AThought on Kamehameha

[alohabear]

I have a relative here on the Big Island who as a Kamehameha alum is very proud of his cultural background. So... when is baby girl was 3, enrolled her in Kamehameha's pre school program. Now 2 years later she takes the exam for elem. school and has a good score... but because the campus has only 24 openings, she doesn't get in. My relative's family was crushed because they feel cheated. I can see why! I mean they pay the school to prepare thier child for elem school ....she gets a good score....she didn't get in. Did the school fail to do their job? Or did the school lose another bright Hawaiian child because of space?

IMO ... a pre-school's job is to prepare a child ( in this case to go to Kamehameha) for school. The family will move on and try again when the child is ready for High School ....but after 9 years in public school it will be hard to do it. Is this Pauahi's Legacy?

[Miulang]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

It's called "allocation of scarce resources". Kamehameha Schools could probably increase enrollment on all of their campuses, but it's more than just a question of "letting anybody who's qualified can be enrolled". There are issues with finding enough competent teachers, new buildings, etc.

Life is more fair for some people than other people. Just a fact of life. But it's those who don't give up just because they were rejected once or twice who are the ones who tend to be much more successful in life in the long run. Adversity develops strength of character, patience and perseverence, all important attributes in a decent human being. Being given everything one wants without at least having to work for it breeds an attitude of entitlement. That attitude of entitlement is what has gotten the 'aina into some of the messes that are there now. It's a good thing that the students of Kamehameha Schools are taught that in gratitude for the education they are receiving, they are expected to give back to their community in some way.

Miulang

[pzarquon]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

My daughter did spectacularly, I think, on all the lead-up in the KSBE application process, and still didn't make the cut. On a lottery system, and living (at the time) in a neighborhood with a higher-than-average native Hawaiian populace, the math was simply against us.

I don't hold it against Kamehameha Schools - though I might have a few years back when the scandal broke about overpaid trustees and misallocated funds. I'm sure they'd support more kids if they could, but I'd rather they retain their vision and educational standards rather than compromising them just for a higher head count. We'll just make sure our daughter gets the best education she can now, and we'll try again at the next window (which is when our middle son will be up for his first attempt).

To think when I went for my Kamehameha Schools kindergarten interview, and the interviewer asked me why I wanted to attend there, I said, "I don't."

[craigwatanabe]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

I understand your relative's feelings as even my fourth child went successfully thru Kamehameha's preschool program, passed the entrance exam for kindergarden but didn't make it thru because of limited enrollment.

I was crushed too but because I do understand the limitation of slots, I didn't feel cheated. Cheated is when something deserved isn't received.

A friend of mine tried to get his son into Kamehameha at the 7th grade level (one of the hardest entry points) and during the process he kept saying how wonderful the program was and he would encourage all parents of Hawaiian ancestry to go thru the process I agreed as I already managed to get two of my boys into the school.

As it turned out, his boy didn't get in (his GPA was too low) and I had cautioned him that his boy's GPA would play an important factor in his review beforehand. Well suddenly Kamehameha was the evil empire and there was nothing good to be said of the school!

I asked him, "so what was all that talk about Kamehameha being this magnificant school and to encourage everybody to apply their kid?" He said, "That was before my kid was rejected". I told him this is a case of Sour Grapes and before he could respond, his eyes dropped and realized the truth in his statements.

Ironically, Kamehameha Schools' preschool program is a separate entity of their acedemic curricullum. They have a separate dean, and even their facilities are off campus. If you notice their Kapalama site is located BEFORE the main gate entrance.

My fourth child went thru their program and although it's decent, I've seen better pre school programs elsewhere and that's not sour grapes. But that's how different their program is from their main campus. Academically Kamehameha's preschool curricullum didn't prepare the children for entry into Kamehameha's kindergarden program.

That surprized me totally as I thought their entire curricullum was integrated as it is in their elementary/middle/high school programs.

There was a time before acedemic excellence was the standard for entry, when the lottery system was envoked to get into Kamehameha. That process was used between entry from elementary to middle and middle to high school. Can you imagine the crushed looks on the faces of kids and parents who's child didn't make it with their friends from one level to another?

That's why the board decided on using the current method of enrollment to allow kids who successfully complete grade 6 to stay in KSBE's program thru graduation.

I only wish their preschool program did the same like your relative. Maybe that's why KSBE is looking for another Dean for Early Childhood Development.

This stage of development (birth thru age 3) is an important one where 90% of what the brain learns is done. Amazing but true! So you can understand now why there is a field of education devoted ONLY for pre schoolers. It's the launch pad for a child's academic and social success in this world. Failure to take advantage of this window of opportunity means a child who will develop brain function slower than their privileged peers.

KSBE knows that and I'm befuddled as to why their preschool program doesn't...follow the program when it comes to early childhood development. Their K-3 program embraces this philosophy as the body develops at different speeds from birth to age 8 (or up to grade 3).

