Punana Leo
Encyclopedia
Pūnana Leo are private, non-profit preschools run by families, in which the Hawaiian language
is the language of instruction and administration. Initially opened illegally, the first Pūnana Leo opened in 1984 in Kekaha, Kaua'i. Based on the practices of 19th century Hawaiian-language schools, as well as the Kohanga reo
Māori language
kindergarten
s in New Zealand, the Pūnana Leo was the first indigenous language
immersion preschool project in the United States . Graduates from the Pūnana Leo schools have achieved several measures of academic success in later life. As of 2006, there were a total of 11 Pūnana Leo preschools, with locations on five of the Hawaiian islands
.
s of the public schools . Using the Hawaiian language as a medium of education was outlawed in 1896, and legal constraints against its use were maintained by territorial
and U.S. state
governments until 1986 . A renaissance
of Hawaiian culture and politics in the 1970s brought a new focus to the topic of the revitalization of the Hawaiian language. Among its many consequences was the reestablishment of Hawaiian as an official language
by a state constitutional convention in 1978, as part of a recognition of the cultural
and linguistic rights
of the people of Hawaii.
Despite the revitalization of the Hawaiian language, many legal barriers remained in force as a legacy of past policies. In particular, public school education using Hawaiian as the language of instruction was banned by a law requiring the use of English as the medium of instruction through grade eight. The law more relevant to the private Punana Leo was one which effectively banned the last remaining native speakers of Hawaiian from being teachers because they lacked, and were very unlikely ever to obtain, the proper credentials . The initial removal of these legal barriers required three years of lobbying by families supporting the Pūnana Leo schools. Opponents to the lobbying effort, including in particular the existing the preschool establishment, cited the potential harm to a child’s development that being educated by untrained individuals might cause . After laws were revised, the public school system was slow to provide Hawaiian-language instruction across all age levels of students, so parents in different communities began to boycott the public schools at each stage as their children advanced from preschool to kindergarten to elementary school to middle school, in a progression from "an initially illegal preschool to a
boycott kindergarten, a state elementary school, [and] a boycott intermediate school" .
Eventually, these efforts led to the establishment of immersion streams or tracks, known as "schools-within-schools," within existing school facilities . Today the Pūnana Leo preschools form the core of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo "Language nest corporation" or "Language nest gathering" , the organization which has provided the impetus for the reestablishment of a Hawaiian-language educational system which also includes K–12 immersion schools and doctoral-level programs in the language . The ‘Aha Pūnana Leo produces curriculum and teacher training for its preschools. The first-ever class of Pūnana Leo students graduated from high school in 1999, and in 2002 the Hilo campus of the University of Hawaii
awarded the first master's degree completed entirely in the Hawaiian language . As of 2006, there were a total of 11 Pūnana Leo preschools, with locations on five of the Hawaiian islands: Hawai‘i, Maui
, Moloka‘i, O‘ahu and Kaua‘i .
, fostering Hawaiian identity, and "other central features of a person's life and the life of a people" . Their community-based, Hawaiian educational philosophy – Ke Kumu Honua Mauli Ola – includes the use of parental labor through in-kind service, and requires that parents attended language classes and administer the schools through a parent committee . This philosophy was based on the practices of 19th century Hawaiian-medium schools , as well as the Kohanga reo
Māori language
kindergarten
s in New Zealand. The curriculum includes Hawaiian cultural practices such as gardening native plants and the foliage for lei
; visiting historically significant sites; and the culturally-important practice of ho'okipa (hospitality). Although classes are conducted in Hawaiian, they are functionally different from foreign-language immersion school
s.
Although early opponents suggested the Pūnana Leo schools would harm students' academic development, graduates from the schools have achieved several measures of academic success in later life. This is true despite the fact that the emphasis of the schools is on language revitalization rather than academic achievement: "Immersion students have garnered prestigious scholarships, enrolled in college courses while still in high school, and passed the state university's English composition assessments, despite receiving the majority of their English, science and mathematics instruction in Hawaiian. Student achievement on standardised tests has equalled... [or] surpassed that of Native Hawaiian children enrolled in English language schools, even in English language arts ." These academic benefits come in addition to language revitalization and an increased realization of cultural pride.
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
is the language of instruction and administration. Initially opened illegally, the first Pūnana Leo opened in 1984 in Kekaha, Kaua'i. Based on the practices of 19th century Hawaiian-language schools, as well as the Kohanga reo
Kohanga reo
The Māori language revival is a movement to promote, reinforce and strengthen the speaking of the Māori language. Primarily in New Zealand, but also in centres with large numbers of New Zealand migrants , the movement aims to increase the use of Māori in the home, in education, government and...
Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s in New Zealand, the Pūnana Leo was the first indigenous language
Indigenous language
An indigenous language or autochthonous language is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples but has been reduced to the status of a minority language. This language would be from a linguistically distinct community that has been settled in the area for many generations...
immersion preschool project in the United States . Graduates from the Pūnana Leo schools have achieved several measures of academic success in later life. As of 2006, there were a total of 11 Pūnana Leo preschools, with locations on five of the Hawaiian islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
.
History
Establishment of the Pūnana Leo schools involved a long political struggle, including boycottBoycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
s of the public schools . Using the Hawaiian language as a medium of education was outlawed in 1896, and legal constraints against its use were maintained by territorial
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
and U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
governments until 1986 . A renaissance
Hawaiian Renaissance
The First and Second Hawaiian Renaissance was the Hawaiian resurgence of a distinct cultural identity that draws upon traditional kānaka maoli culture, with a significant divergence from the tourism-based "culture" which Hawaii was previously known for worldwide .-First Hawaiian...
of Hawaiian culture and politics in the 1970s brought a new focus to the topic of the revitalization of the Hawaiian language. Among its many consequences was the reestablishment of Hawaiian as an official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
by a state constitutional convention in 1978, as part of a recognition of the cultural
Cultural rights
The cultural rights movement has provoked attention to protect the rights of groups of people, or their culture, in similar fashion to the manner in which the human rights movement has brought attention to the needs of individuals throughout the world....
and linguistic rights
Linguistic rights
Linguistic rights are the human and civil rights concerning the individual and collective right to choose the language or languages for communication in a private or public atmosphere...
of the people of Hawaii.
