PLACE OF INTEREST PHOTO JOURNAL

Place of Interest Photo Journal

ITE 322

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Kaluhikāuahemakanamaikalani Kaʻapana
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My place of interest that I chose was Mauna Kea. Originally, I chose ʻIolani Palace

because it was not in my plan to return home to Hawaiʻi island for the summer. As native

Hawaiians, we have a genealogical connection to Mauna Kea, but being from Hilo, I have

always felt a spiritual connection to Mauna Kea. I was fortunate enough to be able to return to

Hawaiʻi island and stand to protect Mauna Kea for three days and two nights. I took in the

spiritual feeling of aloha and unity that I felt during my time on Mauna Kea. As I looked at the

pictures that I took, I thought of how these pictures were very relevant to teaching and social

studies. This made me realize that Mauna Kea should be the chosen place for my place of

interest photo journal.

This place is significant in teaching social studies because the place itself holds a rich

history and culture. The issues we face, today, on Mauna Kea are issues that we will be teaching

about one day. Today, this place serves as a place of union and revitalization. Many people are

going to Mauna Kea, not just to stand for the mauna, but to relearn our culture and language. The

little details of the different aspects of Mauna Kea reminded me of teaching and social studies in

metaphorical ways. For instance, the layers of pāhoehoe reminded me of my students and that

they come with layers. These layers serve as their background, which I will never get to know

unless I build that pilina with them.

This project was useful in my development as a teacher because I realized the type of

students that I want to produce. This also shows me the type of teacher I need to be. I would like

to create a safe space in my classroom to talk about these complex social injustices, to prepare

my students to stand for what they believe in--even in the face of opposition. This project helped

me to reflect on the teaching style that I have had in my lessons and how I want to integrate the
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issues of Mauna Kea into my social studies lesson. This issue is similar to Standing Rock and my

lesson focuses on comparing and contrasting native Americans and native Hawaiians.

Since I grew up in Hilo, Mauna Kea was the first and last thing that I would see outside

of my house each day. The mauna serves many purposes. The winds from Mauna Kea kept our

house cool. The mauna has protected our island chain by fending off hurricanes. This gave me an

appreciation for this place. As I continued on in my education, I learned about the historical and

environmental features that made Mauna Kea unique. I also learned the damage that the

telescopes on the mauna has already done. Then, I learned about aloha ʻāina and I had a better

understanding of this indescribable feeling that I had toward Mauna Kea. Aloha ʻāina is an

essential value in Hawaiian culture and language. It is not just about loving the land, it is about

knowing your connection. As a future Kaiapuni teacher, this is something important that must

pass down to my students. This revealed itself in my photo journal as I talked about social

injustices and standing for what is right. In our culture, aloha ʻāina is why we take a stand.

When doing a project such as this, I think that it is important to know about the place. In

order to do a project like this, you must have background knowledge on that place. When you are

familiar with a place, you develop a pilina or a relationship with that place. I must point out that

this is a huge aspect of aloha ʻāina. I think this type of learning experience can be implemented

into many different subjects. I think this could be integrated into science and learning about the

environmental aspect of the place. This could also be integrated into language arts, as many

social studies lessons are. This is a lesson that I would use for place-based learning.

As I previously mentioned, this type of project can be integrated into many subjects.

Significant places here in Hawaiʻi, hold rich history. There is so much to learn from each place
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because each place holds a significant story. A project like this could teach the students the story

of each place that is significant to their classmates. A project like this also shows the students

that everyone has a special place that is significant to them. I think this makes students aware of

the world around them and makes them more aware of the places that they visit. When doing a

project like this in an elementary classroom, the students also value these places.

This project helps me to further define what social studies is because it has helped me to

look at the little details of a place. On my last day of field in the spring semester, a student gave

me a piece of paper with an ʻōlelo noʻeau. E nānā i ke au iki a i ke au nui, pay attention to the

little details and the big details. This project has reminded me of that ʻōlelo noʻeau. As a social

studies teacher, sometimes focusing on the little details makes a big difference. This project has

also forced me to makawalu, to look at things from multiple perspectives. When I teach about

Hawaiian history and culture, I am not always aware of my biases, this project has allowed me to

reexamine these biases.

Overall, this project has broadened my perspective of social studies. As I looked at the

pictures I already had, I was able to relate each picture to social studies. I was also able to look at

each picture from different perspectives. This was something that was difficult for me to do at

the start of this summer semester, which showed me how I have grown as a social studies teacher

over the course of this summer. It was also refreshing to look at things in the perspective of

ʻāina. As someone who grew up in Hilo, sometimes the concrete here, in Oʻahu, gets a bit

overwhelming. Overall, I hope to, one day, incorporate this project into my future classroom.