Curriculum Research & Development Group

Author Malcolm Nāea Chun discusses the Ka Wana Series with Kaipo Hale and Lia Woo from Kamehameha Schools at the CRDG open house.

kapu

welina

Two volumes of the Ka Wana series were published in 2006: Kapu, Gender Roles in Traditional Society and Welina, Traditional and Contemporary Ways of Welcome and Hospitality.

CRDG

Research & Curriculum Development | pg.13
<< Previous | Next >>

Ka Wana Series Connects Hawaiian
Traditions to Contemporary Contexts In 2006, two new volumes of the Ka Wana Series were published: Kapu (Gender Roles in Traditional Society) and Welina (Traditional and Contemporary Ways of Welcome and Hospitality).

The Ka Wana series, part of the Pihana Nā Mamo Native Hawaiian education project, offers new insight into the philosophy and way of life of Native Hawaiians. Those raised in these traditions will find memorable recollections, while those unfamiliar with Native Hawaiian values and practices will find insights and guidance.

The Ka Wana series consists of eleven short volumes covering a range of subjects including ethics and philosophy, leadership, education, health, cultural management, protocol, and religious beliefs. Each volume is illustrated with historical documents or with photographs of contemporary cultural practices. Kapu and Welina are the fifth and sixth volumes in the series to be published.

Author Malcolm Nāea Chun uses traditional and historical examples drawn from both written and pictorial primary sources to show behavior, thoughts, and values then analyzes events in traditional and contemporary contexts. Chun asks readers to think about whether we are following those traditions today, or whether we have changed them or are making them up. The implications of his findings will cause some to reexamine and rediscover a true sense of Native Hawaiian values and virtues.

Languages as Part of a Liberal Arts Curriculum The Second Language Section at the Laboratory School began work on a program to expand the Japanese program into the elementary school. While teaching the language in the early grades, researchers will look at how language learning interacts with early reading and writing, how languages relate to each other, and how students can learn to be citizens of the world through the cultural studies that are an inherent part of language learning.

One of the basic tenets underlying CRDG’s research program is the belief in a thorough liberal arts education for all students, which leads to the corresponding goal that all students graduate ready for college and citizenship. For this reason, the Laboratory School’s core curriculum has always included second language study for all students. Today, the tremendous changes in the way the current generation of students interacts with the world give the study of languages and the cultural learning that comes with it a new dimension and importance. The Second Language Section’s exploratory work with language learning in the elementary grades responds to this changing climate and need.

<< Previous | Next >>