Twenty-five middle school teachers were recognized at City Hall yesterday for their part in bringing civics education to isle schools as part of the national Project Citizen. Standing with their presentation are Olomana teachers Tee Swan, left, and Natalie Sur, and students Shandra Hailele and Matt Nault, who did a study on drunken driving. The student projects will be on display at Lane Gallery in City Hall.
Teachers honored
for civics initiativeThe 25 educators and their students
took part in Project Citizen
City Council members recognized 25 middle school teachers yesterday for dedication to civic education.
The teachers, who teach at more than 10 schools islandwide, have spent the last academic year helping their students get involved in local government through Project Citizen, a national civic education initiative that helps young people understand, monitor and influence public policy.
Entire classes work together to identify public-policy problems in their communities. They research the problems, evaluate existing policies, develop alternative solutions and create a plan of action to enlist local and state authorities to adopt their proposed policies.
Students develop portfolios of their work and present them to a panel of community representatives who act as legislative committee members. The experience allows the students to get a feel for what it is like to initiate a policy change in government.
Kapolei Middle School students Kristy Estabillo, left, and Derek Waipa sat yesterday in a City Council committee meeting room. Teacher Charles DeVille, with lei, stood in back.
Although the teachers were the ones being officially recognized, they were quick to defer praise to their students, who they said deserve the recognition.
"We were just the leaders; the kids did all the work," said Luane Higuchi, an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Waianae Intermediate. "It was so exciting just to see the kids take an active interest in their education."
Middle school students from Mililani, Kapolei, Olomana, Moanalua, Waianae, Ilima, Lokelani, Iao, Maryknoll and La Pietra School for Girls participated in the program. Their projects focused on issues such as teen pregnancy, underage drinking and reckless driving, protecting the environment, animal euthanasia and reducing the number of tests a student has to take before graduating.
Thirteen-year-old Brittny Kodo, of Kapolei Middle School, whose group focused on reducing speeding and reckless driving in Kapolei, said although it was sometimes difficult to get people to listen to what they had to say, in the end it was all worth it.
"It was a lot of work, but knowing that you made a difference in the community is very cool," she said. "I only wish the project could have lasted longer."
Each year, leaders of each state Project Citizen program choose one outstanding portfolio from their state to send to the annual Project Citizen National Showcase. Judges will decide on Monday which portfolio will go to the national finals.