Despite the revitalization of the Hawaiian language, many legal barriers remained in force as a legacy of past policies. In particular, public school education using Hawaiian as the language of instruction was banned by a law requiring the use of English as the medium of instruction through grade eight. The law more relevant to the private Punana Leo was one which effectively banned the last remaining native speakers of Hawaiian from being teachers because they lacked, and were very unlikely ever to obtain, the proper credentials . The initial removal of these legal barriers required three years of lobbying by families supporting the Pūnana Leo schools. Opponents to the lobbying effort, including in particular the existing the preschool establishment, cited the potential harm to a child’s development that being educated by untrained individuals might cause . After laws were revised, the public school system was slow to provide Hawaiian-language instruction across all age levels of students, so parents in different communities began to boycott the public schools at each stage as their children advanced from preschool to kindergarten to elementary school to middle school, in a progression from "an initially illegal preschool to a
boycott kindergarten, a state elementary school, [and] a boycott intermediate school" .
Eventually, these efforts led to the establishment of immersion streams or tracks, known as "schools-within-schools," within existing school facilities . Today the Pūnana Leo preschools form the core of the ‘Aha Pūnana Leo "Language nest corporation" or "Language nest gathering" , the organization which has provided the impetus for the reestablishment of a Hawaiian-language educational system which also includes K–12 immersion schools and doctoral-level programs in the language . The ‘Aha Pūnana Leo produces curriculum and teacher training for its preschools. The first-ever class of Pūnana Leo students graduated from high school in 1999, and in 2002 the Hilo campus of the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
awarded the first master's degree completed entirely in the Hawaiian language . As of 2006, there were a total of 11 Pūnana Leo preschools, with locations on five of the Hawaiian islands: Hawai‘i, Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, Moloka‘i, O‘ahu and Kaua‘i .
Goals
The schools' goals include revitalization of the indigenous languageIndigenous language
An indigenous language or autochthonous language is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples but has been reduced to the status of a minority language. This language would be from a linguistically distinct community that has been settled in the area for many generations...
, fostering Hawaiian identity, and "other central features of a person's life and the life of a people" . Their community-based, Hawaiian educational philosophy – Ke Kumu Honua Mauli Ola – includes the use of parental labor through in-kind service, and requires that parents attended language classes and administer the schools through a parent committee . This philosophy was based on the practices of 19th century Hawaiian-medium schools , as well as the Kohanga reo
Kohanga reo
The Māori language revival is a movement to promote, reinforce and strengthen the speaking of the Māori language. Primarily in New Zealand, but also in centres with large numbers of New Zealand migrants , the movement aims to increase the use of Māori in the home, in education, government and...
Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s in New Zealand. The curriculum includes Hawaiian cultural practices such as gardening native plants and the foliage for lei
Lei (Hawaii)
Lei is a Hawaiian word for a garland or wreath. More loosely defined, a lei is any series of objects strung together with the intent to be worn. The most popular concept of a lei in Hawaiian culture is a wreath of flowers draped around the neck presented upon arriving or leaving as a symbol of...
; visiting historically significant sites; and the culturally-important practice of ho'okipa (hospitality). Although classes are conducted in Hawaiian, they are functionally different from foreign-language immersion school
Language immersion
Language immersion is a method of teaching a second language in which the target language is used as the means of instruction. Unlike more traditional language courses, where the target language is simply the subject material, language immersion uses the target language as a teaching tool,...
s.
Although early opponents suggested the Pūnana Leo schools would harm students' academic development, graduates from the schools have achieved several measures of academic success in later life. This is true despite the fact that the emphasis of the schools is on language revitalization rather than academic achievement: "Immersion students have garnered prestigious scholarships, enrolled in college courses while still in high school, and passed the state university's English composition assessments, despite receiving the majority of their English, science and mathematics instruction in Hawaiian. Student achievement on standardised tests has equalled... [or] surpassed that of Native Hawaiian children enrolled in English language schools, even in English language arts ." These academic benefits come in addition to language revitalization and an increased realization of cultural pride.
See also
- language revivalLanguage revivalLanguage revitalization, language revival or reversing language shift is the attempt by interested parties, including individuals, cultural or community groups, governments, or political authorities, to reverse the decline of a language. If the decline is severe, the language may be endangered,...
- linguistic rightsLinguistic rightsLinguistic rights are the human and civil rights concerning the individual and collective right to choose the language or languages for communication in a private or public atmosphere...
- Hawaiian languageHawaiian languageThe Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
- University of Hawaii at HiloUniversity of Hawaii at HiloThe University of Hawaii at Hilo, UHH, or UH Hilo is one of the ten branches of the University of Hawaii system anchored by the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaii...
- calandretaCalandretaA Calandreta is a bilingual school in Occitania in the South of France where the Occitan language is taught alongside the French language. These schools are based on the same principle as the Gaelscoileanna movement in Ireland, the Ikastolak movement in the Basque Country, the Ysgolion Meithrin...
s and ikastolaIkastolaAn Ikastola is a type of primary and secondary school in the Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre and the French Basque Country in which pupils are taught either entirely or predominantly in the Basque language...
s, similar immersion schools for Occitan and Basque learners, respectively.