Monday, April 2, 2007

Why School in California?

Throughout my studies here at the University of Redlands, I have met many people from Hawaii. There are two girls from Hawaii on the tennis team, I know a couple more girls that graduated last year and I have met many other people in the dorms and in my classes. All the students from Hawaii are very nice. They all seem to be living one day at a time. I am sure that school stresses everyone out here at the University, however, the ones from Hawaii know that nothing good comes from stressing out too much. However, in School for Hawaiian Girls, all the characters in this book have sad and depressing attidudes but at Redlands, they seem to be very relaxed and always happy. Why is this? What is it about the students from Hawaii that stereotypes their personalities at the University of Redlands?

On the tennis team, the girls have very good sportsmanship. They do not complain, and they get along with everyone. However, I have noticed that Moani doesn't get along with everyone she meets. She has a hard time accepting Dixie in the family, she wonders why her family won't tell her about Lydie, and she sometimes argues with Pu. This shows that people from Hawaii have changed their attitudes and perspective on things over time, since they are friends with all the students at Redlands.

Here at school, the Hawaiians live in the present moment. They seem like they do not dwell on past or future events. Sam has never let Lydie;s death come to pass while Moani is always searching for ways to find the best career job for her. Moani wants to keep a job that will help Pu and her financially. She doesn't know much about her family, so all she can do is do the best for Pu. From all these stresses in School for Hawaiian Girls, the characters become depressed.

In conclusion, why are the students in both times so different? In my reasoning, I believe that the time era is a big factor. School in the 20's was more strict than school nowadays. Education required very little of the teachers and the students in Hawaii but because of their culture, the schools wanted the students to do the best they could even if that meant torturing their own identity. Here at Redlands, school is still very strict but the students from Hawaii take control of their own lives. It could be due to the reason that society has changed since then or it could be due to the reason that Hawaiians were "Americanized" and moved to the states. As they moved to places such as California, they knew all they can do was to act and live in the best way that they could be accepted. I believe that this has continued to reach the generation of students at the University of Redlands and hopefully, more cultures will realize that they can also succeed at major ivy-league schools.

6 comments:

Jordan said...

Hey Katherine, It's Jordan, and I am from Hawaii. I read your blog (obviously) and am going to have to disagree with some of the points you brought up. To say that Moani doesn’t get along with everyone she meets is not getting a point McMillen is trying to make. Moani herself says that she would like to travel but is afraid that she will “offend the natives”. By saying this, she acknowledges that the tourists she deals with from her kayaking business offend the natives of Hawaii; Rick being a perfect example. Clearly, her business would not have flourished as well as it does had she “not got along with everyone she meets”.
Also, I’m sorry if I missed this, but did you say that the University of Redlands is an Ivy-League School? Because I thought there were only eight Ivy-League schools in the Nation.

Max said...

Katherine: I'm from Hawaii as well, and I think you may have oversimplified a few of your points. First, Sam sends what's-her-name to a mainland school because he knows that the educational facilities in Hawaii were not up to standards. Today, the reasons Hawaiian kids leave home to study elsewhere are similar; both degrees and jobs in Hawaii are based mainly around the tourism industry, something tht may or may not be attractive to a prospective undergrad looking for a good education. There are many factors that influence Hawaiian kids to study in the continental states, just as there are many different attitudes about the mainland and haoles that people from Hawaii hold. I hope you don't truly believe that all kids from the islands are relaxed and always happy; does that mean all people from California are uptight and miserable? The beauty of SFHG was that it illustrated both sides of life in Hawaii; the carefree one that allowed people to live and enjoy life in a beautiful environment, and the realities of growing up in a culture dominated by foreign politics and government.

That being said, back home the word "respect" is one you grow up with, and my friends and I were brought up to have respect for everyone and everything. That might be the vibe you get from other Hawaiian kids; it's not blissful complacency or happiness, it is the acknowledgement of differences that being raised in Hawaii become ingrained in you, and the choice to look past those differences in an effort to show respect for yourself and others.

One last thing. You mentioned that "people from Hawaii have changed their attitudes and perspective on things over time" in reference, I asssume, to how they view outsiders and haoles in general. Please don't let us good-natured college student fool you; there are many people back in Hawaii who don't take as kindly to tourists and the like, and are still upset at how our monarchy was illegally overthrown.

PS I agree with Jordan; the University of Redlands is not an Ivy League School. :)

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