[book review]: Arting and writing to transform education: An integrated approach for culturally and ecologically responsive pedagogy [ISBN: 9781845536558] / by Meleanna Aluli Meyer, Mikilani Hayes Maeshiro and Anna Yoshie Sumida (original) (raw)

This beautifully illustrated book demonstrates a pedagogy in which deep learning about children's place, and place in the world is built through the intertwining of language and images. The journey is told by three educators of young learners, profoundly guided by their connection with Hawaiian spirituality and landscape. The Hawaiian closeness to nature is apparent in each activity, but there is a universality and urgency in the themes which make them appropriate for other settings. The children learn about their surroundings and express this learning in ways that build on tradition, observation, and on linguistic and visual invention. What is interesting for the language teacher is that the topics, such as where I live, or family trees, focus on broad and holistic goals in which language is one medium amongst many. The book