A future OLPC Hawaii classroom?
I am on my honeymoon in Hawai'i and everywhere I go, I see prospects for One Laptop Per Child to expand the learning opportunities of Hawaiian children. Take the Honolulu Advertiser article, Putting our keiki first pays big dividends, where Voices of Educators, a non-profit coalition designed to foster debate and public policy change within Hawai'i's public education system, opines on ways to empower "keiki" - Hawaii's next generation.
They identify seven benefits of investments in quality early education. Benefits that would shape Hawaiian communities and the state's future:
- Promote healthy brain development
- Decrease the "learning gap" between socio-economic groups
- Preparing young children to succeed in school
- Supports parents and parental choice - voluntary participation
- Proving safe, nurturing place for children during adult work hours
- Produces long-term educational and social impacts
- Invest in Hawai'i's future - its keiki
I am sure that Hawaiians would much rather have their keiki exploring and sharing Hawaiian culture with an XO laptop than watching mind-numbing TV imported from the mainland. Or as Voices of Educators says:
There is no better investment than the quality early education for our children. Let's put our Keiki First!.
Recent Comments
What little experience I have of Hawaii is that it is a lovely mix of cultures and languages. Many of the adults are interested in sharing their native culture with their children. It could be useful to localize the XO or at least some of the activities into native Hawaiian or Samoan or Tongan, etc. to fit in with preserving that heritage.