The Aloha In Action curriculum integrates the Choose Love Movement’s materials, which emphasize social-emotional learning, character, and the power of choice in creating positive change. Each lesson encourages students to explore how the Aloha Spirit and Choose Love principles of courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion can be applied to their daily lives.

Cultivating strong social and emotional learning (SEL) is essential to building healthier, more compassionate communities. The simple yet powerful “Shaka” gesture, deeply rooted in Hawaiian culture, is a beautiful reminder of kindness, unity, and respect. It symbolizes connection and positivity, values that align perfectly with the pillars of SEL: courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion.

By integrating SEL with the meaning behind Shaka, we will collectively encourage students and community members to embrace empathy, practice mindfulness, and foster positive relationships. This curriculum, built on shared experiences and group discussion, commits to listening to student voices and perspectives, hearing their true stories and first-hand experiences. We can uplift each other, creating environments where everyone feels valued and understood.

The five lessons inspired by “Shaka: A Story of Aloha”, will help students connect these values to Hawai‘i-based vignettes, while the Choose Love Movement’s lessons provide tools for cultivating emotional intelligence and building supportive relationships. The overall goal of this curriculum is to create a positive, inclusive, and supportive learning community that extends beyond Hawai‘i, encouraging students to carry forward these lessons of Aloha and love into their own lives and beyond their classrooms. Through this combination of cultural values and emotional literacy, students will learn how to nurture kindness and respect within themselves and their communities.

In Hawai‘i, it is essential to contextualize the learning for our learners so they see the relevance and can apply new ideas to their current lives and to their future.

The collaboration of this curriculum design integrates the film: “Shaka: A Story of Aloha” and corresponding lessons into the Choose Love Movement’s secondary education materials using Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognition, CASEL standards, and the Character and Social-Emotional Development (CSED) model standards.

This curriculum highlights the four essential skills for students that are fundamental to our success. These skills—courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion—are crucial in navigating the challenges and opportunities of today’s dynamic world. Together, they form a powerful combination of virtues that contribute to personal growth, emotional well-being, and stronger relationships. These virtues are often interlinked and reinforce each other in various aspects of life, including education, personal development, and community building.