Mahalo, Kumu

Thank you teacher! With an entire year devoted to Hawaiian studies, BJ Namba's third graders will never forget their culture or the woman who taught it to them

It had been a long 12-hour journey. As the passengers around us snored in slumber or pecked away at their laptops, we shifted in our seats for what seemed like the hundredth time and wondered (again, for what seemed like the hundredth time) if we were ever going to get to our destination. A low rumble issued from beneath our feet and finally, we could feel the airplane begin its descent.

We were on our way to visit another innovative classroom to showcase in Teaching K-8 this time, there was a very small added bonus.

BJ Namba's third grade classroom just happened to be located in Honolulu, HI.

A few minutes later, with visions of swaying palm trees dancing in our heads, we giddily prepared to land. As the nighttime lights of Honolulu shimmered against the dark ribbon of ocean undulating below, we decided there was no way this job could possibly get any better.

Regular, schmegular. A teacher for almost 24 years, BJ Namba has taught third grade at the Punahou School in Honolulu for the past nine years. With a sprawling 76-acre K-12 campus that features a 50-meter swimming pool, a chapel, stateof-the-art technology and language labs, and impressive facilities for both the visual and performing arts, Punahou School is also one of the oldest independent schools in the nation. "It was started by missionaries when they first came to Hawaii, so there's a real sense of tradition at this school," BJ told us. The school's strong alumni base was evident nearly everywhere we visited on campus. While she gushed about her fellow teachers and administrators at Punahou, when the conversation turned to her own accomplishments in the classroom, BJ dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. "I'm just a regular teacher who loves what she does," she said.

BJ Namba first caught our eye when she appeared as a panelist on Engaging with Literature, a program produced by Annenberg/CPB that aired on PBS. A teacher friend of BJ's had been approached at a National Council of Teachers of English conference by someone looking for teachers who effectively implemented literature circles. Without a second thought, she recommended BJ. At her friend's urging, BJ sent Annenberg a tape of herself teaching and never really expected anything to come of it. "When I was selected, I really didn't feel as though I belonged with some of these other teachers," she told us. "Some of them were really famous and had written books - I'm just a regular, normal teacher!" Of her brush with, fame, BJ said, "It was good for my professional development, but I'm happy just to be within my four walls with my own 25 third graders."

If these walls could talk. On the morning of our visit, we arrived at BJ's classroom just in time for their Hawaiian morning chant, "E Ho Mai;" the translation is, "Give me knowledge from high, in hidden meanings of 'song.'" As the kids were getting settled for the day (several kicked off their shoes in order to get more comfortable), BJ asked the class to greet the day's guests. "Aloha, Mrs. Pierpontand Ms. Broderick!" they singsonged. Two little girls then presented us each with a hug and ti leaf leis that they had woven themselves. As we sat back down, we noticed that Keomailani Fergerstrom - whom the kids refer to as "Kumu" - Hawaiian for "teacher" - had arrived for the morning's lesson in native Hawaiian language. She visits each third grade class once a week for half an hour. At the beginning of class, Kumu gathered the kids around her in a circle on the floor and asked them to state what they were thankful for - in Hawaiian. BJ, who is learning Hawaiian right along with the kids, made sure we were up to speed."She's thankful for her dogs. He's thankful for his grandparents. He's thankful for his swim coach," she translated.

Stump the kumu. The next activity in Hawaiian had the kids deciding on a character to describe to BJ. They then gave her clues which would reveal her identity. BJ was banished to the "soundproof" room (outside on the classroom's lanai) so the kids could begin. Once BJ was let back into the classroom, Kumu went around the circle and chose students to present their clues. "You like cheese," one little boy said with no hesitation. "You live in Disney World," the next student hinted. BJ ventured a guess, "Sleeping Beauty?" The kids cracked up when they realized that they had stumped their teacher (she was Minnie Mouse).

All things Hawaiian. At Punahou School, third grade is the one year where students are entirely immersed in Hawaiian culture - a culture many native Hawaiians fear is being lost over time. Hawaiian studies are picked up again in the seventh grade curriculum at Punahou but during their year of third grade, students are truly schooled in all things Hawaiian - from how to make authentic hula instruments to learning ancient legends and beliefs, to how to write and speak Hawaiian. While BJ admitted at times it's difficult to integrate Hawaiian culture into each aspect of her curriculum, she is committed to her cause. "Sometimes I feel guilty," she said. "If I don't tell them some of these Hawaiian stories, they may never hear them. And by the time they get to seventh grade, they aren't going to want to read a picture book about how Maui captured the sun."

Not only are Hawaiian words on display throughout BJ's classroom, but she also makes a point of integrating the words they learn in Hawaiian language class into normal, everyday speech. "Boys and girls, why is this opala (garbage) on the floor?" she asked, pointing to some popcorn that littered the lanai during snack time. Without protest, one little boy grabbed a broom from the supply closet while another fetched the dustpan.

The lanai just off of BJ's classroom where the kids gather for snack and "messy" projects opens out into an expansive courtyard that is lush with native Hawaiian plants and a traditional Hawaiian hale (house). This special courtyard serves as a unifying place for all of the third grade classes at Punahou and is also where they have their annual luau every March.

A balancing act. Before coming to Punahou, BJ taught at Kamehameha Schools - another independent school located in Honolulu. This preK-12 school was established by the Hawaiian princess who was the great-granddaughter of King Kamehameha the Great. When she passed away, she left her fortune to establish Kamehameha Schools for children who are of native Hawaiian blood. BJ, who grew up in Hawaii but is Japanese and Scottish-Irish, learned much of what she knows about Hawaiian culture at Kamehameha Schools. "I feel very lucky to have taught there. It's an incredible school," she said.

To complete her balancing act, BJ weaves Hawaiian studies into her reading program with fiction that features Hawaiian stories or Hawaiian text books. "We also read biographies of Hawaiian people. It's hard to get Hawaiian information that's written at a third grade level, so that's definitely a challenge," she said. While we were there, the kids were reading Kamehameha the Great by Julie Stewart Williams (Kamehameha Schools Press, 1993) during whole class reading time. "It's so important to know who your ancestors are, isn't it boys and girls?" BJ asked during their discussion. 25 heads nodded enthusiastically in response.

Reading has become a wonderful jumping-off point for BJ to introduce her students to their Hawaiian heritage. "We have literature circles, guided reading and independent reading. My kids are so into reading now - the third grade is such an exciting time for them," she commented.

Anyone who steps into BJ Namba's class even for a minute can see that she's about as far away from "regular" as you can get. Here's to one unforgettable kumu.

BY KATHERINE PIERPONT, SENIOR EDITOR

Copyright Early Years, Inc. Aug/Sep 2005
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