The field of early childhood development dicates that the learning process is inclusive from birth to age 8. KSBE knows this and in time I'm sure all schools whether it be public or private will restructure their elementary schools into two phases; pre to 3 then 4 to 6. These are the two critical stages of development in a child's mind and body according to the latest research.

Successful completion thru each of these phases will almost guarantee success for the child acedemically at the middle and high school levels. This is the science of education and it all starts with the mother's embrace of her child at the moment of birth..the bonding process. From there the baby is on it's own to surive in this world. It's our jobs as parents to nurture that baby so it's brain can do the rest.

The first three years of a baby go by very quickly, ask any parent and they'll agree. That window is crucial as there is no program out there to develop the body or the brain other than the family program...YOUR FAMILY. After that, structured education such as preschools kick in as the brain requires advanced stimuli to take advantage of it's developmental ability.

The brain has a series of nerve pathways that connect parts of the brain together. At each terminating point there are these things called Neurons. From birth to age 3 these neurons have to ability to connect to one another quickly as the brain receives stimulation thru any of the body's five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch and taste). After age 3, neurons stop the connection process entirely or is reduced to a lessor degree and the brain relies on its established connected pathways to complete the rest of it's whole body development. Depending on the level of external stimuli, the brain develops at differing rates from child to child up to age 8. After that social pressures (peer pressure, family and diet) are the key to brain development.

This is the evololution and the physical developmental stage of the brain's ability to develop and understand the world, and that's why 90% of what you learn happens in this very small window.

Most parents don't do enough for their child at that stage. It's not their fault as this information has only recently been discovered thru current research. It's so new that current curricullum administrators who havent cracked open a college book in the last 8-10 years haven't a clue as to what ECD (Early Childhood Development) is and have to rely on the new breed of college grads to develop a curricullum for it.

My wife who was a pre school teacher with a 2-year CDA degree, saw this research and applied it to her work at the preschool she worked at in Honolulu (The Early School) and found that TES (The Early School) embraced this philosophy before it became mainstream. She was so intrigued by the research that she completed her masters degree in ECD and is regarded now as one of the more knowledgable people in this field of study in this state.

That's why more children who go thru TES' preschool program make it successfully into the more prestigeous private schools. It's like a private school prepatory school. Of my six children, five of them went thru TES. Three of them got into Kamehameha, the fifth got the nod but was put on the wait list. The forth unfortunately went thru KSBE's preschool program and didn't get in. My sixth child is too young to even go to preschool (19-months) but I can guarantee you with both my wife and my background in ECD, our youngest has the greatest potential for success of all six kids.

So what does this all tell you? That Early Childhood Development works and just because your kid didn't make it into KSBE even though they successfully got thru their preschool program, don't take it too harshly. KSBE hasn't geared itself up to integrate it's preschool program with the rest of it's curricullum...YET...that is. Hopefully their new ECD Dean will make those course corrections.

In the meantime do what you can for your child and that means giving them your utmost attention when it comes to any form of activity whether it be physical or analytical. Either way you're stimulating their minds.

[alohabear]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

It just bothers me that KSBE doesn't let all the Hawaiian keiki in . Sure it would be a burden at first ...but I think Princess Pauahi would never keep a "Hawaiian " child out. Maybe then can we all stand proud as one ohana and her school can be pono with the Hawaiian people.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

There are other ways Pauahi's legacy is felt to keiki not admitted into Kamehameha, it's not just the campuses that keep the trust alive. Like I said before KSBE provides funding for curricullum development to public schools (traditional as well as charter) that serve Hawaiian communities such as Waimanalo and Waianae and every other public school on all islands that teach a Hawaiian-based curricullum and that includes DOE funded public charter schools.

So if your child doesn't get in, your child can still benefit from the trust thru their public school. If your district's public school doesn't qualify because it has no Hawaiian Studies class, then you can apply for a District Exemption and put your child in that school...because isn't that why you pick Kamehameha? Because you want your child to better their cultural roots? Remember that is the main emphasis on Pauahi's trust, not simply to get your child into a prestidgeous private school for free or low cost.

Kaimuki Middle (Intermediate) School is one such middle public school that teaches a Hawaiian Studies course there and you can bet there are a lot of students on a District Exemption that go to Kaimuki based on that request. Kamehameha subsides that program.

There are many ways and examples of how the trust of Bernice Pauahi Bishop touches many Hawaiians thru their outreach programs and scholarships for high school grads. These mentioned are just but a few.

We just look at the campuses of Kapalama, Maui and Keaau on the Big Island as the only tangible evidence of the execution of her trust. We fail to see everything else that this remarkable woman endowed to the trustees to develop for the sake of all Hawaiians.

