Manulani Aluli Meyer, in her article“ Our Own Liberation: Reflections on Hawaiian Epistemology”( 2001), helped me understand the depth of this view of children as learners and me as an educator. My knowing and being is in their knowing and being. So, my classrooms were always built around those relationships, around the belief that learning flows from connection, not compliance.
My relationships with families are guided by the value of hoʻokipa— welcoming with generosity and care. I see families not as clients but as partners, carriers of cultural knowledge, and co-teachers in the lives of their children. My own experience growing up in a multigenerational household taught me that learning doesn’ t begin or end in the classroom. It’ s everywhere.
My approach to equity is informed by the understanding that many of our systems were never designed with Indigenous children in mind. Equity, for me, isn’ t about treating everyone the same— it’ s about restoring what was taken, making room for voices long silenced, and challenging practices that perpetuate harm, even when they are labeled as“ best practices.”
There is so much that Native Hawaiian traditions offer the field of early childhood education. We bring an understanding of communal responsibility, of the sacredness of childhood, of learning that is embodied, intergenerational, and land-based. We understand the power of ritual, of chant, of story. We know that to teach is to lead with aloha, and that to lead with aloha is to be in relationship— with people, with place, with spirit. Our identities are not distractions from professionalism. They are the foundation of authentic, effective, and just teaching. When we honor who we are, we create space for children to do the same.
The Disconnect: Whole Children Versus Fragmented Educators
We talk often, and rightly so, about the importance of seeing children as whole beings. We affirm that children are capable, curious, complex. We speak of honoring their cultures, families, and lived experiences. We celebrate their languages, their emotions, their stories. But what happens
Summer 2026 Young Children 19