Summit Reveals What Youth Wants

The 4th Annual Youth Summit at Kaunakakai School showed what students on Molokai want for their schools. Photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja

The results are in. Now, Molokai teachers may have a better idea about what their students want. The 4th Annual Youth Summit at Kaunakakai Elementary School Jan. 17 revealed the results of a large survey taken by students from all grades in all public schools on the island.

“Four years ago, we were the only island that did this. And then three years ago, (Hawaii State Teachers Association) asked us to show it to other islands,” Molokai High School teacher Ric Ornellas said, adding Hilo now organizes the same summit. “So, our small rural community is able to really influence other communities and other schools.”

It turns out, Molokai students want “everything to be good.” They want a “good lunch,” and dessert too. They want more STEM, to learn more, additional workshops, more books and, believe it or not, more homework. They want more drama too, but a drama club. It wouldn’t hurt to have a swimming pool, a weight-lifting gym or a game room. 

And they want shave ice too. 

“I don’t think shave ice at school once a week is a bad idea. So, somebody file that away,” said Joan Lewis, incoming deputy director of HSTA, the union that represents more than 13,000 public school teachers statewide. 

Lewis mentioned two young students who wished for “kindness” while collecting a prize during the event.

“They both spoke probably the most important truth for themselves; that they want kindness,” Lewis said. “So, our two young ladies that said, ‘kindness, we want more kindness,’ they’re putting it out there for us.”

Ornellas said besides the two young children in the summit, the survey’s answers showed a clear pattern of students from all grades and schools who want more kindness.

“Most of the time it was just asking for kindness. There were times when it was very specific to a teacher or to another student,” Ornellas said.

Directing her comments to educators, Lewis said they should be asking themselves what they can do to address the kids’ wishes, and who can help them. 

“I don’t mean, what can we do tomorrow? What can we do a week from now? What can we do if we had more money?” she said, adding “What can we do right now?”

The kids, Lewis said, are asking for opportunities to find engagement in other ways, besides reading and writing, even though they’re saying, “we want that too.”

Another recurring topic was “better food,” according to Ornellas. In addition to that, many asked for better playgrounds and sports facilities.

“Then, there was a lot of requests for STEM in the elementary grades, which is really surprising, and then a lot of them were like, ‘we need more reading,’” Ornellas said.

The summit is the first step, he said. Now, the teachers will take a deeper look at the answers and search for trends before sharing the information with all the schools. This will start a conversation to figure out how to better serve the students, he said.

“Much of what teachers have to do are standards and benchmarks, and so the kids get lost in that,” he said.

The survey had six major categories on what students want to strengthen their sense of belonging, responsibility, excellence, aloha, total well-being and Hawaii. Some of the highlights were on display at the summit.

Regarding a stronger sense of belonging, students want more school clubs and sports, extracurricular activities, and to only use uniforms during field trips. A seventh grader had a personal wish, “I want more friends.”

As far as responsibility, some want less workload, while others want more. There were wishes for more educational assistance, especially in math. Some want to be allowed to use their phones and listen to music. A third grader bluntly put, “I will not lie to the teacher.”

They asked for more classes to achieve excellence. “I just want to get good grades and be successful in life,” an 11th grader wrote. For that, students want college scholarships and better teaching about the “life things” beyond graduation.

More aloha means cooling off, as a fifth grader asked for an “AC for the hotness.” They asked for more playground equipment, books, art supplies, and “other people’s ideas to be shared when working in teams, so no one is left out.” A school pet would help too. And they want happiness. “I just want my kumu to be happy,” a second grader wrote.

To improve total well-being, students want arts every day and longer library and computer time, plus shorter classes and longer recesses. They also asked for “more working water fountains” and “better meals that contain protein and nutrients.”

To strengthen their sense of Hawaii, students want more outdoor classes and more field trips, including off-island trips. They want “more moʻolelo” and “Hawaiian food for lunch.” Additionally, they asked for more respect for each other and for the land.

Approximately 70 people among students, parents, education professionals and stakeholders attended the event that lasted all morning.