​Editor’s Note: The Hawai‘i State Department of Education recognizes that ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i plays an essential role in our educational system. The Office of Hawaiian Education in partnership with the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges have offered free introductory Hawaiian language and culture courses for HIDOE full-time salaried employees since fall 2023.

Growing up in Kāne‘ohe during the 80’s and 90’s, I remember some Hawaiian being used in the classrooms. In elementary school we had a kumu come into our classes to teach us vocabulary words and share stories. Kumu was such a regular occasion, it never occurred to me that she wouldn’t be part of the school days as we got older, until she wasn’t. Later, in middle and high school, there was hardly any Hawaiian being spoken. During my four years of high school I took Spanish, which was one of the three languages offered, none of which was Hawaiian. The only opportunities to academically experience Hawaiian culture in class would be in Polynesian dance. 

After all these years, it’s hard to recall most of what I learned. In college, I took Ancient Greek, which proved helpful when traveling internationally, and Korean, which has also been valuable with the popularity of Korean dramas and music. 

When the Department began offering introductory ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i courses in 2020, it seemed like a great opportunity to increase my awareness and usage of the Hawaiian language. But at that time I couldn’t make the personal and professional commitment.

Over time, as I noticed schools and offices using more ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i in correspondence and official documents, it seemed fitting for me to take advantage of the offering while this opportunity still exists at no cost. Also, the flexibility with most of the community college classes online and the option of being asynchronous or synchronous allows me to be more productive in my spare time.

In December, I signed up for HAW101 that was being offered through the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges. Having been in the program for a few weeks now, I can confidently say it’s a large time commitment. Like any other university-level course, there are expectations on how much time there is to dedicate to the lessons. Each week will have at least one lesson, which may have up to 6-8 deliverables. And each deliverable could take up to a couple hours each, on average. There are some deliverables that could take 5 minutes to complete, such as a vocabulary quiz, but the study and preparation time is much longer.

One of our first assignments was to create a short video on why we are taking this course. I enjoyed meeting my classmates and learning about their motivations and reasons. While we have different experiences and expectations, we are all here to learn the language and unique culture of Hawai‘i. 

Sara Miyazono graduated from James B. Castle High School long ago and has been with the Department for over 15 years, most recently with the Communications Branch. Through the Department, she’s been able to travel to almost every Hawaiian island to gather stories of our public schools.