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Poʻokela Academy students from Castle High School gather around one of the three waʻa they hand carved as a culminating project of their school year.

Wa'a Wednesday: Shaping behaviors by carving canoe

Apr. 27, 2016

Contributed by Shaundor Chillingworth

Last year, students at James B. Castle High School accomplished something that hadn’t been practiced in over 200 years. Students hand carried three waʻa (canoe) they had carved through their ahupuaʻa to the shore.

The students were a part of the Po’okela Academy, a Castle HS cultural arts learning program in collaboration with Kamehameha Schools' Kupa ʻĀina program that combines career and technical education with traditional, cultural values learned in the conventional classroom and at community sites using hands-on and project-based learning. The multi-grade program is taught by three teachers (math, social studies and English).

The purpose of the collaboration is to increase the transition of local students into secondary and postsecondary programs and career pathways while deepening Hawaiian cultural connections. The Po’okela Academy students were selected because of their at-risk status. As compared to Castle High School and the state as a whole, Po’okela Academy  students  tend to more often be male, Hawaiian, and come from low-income households.

Hawaiian Cultural Resource specialist Earl Kawaʻa and program specialist Edana Wong were stationed at Castle High School two days a week, working with the social studies and science kumu to deliver curriculum and build pilina (relationships) with the students involved. Working with other KS ʻĀina-based, Hawaiian culture-based and career post-high counseling and guidance staff, students were able to access advising, counseling, and self-development activities to foster skills needed to succeed.

Kawaʻa had the idea for the waʻa project and after years of advocacy, administrators said yes to the project last year.

The undertaking itself was massive. Securing the trees, cutting and hauling them to the high school required a lot of persistence, a few favors and most of all, reminders of what this project was really for…the kids.  

“I carve canoe, but I shape behaviors,” shares Kawaʻa.

The experience of carving the waʻa, all by hand, using tools they made themselves, taught them patience, dedication and respect. Even the sails for the waʻa were hand weaved. Altogether, it took the group three months to finish the three waʻa.

Academic engagement, positive behaviors, positive self-concept (including strong sense of identity), and positive relationships to adult mentors, have all been found to be related to school persistence and academic achievement.

Moreover, the program built a strong foundation for these students through Hawaiian culture-based education that allowed their high school curriculum to be relevant to them. All 21 of the seniors graduated and 17 chose to continue their education at college.

“Kamehameha Schools Extension Education Division's collaboration with Castle High School’s Poʻokela Academy and other community-based organizations from the Koʻolau area is a powerful demonstration of how “shared kuleana” and “community-as-school” can serve as a catalyzing and transformational force in the growth and success of our haumāna,” said Stacy Clayton, KS Executive Strategy Consultant.

At the program’s hōʻike, many students were quick to acknowledge that without this program they may not have stayed in school, or definitely wouldn’t be graduating this year.

Students shared reflections of all of their huakaʻi (field trips) and what they enjoyed at each of the experiences. They recognized and said mahalo to all of the community partners that shared so much with them.

Carrying the waʻa from the school’s cafeteria to Waikalua Loko Iʻa was an unforgettable experience, one that even made the front cover of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (subscription required to view) the following Sunday and the Windward section of Midweek a few weeks later. Flanked by torches and followed by their families, students chanted and sung their school’s mele, showcasing the pride they felt in that moment, participating in a practice not seen in two centuries. Arriving at Waikalua, students and fishpond caretakers exchanged oli. The entire time, the waʻa were held proud, not touching the ground until they reached their final destination.  

It was a momentous and memorable undertaking for those students, the staff that guided them, the families that support them and the community partners who welcomed their participation and contributed to their learning throughout the year. 

The morning following their hōʻike, students and their kumu gathered back at Waikalua to complete the lashing of the parts of the waʻa needed to make it sea-worthy.

A blessing was held where the names of the three waʻa were shared:

  • Pi‘ikea, named for a retiring science teacher, Pi'ikea Miyamoto, who was instrumental in bringing kids to Poʻokela and engaging them in culture based learning
  • Mololani, named after the wind in Kāneʻohe 
  • Kamakalenaokeko‘olau, named after the tight bud of the flower and representative of the tight relationship that the program is building with the community and each other

The waʻa were then carried into the water and students were able to harvest their hard work, paddling their waʻa for the first time.

The last part of the project is to sail the waʻa from Waikalua Loko Iʻa to Paepae o Heʻeia fishpond, about a mile and a half away.

After nearly a year of planning, testing and waiting for the right conditions, on April 29, 2016, students will culminate the experience by doing just that. A ceremony is being planned to receive Kamakalenaokeko‘olau, which will be gifted to Paepae o Heʻeia.

Last year’s program evaluation saw increases in GPA, math assessments and post-high participation. But ultimately, the longer-term goal of Poʻokela is thriving students, lands and communities. Seeing the faces of those students, hearing the pride that exudes from them taking part in this project, it’s clear to see that goal is on track to being accomplished.


Helen Tupaʻi and Herb Lee from the Pacific American Foundation, Donna Okita from Castle High School and Earl Kawaʻa from Kamehameha Schools.


Students conducted a survey to show the impact Hawaiian culture-based learning had on their attendance in-class.


Poʻokela Academy students presented a video that showed the process of selecting and carving the waʻa.


Hawaiian cultural resource specialist Earl Kawaʻa readies the group for the incredible journey they are about to take.


Students make their way from the Castle High School cafeteria, carrying all three waʻa until they reach their destination.


Students arrive at Waikalua Loko Iʻa where they perform an oli kahea for the fishpond caretakers.


Students and staff finish the lashing of the waʻa before taking them out on the sea.


Nā wahine (the women) of the Poʻokela Academy.


A blessing and naming for all three waʻa was held prior to entering the kai.


Poʻokela Academy students get to harvest their work and enjoy paddling the waʻa they made.


The momentous experience was covered on the front page of the Honolulu Star Advertiser the Sunday following their Hōʻike.



TAGS
facultystaff,hawaiian culture based education,extension education,aina-based education,po 'okela

CATEGORIES
Kaipuolono Article, Newsroom, Community Education

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