Purpose:

A primary step in the system wide implementation of HĀ is to strengthen pilina (relationships) between schools and community partners through ʻāina-based / Hawaiʻi-based education. These partnerships have proven to be essential to grounding education in Hawaiian ways of knowing and therefore strengthening a sense of Belonging and Hawaiʻi. Through place-based learning, learners are able to shift the learning environment to one that is more relevant to their lives and therefore help to create stronger connections to the content as well as to their communities. Over the three year HĀ pilot, schools have recognized that ʻāina-based community organizations naturally embody HĀ by connecting learners to their place, while allowing them to explore the learning through their strengths. Diversifying the learning to include “ma ka hana, ka ʻike” experiences that are contextualized to one’s specific community, allows the learner to better connect to the learning and therefore take more ownership of his or her learning experience. Community-based organizations and practitioners allow learners (teachers, students, families and communities) to make connections that can extend into the home and be perpetuated as lifestyle skills and practices. The "E Mākaʻikaʻi Kākou!" group of series will take you on virtual huakaʻi (excursions) to the many unique places of Hawaiʻi, while highlighting lessons on how to utilize the Hawaiʻi-based practices to create meaningful educational content and in turn support a thriving Hawaiʻi.

Objectives:

• Strengthen HĀ through a deepening of pilina (connections) to kaiāulu (community).

• Increase a sense of Belonging to place and family through moʻoleo (stories).

• Increase a sense of Hawaiʻi through an increased awareness of our home and the places, people, practices, and stories around us.