When I was still in grade school, my father taught me how to fold paper cranes. I never asked how this Chicago-born, meat and potatoes eating guy learned how to fold them. I just remember as a child being fascinated by the simple paper form that magically flapped its wings if I gently tugged on the tail.
It is a skill and a memory that has stuck with me and that I have taught others. I remember preparing for an awards ceremony for the honors college of which I served as dean. We could not afford flowers for all the tables; we did not have much of a budget.
“How about paper cranes?” I suggested. None of these gifted college students knew how to make them, so they all got their first lesson in origami from me. Just about everyone got the hang of it, but much frustration ensued when they saw how quickly I could do it as they were still stumbling along, much like my first experience making a ti-leaf lei. When we first learn a skill it is often a little awkward, until we practice and eventually gain mastery.
The teacher needs skill and patience, the students need desire, and the task needs to be meaningful. This process applies to all education really. When we talk about student success at UH-Hilo, all of these ingredients must be present for us to be effective. Sometimes there is a disconnect if the teacher expects the students to progress faster than they are able. Sometimes the teacher has the passion but the student does not.
When my father tried to teach me how to drive a stick shift, I had little interest. He had a bit less patience with a 16-year-old than he had with a 7-year-old, and thus it was not nearly as successful as the paper crane lesson. I did not care enough to master the skill, and I did not practice it. To this day, I cannot really do it. Oh, I could in an emergency, but you would probably hear the gears grinding and the engine dying as the poor car lurched down the road!
Sometimes, the skill is learned, but if it is not used or not considered important, it weakens and dies. We say of many skills, “it’s just like riding a bike,” but we know that it is not quite accurate. Have you ever tried to ride a bicycle after not having been on one for decades? Sure, you still know how, but your center of gravity might have shifted, and you will probably wobble about for a while until you get your balance again. Dad is also no longer running alongside holding the bike upright for you.
Studies have shown that one of the ways to really cement something in our brains is to teach it to someone else, and although students often hate presentations and group work, if they can explain what they have learned and teach it to someone else, their own learning will deepen. By teaching others how to fold paper cranes, I have retained that skill. Introduction, development and mastery are grounded in patience, passion and persistence.
Learning can be hard, but it can also be energizing. When we start with young children, lighting those sparks of curiosity and then tending the flame with patience as we feed it, education works. Repetition and incremental development help us master more complex skills and knowledge.
Continuity of education helps us master skills as well. When we get keiki excited about a topic in school, how do we sustain that enthusiasm over the summer? How do we ensure that learning continues as students progress from grade to grade, school to school, school to college? This is where educators have to take the lead and work together.
UH-Hilo and Hawaii Community College have just signed off on a new 2+2 agreement in sociology that will help us support students as they transition from the community college to the university. This is not the first such agreement, nor will it be the last. We will continue to collaborate and fold our programs together so that the cranes can continue to fly.
Bonnie D. Irwin is chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo.