By Carmela Jones, MNS
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” -John Bunyan
When I was a young girl, I went camping on the beach on the West Side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu with my friend and her family. The beach was sparkling with white sand and the water was shimmering with the sun's reflection. Those were carefree days of endless swimming and gaining a glowing tan. It was awesome.
Naturally, I wanted the same experience for my children. We drove for over an hour to the very same beach where I had camped. However, it was grossly different this time.
Along the road were cars with motors that no longer worked; they were transformed into squatted vehicle homes. The beach wasn't filled with temporary campers, swimmers, and sun bathers; it was filled with pop up tents that served as makeshift kitchens and sleeping tents that looked like permanent dwellings, packed with a myriad of stuff.
As we walked along the edge of the ocean, there were used needles strewn everywhere. We hurriedly and carefully made our way out of that sandy field of paraphernalia. Nothing was like I remembered. I cannot explain how I felt, except that I asked: "What can I do to help?"
I brought the situation to the attention of my colleagues at HaSTA (the Hawai'i Science Teachers Association). Some taught in those areas and had a basket of clothes that students could pull from so they weren't wearing the same clothes everyday. They did what they could.
I brought the situation to the attention of my peers with the University of Washington Alumni Association, Hawai'i Chapter. They helped find a student from the area who got into UW and made sure he was well taken care of so that he could one day return and impact his home area. They did what they could.
I brought the situation to the attention of the high school juniors in my General Chemistry classes at Hanalani Schools located in an upper middle class neighborhood. In the most unexpected setting, I found students who felt, thought, and acted. Due to my Modeling Instruction background, I created a lesson asking students to research the homeless stats on the West Side. Before my MI training I was terrified of veering from the scheduled lessons. Through Modeling, my students owned their learning. Through, Modeling, as a teacher, I owned my lessons.
The students were moved by the fact that many of the homeless were under 18 years old, kids just like them. I asked them to walk a mile in those struggling kids' shoes. Solve a problem a family might be going through using science or engineering and involving chemistry.
These juniors came up with innovative, practical things like a water filtering system with readily available materials, a portable aquaponics contraption, and a more compact tent design that was stronger and provided more protection from the elements than current products. The best thing they did was meet with a local Senator for advice on how to get involved in a solution.
They started a club, Na Lima Kokua O Kalani (helping hands from heaven), and partnered with a transitional shelter. The school assigned a staff member to oversee a yearly school toiletries drive and other helps for that community. The elementary division of the school partnered their officers with the upper school club to get even more involved.
All those kids at Hanalani did more than what I thought they could do. They still serve as a constant reminder, challenging me, and I hope you as well (us), to do more than what we think we can do too, especially together.
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I've been to that long stretch of beaches -- in 2009, when my son was stationed at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, to prepare to be deployed to Iraq. The beaches were as Carmela wrote: cars used as homes, "pop up tents that served as makeshift kitchens and sleeping tents that looked like permanent dwellings, packed with a myriad of stuff." What a terrible situation! Thank you, Carmela, for DOING things to help -- and thanks for sharing. I am glad that Modeling Instruction enabled you to work creatively with your students, to address local homeless young people.