Wailele a me Wailani

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Next week, we will be visiting Pearl Harbor, a site that signifies the beginning of World War II for the United States. As we learned in class, the world was already at war, while the United States held an isolationist position up to the attack on Oahu.

Questions I would like you to respond to are:

What do you think are some of the causes of World War II?

Could a war such as World War II occur again? How and why?

How would you feel if you were a child living in Europe or Asia during World War II?

How would you feel if you were a child living in the United States?

We will be graduating from D.A.R.E. this coming Tuesday. Please comment on what you learned from this program. Do you think D.A.R.E. is enough or should this type of education be ongoing?

I know that many of you want me to blog with the rest of all of you, but I am having a great time just reading your thoughts and opinions. One reason I am reluctant to blog is I do not want to influence your thoughts too much. I want the students to develop the ability to think on their own. Another reason is my personal thoughts might be controversial and I am in a position of responsibility at Kamehameha Schools.

I love working at Kamehameha Schools because I sincerely believe I am teaching the future leaders of the Hawaiian community. When I started two years ago, one thing that impressed me was the intelligence and motivation of the students and parents. Any kid at Kamehameha has just as much potential as any child I met in my travels around the world.

Even though I appreciate that the Hawaiians as a people had a “bad deal” in their history, I have never felt that the Hawaiians were disadvantaged. With a rich history of deep knowledge, the Hawaiians have much to teach the world about values towards others and the environment. I can see Hawaii as a center for teaching the world about sustainability, marine science, alternative energy sources, and even race relations. With the world gone wrong in so many ways, I feel a different perspective will be needed to solve problems in the world.

The Hawaiian culture must thrive, not just for Hawaiians but for the world. The world would be very lonely without Hawaiians. You see, I am not teaching the future leaders of Hawaii, but the world.

Mr. Chung’s thoughts: I love hearing all of your comments. I suppose one can never underestimate the idealism and enthusiasm of youth. Please remember that Al Gore’s presentation is only one interpretation of what is happening to the world. There are some people who don’t believe it is happening and there are some people who do not believe it is occurring at the magnitude Al Gore says it is. What is important is for us to do our own research (we will do much of this in our future classes). We live in an information society. What is important is not believing everything people tell you, but finding out information on your own. You will need to learn to evaluate what is valid, what a good source is, primary vs. secondary sources, etc.

I sincerely hope Al Gore is wrong. I don’t want to see this world turned upside down by global warming. But, the one thing I don’t want to bet on is Earth’s future. I just don’t believe there is not enough “malama” going around, with each other and towards our environment.