A newly introduced Filipino studies course has already attracted over 200 public high school students — most of which are from Oʻahu's Farrington High School.
The first-of-its-kind course was initiated by the Filipino Curriculum Project, a group of students who felt the classroom lacked thorough representation and education on Filipino history.
Over 25% of the state's population identifies as Filipino, according to the project. At both Farrington and Waipahu high schools, where the course was introduced this fall, the student populations are greater than 50% Filipino.
"Being a person in the diaspora, a lot of the kids tend to not have a strong connection with the home country so for them it's an emotional process of unpacking all of these questions that they have had about their culture, about their history, about their connections to their indigenous self and their past histories," said Michelle Aquino, a teacher at Farrington High School.
The course will expand to McKinley High, Dream House ʻEwa Beach and Maryknoll School in spring 2025.
Next fall, the course will expand to Leilehua and James Campbell high schools.
