made my way across the yard towards the house, dragging my feet one-slipper-at-a-time through the grass. I heard dad yelling, “What da h*ll??!!” Tears started flowing down my cheeks. She came home later that afternoon from Queen’s with a broken collarbone. As for me? Not as lucky…

Postscript: Only a couple of years ago, sis and I were reminiscing about that day. I recalled every single detail as if it happened yesterday.

Gale said, “Wait a minute. You mean I didn’t just slip off the tree on my own??”
I said, “Um. Oh gosh. Y’know it happened so long ago. It’s all kinda fuzzy to me…”

 

(To be continued.)

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We Did It!!!

TED-Ed Club @ Hālau ʻĪnana is a collaboration of students from public, private, and charter schools in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

Our TED-Ed Club Student Talks event was a success! Exhale…

After the cancelation from our leadoff speaker last night at 10:30pm, we scrambled to reset our schedule. Everything worked out well.

The talks were streamed live and can be viewed on Twitter @TEDEdHI.

Summary:

• Project Kuleana performed beautiful pre-event music for about 20 minutes. We kept asking for another, and they kept delivering. They gave a powerful opening oli.

• Our awesome emcee Keely welcomed the audience, and we viewed an official TED-Ed Club video.

• Karen from ʻIolani got things started by speaking on career paths in the format of a recipe. Why not be passionate about something you’ll be “eating” for decades?

• Dayevin spoke on the current state of education. His solution? Project-based learning and passion. What school could be…

• We screened a video of Jason Tom at TEDxHonolulu. High energy and innovation in the arts.

• Next up was Hanai Makana, a team of students from Roosevelt who developed an app on endangered plants. Unfortunately, the lead presenter failed to show up, but the ones who did did a great job!

• A late entry, Gabriella from KHS, spoke on her passion of anthropology. Her passion lies in learning more about herself and in discovering more about her culture. She credits Kumu Curt Ai as being an inspiration.

• We viewed a video of Quinn Shiraishi from KS Maui at TEDxYouth@SeaburyHall. She offered a definition of what a “hero” is.

• This led to the interactive portion of the event. Everyone wrote the name of their hero on a sheet of paper, shared with their neighbor, then flew it at a target. This took us to intermission.

• Project Kuleana kicked-off the second half. They shared about how this class connected them to their culture, mele, and the land. Deep insights on how culture & innovation is not a contradiction, but a synergy.

• We screened a video of Jamaica Osorio and Ittai Wong on kauna at TEDxHonolulu. Our emcee Keely then shared about her deep connection to ʻōlelo.

• Kolaiah and Kaleolani from Hālau Kū Māna spoke about their cardboard planetarium and Polynesian voyaging. A video of the inside offered us a glimpse as to how intricate a project this was.

• Yoo Ra from ʻIolani spoke on the global issue of hunger. She pinpointed the cause to waste, and shared about how her club is making a difference locally.

• We watched a video of Jake Shimabukuro at TEDxHonolulu . A timeless classic.

• Our next speaker was Kayla from Waipahu High School. She told the story of her journey as a female student in the field of computer science and engineering. She credited Ian Kitajima from Oceanit as being a mentor.

• Our closing speaker was Madison, an elementary student from KES. She defined the qualities of a hero and then provided information about cancer. She spoke on the courage of her friend Ally who is battling bone cancer. An emotional and inspiring talk on empathy, friendship, and love. #AllyTamaStrong

Takeaways:

• It was purely unintended, but the theme of “hero” emerged from today’s talks.

• The crowd was on the smallish side. I estimate that there were about 20 student presenters and 30 audience members. We usually average 40-60 audience members at these events. Could be that an unfamiliar venue impacts attendance.

• My essential question was, “Can world-class Hawaiian culture-based education be defined by student voices?” This question was not a literal one, but a guiding question for my school year. And it will continue to guide me and fuel me in the future.

• Felt drained at the conclusion of the event. Pleasantly surprised at some of the feedback. People were genuinely excited and started talking about next year. Huh? Next year? Maybe…

P.S.

Our graffiti board was the bathroom wall. “What school could be”
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10 All-Time Favorite Albums

An interesting survey has been circulating on Facebook. “What are your 10 all-time favorite albums?” A fun, but difficult question to answer. Record albums were a part of a very different era. An album was a collection of songs by an artist (at a particular point in time) that took you on a magical journey. The vinyl LP combined with cover art and liner notes was a delightful package of creativity & artistic expression.

I grew my vinyl collection from stores like Tower Records, DJ’s Sound City, House of Music, and Records Hawaiʻi. Here is my feeble (and nostalgic) attempt at a Top 10. (Intentionally omitting “greatest hits” from this list.)

1. Kalapana‘s first album. This was the soundtrack to my high school years. The reason why I picked up the guitar. I wanted to be like Mackey Feary.

2. Boston‘s first album. Music to cruise to. And more than a feeling…

3. Earth, Wind & Fire “All ‘n All” My fave band growing up. “They play so beautiful, don’t you agree?”

4. Climax “Climax Featuring Sonny Geraci” Precious & Few, Life & Breath, played over & over.

5. Journey “Escape” Another one from my high school days. Worked at the Blaisdell concession during their record-breaking sellouts.

6. Police “Zenyatta Mondatta” A different sound. So many good tunes.

7. Stevie Wonder “Songs in the Key of Life” Stevie Wonder is a genius.

8. Michael Jackson “Off the Wall” First heard it while working at Holiday Mart. Every song a hit.

9. Spyro Gyra “Morning Dance” My introduction to jazz music.

10. Chicago “II” The first album I ever bought. Special.

Left out so many fave records from my collection, but a fun time revisiting good memories.

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It’s Great to be a Teacher in Hawaiʻi

And it was great being a panelist at the 3rd Annual It’s Great to be a Teacher in Hawaiʻi event at Leeward Community College. This event celebrates teaching and tries to recruit prospective teachers to enter the field. There were resources from all of the local colleges.

Keynotes were Christina Kishimoto, Superintendent of Hawaiʻi public schools, Phil Bossert, Executive Director of HAIS, and Sione Thompson, Executive Director of Hawaiʻi Charter Schools.

After introductions, our panel participated in two Q&A breakout sessions. I especially enjoyed talking to current high school students who are interested in entering the field.

I was surprised by the attendance of my sister, and friends Jason, Christine, and Lilia. Nice seeing familiar faces in the audience.

It was an inspiring day with passionate educators. Always nice to reflect on why it’s great being a teacher here in Hawaiʻi…