The Edge Foundation has been running the Island Education Network since 2018, bringing together a range of islands around the British Isles, Channel Islands and British Overseas Territories to discuss education in an island setting.
The Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG) leads Island Explorers, an exciting school programme that introduce primary school pupils to sustainability using islands as geographical context.
Working together, Edge and SCELG want to support colleagues working in island education to tell their stories. In the first in this series, Dr. Robyn Vierra, Director of Global Education at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawai'i, shares her experience of education during the pandemic.
Oahu, the most populated island in the Hawaiian archipelago, rests in the Pacific Ocean nearly four thousand miles from any major landmass. Once the isolated Hawaiian Kingdom, imperialism brought on the overthrow of the monarchy and the United States sought the economic and geopolitical advantages of the Islands. Today, Hawai’i’s economy relies most heavily on tourism from North America and Asia. The Hawaiian islands are also a gathering place for people throughout Oceania, as a hub for medical care, jobs, and educational opportunities.
Lockdown in Hawai’i
At the time of this writing, Oahu is in lockdown despite being celebrated at the start of the pandemic for its quick and effective handling of the virus. As an island state, we can more easily limit entry and implement mandatory quarantines for those who do decide to enter. This is not without significant cost to the economy and jobs, however. Unemployment is staggeringly high and the inequities glaring. Island paradises come at a cost, and housing prices are notoriously high. Low-income families often live in crowded spaces making social distancing an impossibility. Thus, our most vulnerable populations, often Pacific Islanders, have a disproportionately high rate of infection from which there is little escape.
The virus affects some groups more than others, but we are all feeling its weight. Punahou School has weathered natural disasters, a depression, war, and now, a pandemic. First founded by Christian Missionaries in 1841, thanks to the gift of land from Liliha and Governor Boki, the school has withstood hardship before. Punahou is the oldest school in Hawai’i and the largest independent school in the United States with nearly 4,000 students attending kindergarten through twelfth grade. Punahou’s rich history, notable alumni, and robust programs give it a strong reputation throughout the globe. Punahou school will pull through, and hopefully, we will learn some valuable lessons along the way.
Pandemics are unpredictable, meaning that you must plan for every possible scenario. “Toggle,” “pivot,” and “flexibility” are the new buzz words. Plans get made, changed, made again, and such has been the cycle of pandemic preparedness. To put a positive spin on it, we are becoming pros at reinvention and agility.
Distance learning will continue
The school first closed for spring vacation in March 2020 and remains closed despite multiple attempts to open safely. The empty hallways and vast greenspaces are a reminder that things are not normal. Stickers of little slippered feet direct potential foot traffic and waiting areas, water fountains are covered and locked, plastic partitions sit on desks, and even Sparky, the welcoming dog statue, is wearing a mask. That is just the physical evidence. In the online world, there are hundreds of pages with protocols and requirements for tiered opening. All of it needs to be communicated and internalized to keep our community safe.
Distance learning will continue until the infection rate lowers considerably. For now, our students are getting the best possible education that we can provide. Nobody is feeding turtles at the school lily pond or jumping off the terraced lo’i (taro patch), but caring teachers are working tirelessly to build an online community.
Online learning (and teaching)
Each morning at 8:00 am, my two young boys put on their headphones and login to their Webex classroom. Caleb is welcomed by the “Booms Shaka Lakas” teacher and Tad greets the rest of the “Mindful Dragonflies.” Usually, they start with games and sharing. Yesterday Caleb showed off our two dogs, and Tad told the class about the bump on his head. Every so often I hear Caleb yelling excitedly at the iPad screen- thank goodness he is on mute. Sometimes they jump up and down, engaging in some sort of brain break. They move between teacher “rooms” and subjects, pulling out different materials from the bins that were sent home in the first week. They color, they write, they record video messages on the Seesaw app, and they bang metal water bottles during music time. There are also frustrated tears and moments of exasperation. It can be hard when you can’t find the app you are supposed to be working on or the login isn’t working. Five minutes wasted not realizing that the “C” in the password was a lower case. The boys wish they could be in their real classrooms, chatting with friends or sprawling out in the classroom library.
Meanwhile, my husband and I, both teachers at Punahou, have found different corners of the house to be with our own group of students. I am lucky to have two devices, allowing me to use one for a full view of my students, and the other to toggle between the various lesson apps and documents. I can now use Canvas, Padlet, Flipgrid, Seesaw, and Peardeck with ease. We smile at our screens and laugh into our microphones, building connections despite the distance. Sometimes sites load slowly and my students wait patiently. Other times, we have to completely adjust course.
Teachers and students want to be in classrooms, but we are making the best of a bad situation. We are privileged to be at a financially and administratively strong school. It is exhausting for all of us, but we are also finding moments of joy, and learning is taking place. Meanwhile, we are all crossing our fingers hopefully that we might reopen in a few weeks’ time.
An update - back to school
Since the time of writing, conditions in Hawai’i are significantly improved. We are hovering around 1% positivity rate on Oahu. Punahou welcomed students back to campus in late October with numerous safety measures in place.
Dr. Robyn Vierra is the Director of Global Education at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Her experiences living overseas in Fiji, Brazil, New Zealand, South Korea, and China, inspired her passion for global citizenship education. Robyn works to develop globally competent students who know their world, skillfully interact in their world, and have a disposition for action. In addition to this work, Robyn has taught kindergarten through graduate school.