Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Lahainaluna Printing-Engraving

Lahainaluna Seminary (now Lahainaluna High School) was founded on September 5th 1831 by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions “to instruct young men of piety and promising talents”.
Out of this training came many of Hawaii’s future leaders and scholars including David Malo (1835,) Samuel Kamakau (1837) and others (Keali‘i Reichel graduated in 1980.)
In  December,  1833,  a  printing  press  was  delivered  to  Lahainaluna  from  Honolulu.  It was  housed  in a temporary office building and in January,  1834,  the  first book  printed  off  the  press  was  Worcester’s  Scripture Geography.
On February 14, 1834 came  the  first newspaper, ‘Ka Lama Hawaii,’ ever  printed  in  the  Islands  in  any  language, also  the  first newspaper  published  west of the Rocky Mountains.
Besides the publication of the newspapers, pamphlets and books, another important facet of activity off the press was engraving.
A checklist made in 1927 records thirty-three maps and fifty-seven sketches of houses and landscapes, only one of which is of a non-Hawaiian subject.
That brings us to a newly printed book “Engraved at Lahainaluna,” offered through the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives.
It’s here and being processed for sales, soon … and if you like things of Hawai‘i, this is something you will want to add to your collection. 
The Mission Houses store is open Tuesday through Sunday 10 am through 4 pm – it’s located at the Historic site at 553 South King Street (Diamond Head side of Kawaiahaʻo Church.
Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives invites the public to celebrate the launching of Engraved at Lahainaluna, on Wednesday, May 30, at 5:30 p.m. at Hawaiian Mission Houses.
For more information on the book launch, or to purchase Engraved at Lahainaluna, please call 447-3923 or visit www.missionhouses.org.
The image shows a drawing of Lahainaluna (ca. 1838, drawn by Bailey and engraved by Kepohoni;) in addition, Missions Houses has given me permission to post some of the engravings and I added a few other Lahainaluna engravings in a folder of like name in the Photos section.  (I’ll add some more later.)
But don’t rely on these, get you own copy of the “Engraved at Lahainaluna” (I’ve already ordered mine.)

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Aka‘ula School, Moloka‘i – A Model In Environmental Education

Education has always been important to me; while I was at DLNR, environmental education was a focus.
Ultimately, the goal was about making sure young people understand the interrelationship of the things around us and the responsibility we share on making sure we do the right thing.
Ultimately, it’s about the future, not what’s in it for any of us, now.
We started meetings with the DOE and looking at opportunities and programs to consider around the state; Aka‘ula School on Moloka‘i kept coming up in peoples’ conversations.
Something good was obviously happening there and we needed to understand what it was and include them in the process.
I called the principal and asked if I could visit the school; I spent the day watching what they were doing and interacting with the kids.
On that visit I was inundated with pointed questions from the student body about invasive plants and animals, endangered species, ballast water, etc.
The students demonstrated a surprising awareness of their surroundings and factors that may impact the quality of life for them, their family and future generations.
It was immediately evident that these students were engaged by the curriculum developed at Aka‘ula and by fields of study in which their “laboratory” was in their back yards and neighborhoods.
The lessons they learned about our fragile and precious resources were obviously strong, clear and lasting.      
Aka‘ula School is a private middle school in Kaunakakai Moloka‘i.  Their school motto is “Learning and Leading Together.”
The school incorporates the concept of PRISM (Providing Resolutions with Integrity for a Sustainable Molokai) it its curriculum.
The PRISM program has a long history on Molokaʻi and has received recognition and awards at local, state, national and international levels as an exemplary environmental education program.
PRISM was started to engage students in learning skills to become effective participants in their community.
To do this, teachers bring students, community resource managers and other leaders together on issues such as solid waste, land use, energy, ecotourism and biodiversity.
Developing these connections and networking with the community has led to increased interest in school by students, parents and community members. 
The ultimate intention of PRISM is to prepare environmentally literate citizens who are willing and able to make informed decisions which promote both the quality of human life and the quality of the environment.
In 2003, National and Molokai-specific research showed that PRISM students improved their critical thinking and problem solving skills and demonstrated the ability to be contributing community members.
Students participating in the program were reported to be more mature, have more poise, self-esteem and leadership ability, and were more autonomous than their peers.
Based on this commitment to education and recognizing there were good models to follow, at DLNR we initiated a legislative bill to expand the number of Charter Schools in the State through the establishment of new environmental education-focused charter schools (at least one per island.)
We suggested the Aka‘ula School was a perfect model for schools with a curriculum based on environmental issues.
Unfortunately, the legislature did not pass the bill.  Hmmm.
Too often, neighbor island initiatives are overlooked and must yield to Honolulu-centric thinking.  It’s too bad, Moloka‘i and Aka‘ula School have a lot to teach the rest of us.

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Students Helping Students

When I was a student at Hawaii Preparatory Academy, we had a cooperative program with schools in the town where HPA students were regularly tutoring Waimea Elementary/ Intermediate School students in Math.
I participated in that program; I was helping an algebra student at Waimea Intermediate.
It dawned on me one day that we had students in need at HPA; why weren’t we also helping them?
I approached the administration about this and in their typical fashion they said, great idea, go implement it.
They weren’t being lazy in that response; it was typical, because they encouraged students to think of new ideas and then gave us the freedom to put those ideas to work.
My plan was to partner students successful in Math with students who were having problems, using grades as the basic guideline.
To keep the focus on education, the pairs would use empty classrooms for the tutoring (rather than in the dorm rooms.)
There were lots of volunteers (another lesson taught to us at HPA.)
The school trusted me enough to give me full access to all student records.
That, in itself, is amazing, when you think about it.
I think back on this often; it’s one of my proudest moments.
I am humbled by the extreme level of trust and confidence the school administration placed in me (a high school senior) in fulfilling my commitment to keep all records confidential – to this day, I have honored that responsibility.
Unfortunately, in today’s world of distrust and fear, I don’t see this kind of thing happening for anyone else.
I went through each student’s report card and interim grades and, based on their grades, identified the prospective tutors and tutees.  I also had the student and classroom use schedules.
I contacted each prospect (tutor and tutee) to check their willingness to participate (no one was forced into the program.)
Compatible student volunteers were then matched with students in need and the team was fit in an empty classroom when each had an open period in his schedule.  (Yes, there were also lots of logistical issues in setting this program up.)
I picked the student who was having the hardest time in Math.
The program worked – students were helping students, and those having challenges in Math had the added benefit of getting insights from his peer.