Haʻawe I Ke Kua, Hiʻi I Ke Alo: Recruitment of Native Hawaiians Into Teaching

• In Event: How to Live Teacher Education: Reparative Perspectives From the Pacific

Abstract

To be intellectual one must do exactly what those with the power to
define intellectualism do. The intellectual activity of those without
power is always characterized as nonintellectual. (Freire, 2000)

As a part of my teaching responsibilities each spring, I am tasked with participating in the selection process of potential students for a master’s level teaching licensure program targeted at specifically at recruiting Native Hawaiian students to teach in Native Hawaiian communities. As I read through their letters, I am reminded of my own start in the College of Education over ten years ago. I am struck by the passion and enthusiasm that these teacher hopefuls possess as they explain how that one special teacher made a lasting impression on their life and how they would now like to have that impact on their own students, or how they wanted to become a teacher to be a positive role model for students.

Unfortunately however, it may be the same students that show this zeal and easy rapport with students that will struggle the most to qualify for acceptance into teacher licensure programs. With increasing pressure for Hawaiʻi to produce “highly qualified” teachers for each public school classroom, Hawaiʻi teacher preparation programs, now mandated to be nationally accredited, reforming programs to adhere to strict nationalized, standardized systems assessing school, teacher, and student quality. Minimum passing scores on Praxis examinations, designed to demonstrate a candidate’s content knowledge, have become the gate keeper for many students who have themselves struggled throughout their own education with standardized tests.

As the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa “celebrates its diversity and uniqueness as a Hawaiian place of learning”, we as teacher educators must continue to examine the importance of this assertion for Hawaiʻi’s people. This chapter seeks to understand how recent program graduates have found success in bridging their own cultural values with western standards to provide a quality education for their students. It will also highlight the stories of students that struggled with specific program requirements and what kinds of supports were crucial for their own efficacy.

Author

• Eomailani Kukahiko, University of Hawaii - Manoa