With the area of studies I'm doing, the history of Hawaii comes up fairly often. Sadly, it's not the parts I like- the stories of Pele, the goddess of fire and volcanoes, or the methods the native Hawaiians used to cultivate the land, instead we look at what happened post-colonization, how missionaries and business men took over the islands, how they banned the Hawaiian language and the hula and made the people "civilized".
While wandering around the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center) today, I stopped in the little mission home exhibit/shop they have. It made me a little sad inside, to think that for the most part, the colonizers didn't recognize the good things that the Hawaiian culture had to offer. Instead, because things were different, they needed to conform. They needed to dress the same, speak the same language and use the same dishes (pictured).
I really think the world would be a better place if we all looked at differences as not good, not bad, just different, and recognize that we have the ability to learn something worthwhile from everyone, wherever they're from or whatever way they've been brought up.
The other thing I've learned is that we are all more alike than we are different. No matter where we are from or how we are raised.
ReplyDeleteThe kids I teach are more like the other kids their age than they are different. The differences make them challenging, but are also the thing that makes them interesting. Isn't life about embracing the differences and seeing what we can learn from them?