BREAKING NEWS FLASH-At approximately 11:30 p.m. HST November 27, lava broke to the surface within Moku‘āweoweo, the summit caldera on Mauna Loa, for the first time in 38 years. (Mauna Loa USGS)
The eruption became a viral topic, caused trepidation to many and brought a notion that the end is near. Who would not be frightened when the Mauna Loa volcano is the largest active volcano in the world and it is right next door?
I too trembled in fear…
However, what is marvelous about nature is its way of waking up humanity. And if we pause and reflect, we can make great connections between the forces of nature and life’s realities.Here are realizations about life and teaching sparked by the Mauna Loa eruption…
First, we all have our breaking point. No matter how good we are at self-regulation, our emotions and stress levels can build up gradually over time; we lose control and erupt.
Similar situations happen in the classroom when students explode even over a trivial matter. The situation gets worse when the teacher can’t effectively manage the outburst and becomes reactive. Teachers must always be the bigger person, at all costs, and know how to choose their battles. Becoming aware of our triggers and somebody else's triggers then working on them is crucial.
Second, Mauna Loa may be gorgeous and calm on the outside but there may be signs of impending seismic activity inside. Life may also be the same thing—looks cozy, but under the surface is full of turmoil with people smiling on the outside but tormented on the inside.In the classroom, personal issues are ignored and emotions quelled. However, instead of suppressing and denying how one feels, we need to name it, talk about it, and face it.
One of the things that teachers need to teach students is emotional intelligence because it is one of the life skills essential to survival. Emotional Intelligence is defined by Salovey and Mayer (1997) as “the ability to perceive emotions, integrate emotions to facilitate thought, understand emotions and to regulate to promote personal growth.” Reuven Bar-on (1997) described EQ as “an array of personal, emotional and social abilities and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures.” If students are accurate at naming how they feel, the more that they can cope with the emotions.
Third, Mauna Loa initially spilled lava to the southwest of the summit, but stopped. Then active lava began flowing to the north of the upper Northeast Rift Zone. Like in life, we never know what will happen next, so we need to become more proleptic and proactive.
In the classroom, teachers plan everything, yet, when in the midst of teaching, we adjust our ways and will not follow exactly what we planned. Sometimes even when we are well-prepared, we still don't achieve the goal.
In planning for anything, teachers need to look at multiple sources of data in different lenses and set multiple plans to achieve the intended outcomes. We must start becoming proleptic, not analeptic. In building Plan A, or Plan B, we need to consider prospective challenges, based on experiences in the past. Then set another plan in case A and B will not work out. Life is full of uncertainties so we need to plan intentionally ahead of time.
Fourth, while Mauna Loa is spewing lava, Mauna Kea, which is a few miles away from Mauna Loa, is crowned with frost. Two opposite forces occur in the same place at the same time.The world also has several concepts depicting dualities like Yin and Yang which describes opposite but inseparable and interconnected forces; Dualism that suggests the existence of two opposing and complementary forces; and Polarity which acknowledges opposing poles or extremes and highlights the interdependence and harmony between them.
In a clearer sense, we have male and female, young and old, light and dark, day, good and evil, well-behaved and ill-tempered, slow learners, and fast learners, etc. What makes these dualities problematic is if teachers just stick with them. In viewing male and female, what about those considering themselves in between? In viewing young and old, what about those middle-aged people? In viewing light and dark, what about the multiple colors in the spectrum? In viewing good and evil, what about those in the middle, navigating who they are and needing somebody to direct them in the right path? In viewing well-behaved and ill-tempered, what about those who lack attention because they are neither of the two? And while we focus with intervention of the slow learners and enrichment for the fast learners, what about those who are neither struggling nor meeting proficiency? As we tend to pursue equilibrium, we also need to focus on all of the elements of the continuum, not just those which are apparent and prominent.
Fifth, some residents of Hawaii County were terrified and wanted to evacuate the island if they only had options. On the other hand, people outside Hawaii were fascinated with the grandeur of the spectacular view of fountaining and cascading lava and even flew to the island just to closely witness this magnificence.
Sometimes life is all about focusing on a silver-lining. In the context of education, students have to learn to view negative things in a positive way. For example, viewing mistakes and failure as great opportunities to learn and grow; considering vulnerability as a strength; coming to school as a daily preparation for success in the real world, not a daily torture of the mind; and recognizing teachers as an ally, not a foe. In a similar way, teachers have to see the potential of every student and be better at capitalizing on the students’ strengths to complement their weaknesses. When we are able to teach how the students make use of what they have, in order to improve, then we develop internal motivation, then autonomy and ownership in their own learning. Just then can we produce great people. Remember Albert Einstein who learned to speak at age 4 and became a school drop out, but is now recognized as the greatest scientist; Benjamin Franklin who dropped out of school at age ten, but because of persisting to learn in his own ways, he became one of America’s Founding Fathers. Bill Gates’ failed many times in his business career before becoming the brain behind Microsoft, and is now tagged as the richest person in the whole world. We may not be able to produce another Einstein, nor Franklin nor Gates, but we might produce more successful people in their own field of endeavors.
Finally, the US Geological Survey scientists declared December 13, 2022, that Mauna Loa had stopped erupting. In life, we sometimes think that our adversities keep on increasing and never ceasing, and the easiest route to take is to give up.
We, teachers, are deemed valuable to society for molding students to be at their optimum potential to be the best people they are capable of becoming. However, because of the difficulty of the job, we look for a less stressful job. If we only view the stressful situation as something that is temporary, be resilient and solution-oriented, then we can surmount more difficulties. And just like yet another history that the Mauna Loa has etched in the world’s history, I hope that all teachers view teaching as making a history, since we are molding future builders of the world.
Indeed, life is full of mystery and there is more about the natural occurrences. And life’s course changes when we start refocusing our lenses and viewing things differently.
Pinky Grace C. Francisco is a Hawaii State Teacher Fellow, NEA/HSTA Early Leadership Fellow, HSTA CARES pilot cadre, a mentor, a PDE3 instructor, EL Coordinator and ELA/ESL Teacher at Kau High and Pahala Elementary School on the Big Island of Hawaii, where the famous Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and Kilauea volcanoes are located. She finds wisdom in everything, like in nature. She is fascinated at viewing natural phenomena with silver lining, making connections to real life situations and utilizing those for analogies and metaphors to create more meaningful and worthwhile teaching and learning experiences.