I feel a deeply personal pain when I hear the verbal abuse and spiteful name-calling spewing from the mouth of our government’s highest representative. It triggers the sad memory of cruel childish taunts and mean-girl gossip suffered so long ago. Back then the only defense I knew was to repeat to myself the protective rhyme I’d been taught, “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me,” though I knew, even then, that it was not true.
The truth about the power of words is perfectly expressed in this ‘olelo no‘eau (wise saying), one of many precious Hawaiian proverbs collected by Mary Kawena Puku‘i: “I ka ‘olelo no ke ola. I ka ‘olelo no ka make,” which translates as “In speech is life. In speech is death.”
Another ‘olelo no‘eau says “‘O ke alelo ka hoe uli. The language is the steering paddle.” The state Department of Education’s Office of Hawaiian Education (OHE) articulates this in its ‘Aina Aloha (Beloved Place) competencies program: “The spoken word, as shared through language, is the highest form of expression within the Hawaiian culture. Language expresses the cultural connection to worldview and provides the foundation for understanding the deeply rooted meaning to all things; seen and unseen — from the past, present and future.”
I have been learning over these 50 years of engagement in culture-based education about the critical role of speech in the Hawaiian culture and world view. My learning accelerated when I began working with the Growing Pono Schools (GPS) and its offshoot Ulu A‘e Transitions (UAT Growing Upwards), projects funded by U.S. Department of Education Native Hawaiian Education Program grants.
These projects were developed to address the needs of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island students who are so often alienated by and disengaged in the traditional learning environments offered by schools, and increasingly at risk as they transition through the grades. Culture-rich instructional tools and resources are offered to support these students in growing the sense of belonging and identity that is critical to their academic success and social-emotional well-being.
In working with middle and high school students, we were disheartened to recognize the storm of negative social media messages they were constantly receiving and sending to peers. We knew many horror stories of online bullying and trolling, and it was heartbreaking to see how much young people were drawn to these messages — even hurtful ones — and how vulnerable to abuse it made them.
When we understood that the communication currency of today’s youth is the short bullet message or meme, we started thinking about sending some positive messages that had a chance of being heard by today’s teens.
Two creative cultural educators on our team came up with the idea of drawing on ‘olelo no‘eau, as well as inspirational quotes from literary and other sources, to create a set of cards carrying brief visual and verbal messages that promote “pono” — the right way of goodness, harmony and balance. These “Pono — Pass It On!” cards, now in their third iteration, have been shared with many educators and community leaders and are being used across the islands to spark reflection and positive communication among young people and adults, students and teachers, in and outside of school, in families and communities of all sorts.
This message is so crucial to the world we love. We must continue to teach the power of positive speech — communication that is truthful, honorable, ethical and kind. We need to model it, practice it, and affirm it in all the work we do and all the places we live, for the good of us all.
Elly Tepper is a consultant educator and Ulu A‘e Transitions Grant Team member.
