Micah Hirokawa
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Did you know that the cheetah is the only big cat that can purr? How ‘bout that the king of hearts is the only king in the deck without a mustache?
If you do, then congratulations on knowing a bunch of random facts. You should try your luck on Jeopardy. (And if you happen to win the big bucks, remember who always supported you way back when, hint, hint.)
But if you don’t know useless trivia - or that, in America, car horns beep in the tone of F - don’t feel too down.
“Who counts that, you know?” says Micah Hirokawa of the laughable-but-true inspiration behind a 30-second public service announcement about kindness he and his summer film students recently wrapped. “They’re saying all these ridiculous statistics - everyone’s so worried about counting things that really don’t matter - so we want to start counting things that really do.”
They began their PSA project at the beginning of Le Jardin Academy’s summer session two weeks ago. Hirokawa, who works as a preschool music instructor and in his own studio the rest of the year, came up with the theme. Students, who hail from all areas and schools on Oahu, did the rest. From writing the script to starring and directing the spot, the kids had an active role in every step of the learning process- something Hirokawa believes is the best part of his job.
“I think to be a good student, you need to be a good teacher. They grow even more than if I was only teaching them,” he explains. “And then they teach me! I learn new things each and every year.”
Take a lesson on kindness and check out the PSA, which can be viewed online now at www.midweek.com; just follow the link to our Good Neighbor page. If you get inspired by this and other positive stories, why not spread the word and send an e-mail to the class at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
“Everybody in the class feels that if everybody does a little something, that still counts and can change everything,” says Alexandra Cooper, 12.
“That’s why we want people to send in their little acts of kindness, so we can make a statistic on that,” adds 11-year-old Keiko Friar.
“I think that everybody can make a difference,” asserts Erin Voss, 13, “whether it’s good or bad, that’s what counts.”
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