Teachers on Hawaiʻi Island are sharing how their schools and students have been handling the Maunaloa eruption.
It’s been more than a week since the latest Maunaloa eruption began on Nov. 27. While schools in Hilo and Mountain View have experienced poor air quality and tension, institutions further away have a different perspective.
"So a lot of my kindergarteners had no idea what was going on. So when we got back to class, I showed them some videos of footage from the news. At first, they were really scared. They thought that the lava was going to come to our school and hurt us," said Jamie Harden from Laupāhoehoe Public Charter School.
Harden said it took some time to explain that they were safe from the lava.
"Once they knew that they were safe, then it really piqued their interest. So we’ve been doing a lot of research about volcanoes. Our counselor came into our class today, and they got to watch a video learning about tutu Pele and her sister, and the history behind the whole story of how Maunaloa came to be – which they loved – they were just enthralled," Harden told HPR.
Other students and school staff are also excited about the eruption.
The floating volcanic glass locally known as “Pele’s Hair” was reported in Laupāhoehoe in the initial days of the eruption, but Harden said she hasn’t seen it.
Unlike other parts of the island, the school is not experiencing a major change in air quality. But Harden and some of her coworkers have returned to wearing masks out of an abundance of caution.
Like others, she was concerned about the impacts of potentially losing Saddle Road, also known as Daniel K. Inouye Highway.
"If it continues, and it does shut down Saddle Road, that will have an impact on some of our families and staff members. And it’ll double their commute time. So that has been the main concern that we’ve been worried about is how will we provide transportation? Or how will we be able to get these families and staff members to school and work safely, and in a timely manner?" Harden said.
Fortunately for Harden and many others, scientists now say the lava from Maunaloa is no longer an imminent threat to the highway.
