Auspicious timing for Hilo hula conference

Talk about chicken-skin moments. The fifth Ka ‘Aha Hula ‘o Halauaola hula conference has just concluded in Hilo, and the 900 participants from around the world could not have picked a more apt theme. This year’s theme of honoring Pele, the volcano goddess, and her sister, Hiiaka, was chosen last year, well before Kilauea began its current eruptive phase on May 3. Seeing the lava in all its magnificent glory provided special context for conferees, some coming from as far away as Chicago and Michigan. Pele will do what she will, of course, but any extra show of cultural reverence can’t hurt.

Civil War relics a good teaching tool

In an effort to be “sensitive” to student and parent concerns about shootings at U.S. schools, the state Department of Education is no longer allowing a Mililani Middle School history teacher to include antique firearms in a classroom display of American Civil War relics. That’s unfortunate, as there is negligible correlation between the two matters.

In past years the teacher has exercised reasonable sensitivity, obtaining permission from parents before assembling the display, which is more likely to spur student discussion about the war than a textbook lesson. Besides unloaded guns, it has included soldier portrait photos and letters penned from the battlefield.