| OUR HERITAGE, OURSELVES
The Importance of Maintaining Cultural Literacy in the Pacific Islands
By Masa-Aki Emesiochl
In today’s world, with indigenous people
heavily impacted by constant change and outside influence, it is
critical that cultural literacy be sustained by being both taught
in the schools and practiced, reinforced, and honored in families
and communities.
Suppose students in Pacific island countries
are asked to explain their cultures to people in other places. What
will they tell them? Will the youth of the Pacific be able to respond
to these questions appropriately, with knowledge and confidence?
Traditionally, languages and cultures in
the Pacific region were learned not in a formal school setting,
but through everyday practice. Today, Pacific island languages are
still the dominant language in the home, and the culture shapes
every aspect of the lives of the people. However, because of the
many changes that have taken place both in work and leisure, there
is a need for schools to assist in teaching cultural literacy.
As we adapt and adopt new practices, values, and approaches from
other places and other cultures, the richness and subtleties of
our own language and culture are being threatened. It is true that
culture is ever changing. However, as people of the Pacific who
are proud of our language, heritage, and traditional ways, we believe
that all our students must have a firm foundation in our languages
and cultural values and a healthy view of their own identities and
their world. This will allow them to make wise decisions for the
future and to carry out the important job of preserving, maintaining,
and promoting our way of life.
By knowing our history, we can learn from it. With a solid understanding
of where we have been, what has been tried before, and what was
or was not successful, our students will have greater opportunities
to carve out a better future. |
| We Pacific
educators, recognizing that outside influences are causing rapid changes
in the cultural values and lifestyles of our people, believe that
what is best in each of our cultures must be understood, appreciated,
and perpetuated. We recognize that the very survival of Pacific island
people and their cultural identities rests with our children. We believe
our children are the future and that their education must instill
pride in their culture and a sense of belonging to the larger Pacific
community. Education must also prepare the Pacific child to acquire
or adopt what is most useful and beneficial from other cultures. We
are committed to the Pacific way – to sharing and working together
for the future of our islands. The development of self-reliant, self-sufficient,
responsible, well informed, productive, and socially mature citizens
of the Pacific island nations who are proud of their heritages will
be in a better position to contribute to the building of a better
world.”
PREL’s Pacific Curriculum and Instructional
Council (PCIC)
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| Our educational systems
would be at fault if they did not seek to promote and develop our
students’ pride in their own cultures as well as personal
self-esteem. Both Islanders and people living in our islands have
inherited a rich, intricate, and beautiful legacy in our cultures.
If we want our young people to become initiators, problem solvers,
and architects of a better way of life, they will need to be knowledgeable,
confident, and proud of who they are and where they come from.
There is concern among our elders that the schools are sending back
to communities graduates who behave like strangers. Currently, school
texts and materials are dominated by the English language and Western
values, beliefs, and lifestyles. Our students cannot be considered
“well-educated” if they fumble to show respect or are
uncomfortable speaking with community elders. Our goal is to have
students who retain and promote traditional values, such as cooperation
and respect for elders and for the environment. Homes and schools
will need to work together to ensure that these values are learned.
Invariably, Pacific Islanders travel and eagerly learn from other
cultures and countries. For our students to participate effectively
as global citizens, they must not only respect other languages and
value systems, but also be able to educate others about their islands
and their ways of life. It is imperative that we nurture strong
cultural identities for our students. While it will be their decision
what customs and traditions they will continue in their islands,
having a firm foundation in their own cultures should better prepare
them to make those decisions, and at the same time, to truly understand
and appreciate the cultures and customs of people from other parts
of the world.
To succeed in teaching and maintaining
home languages, schools must develop an intense pro-literate teaching
and learning environment. Students must be provided with incentives
to read, speak, and write in the vernacular. The primary objective
should be comprehension, and teaching strategies should prioritize
relevance to the students, their families, and their islands.
Much of our cultural knowledge is no longer accessible as our elders
pass on from this life without having their knowledge recorded.
Local efforts to preserve and archive traditional knowledge and
the vernacular language are vital if students are to become truly
culturally literate.
Our students and society need an educational program that is relevant.
The ability to communicate effectively to one’s own people
about one’s own reality is a basic need. The aggressive and
thoughtful teaching of the vernacular language and culture should
help to fill an important gap that currently exists within our societies.
As we strive to promote cultural literacy within the Pacific islands
through integrated curriculum and instruction, it is critical to
recognize how culture was learned and maintained through generations.
Traditional learning in Palau – whether in the family, in
boys clubs, in the taro patch for girls, or through arrangement
between the learner and a village expert – was holistic. Learning
and “schooling” took place in the context of everyday
living.
Masa-Aki N. Emesiochl is the
Program Director of PR*TEC.
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Why Should
Culture Be Taught?
- To instill in the Pacific child knowledge
and appreciation of their own cultural values, language, lifestyle,
and heritage, as well as of other Pacific island people.
- To expand the Pacific child’s awareness
and appreciation of the common and unique elements of various
cultures and lifestyles of Pacific island people.
- To enable the Pacific child to communicate
clearly about the cultural values, language, and heritage of their
own society, as well as the other societies within the Pacific.
- To instill in the Pacific child a sense
of pride, belonging, and responsibility in promoting, transmitting,
and preserving the important cultural values, languages, and heritage
of Pacific island people.
- To instill in the Pacific child knowledge
and understanding of the histories and geography that unite Pacific
island people.
- To enable the Pacific child to evaluate and
assess the impact of cultural practices.
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