So to answer your frustrations, when you mean KSBE doesn't let all the Hawaiian keiki "in" what do you mean by "in"? In the established campuses or In the provisions set forth by her trust? The campuses are not the only establishments of this trust, many more Hawaiians are affected by her vision and trust thru KSBE's outreach programs outside the campuses and on every island in this state.

In reality you shouldn't feel frustrated knowing that more and more Hawaiians are being helped thru KSBE. If learning the Hawaiian culture is important (and that's the emphasis of Pauahi's trust) then you shouldn't be focused on campus admission because there's more to the trust than those three campuses. If getting a child into Kamehameha is the only reason then you just don't get it. Unfortunately that's the typical reason why.

When you take that admissions interview, they specifically ask the child why do you want to come to this school. This is THE most important question because if you say because my parents want me to go there because its a private school...STRIKE ONE already. If you say it's because you want to understand and teach others the heritage of being Hawaiian...that's a double and you find yourself on second base. The clincher to home plate is your academics and your attitude.

KSBE leaves the campuses for the best and brightest Hawaiians. They intensify their education on these kids because these kids are asked when they graduate and are constantly encouraged to reach out to other Hawaiian communities to teach what they learned from the campuses.

Before when admissions was the luck of the draw thru a lottery, many Hawaiian kids simply cut class, never learned or simply wasn't interested in Pauahi's vision and hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to educate these lack lusture kids was wasted. I knew many of my friends who went to KSBE back in the 70's only to become rubbish men or other menial labor workers. They go home drink beer go sleep and wake up again to pick up the opala. I don't think that's what Pauahi had in mind for these buggahs.

The trustees didn't think so either, so they put their resources in educating those who wanted to make a difference in their communities and help educate other Hawaiians. These are the best and brightest. If your child was to be educated wouldn't you want the best and brightest to be their mentors? Wouldn't you? That's what KSBE wants too and that's why there is an admissions testing, to screen out those who only want a free ticket, and to keep those who will give KSBE a good return on their investment, by investing on our future leaders who graduated from KSBE.

[lelei]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

My relative's family was crushed because they feel cheated. I can see why! I mean they pay the school to prepare thier child for elem school ....she gets a good score....she didn't get in. Did the school fail to do their job?

I understand their disappointment, but I wouldn't say that the school failed to do their job. You said that she did well on the admissions test, so they didn't fail her academically. The KS preschool was paid to educate and prepare her for an elementary school, not to guarantee that she gets into Kamehameha Elementary School. Did the school teach her the foundations she'll need to do well in Kindergarten? Did she have opportunities to develop friendships? learn school routines? If so, it sounds like she's still prepared to do well in another school until the next round of admissions comes along. KS did what a preschool is expected to do.

I guess the bad feelings come into play when parents EXPECT that attendance in a KS preschool equals "getting in" for elementary. I know a lot of people who feel cheated when their children don't get in. Heck, I tried to PRETEND that I didn't feel rejected when my son (now 9) didn't get in for Kindergarten or the 4th grade. Did it lessen the sting because my daughter was admitted to Kindergarten this year? Yes. But still, how dare they reject my smart, charming, and wonderful son?! They would be lucky to have him! I'm a mom and, although I told myself that it wasn't a rejection, how can I not initially take it personally? I guess what I'm trying to say is that, parental expectations and feelings aside, it seems that KS accomplished what they determined to do by helping that little girl develop the skills she needs to do well in any elementary school.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

well said. I only wish more parents could see past their subjectiveness of their child's abilities and look objectively at what KSBE's pre school program had done for their child.

[lelei]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

The trustees didn't think so either, so they put their resources in educating those who wanted to make a difference in their communities and help educate other Hawaiians.

Excellent post. And while I agree with what you said for the most part, I do want throw this out there. As you said, Kamehameha wants to raise leaders and contributors to the Hawaiian community, but I'm pretty sure students don't enter Kamehameha with this desire to make a difference. For example, my 5-year old is really interested in the playground & cafeteria, but not much else

Rather, I think a concentrated effort is being made to foster & develop this attitude throughout their time at Kamehameha, whether that time begins in Kindergarten, 4th, 7th, or 9th grade. For the younger students especially, involvement of their ohana is critical from the time of admission. Parents are the ones who have really "bought in," for lack of a better term, with what Kamehameha stands for. The school needs the parents to partner with them to reinforce the belief that with privilege, comes responsibility. The hope is to raise up men and women who have a lifestyle of service, rather than it merely being scheduled class events and easily forgotten. That's the habit of the heart that will continue even when they leave Kamehameha. Servant-leadership. Yes, it sure sounds idealistic, but having a vision is essential to what KS is trying to accomplish in the community.

Whew.

[alohabear]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

You all make good points and I agree. The only thing I get from parents is that KSBEpreschool prepares thier child so well and then when they go to public school the kid is bored because they have to wait for the non-preschool kids to learn all they learned.....many of them who enjoyed going to preschool hate this "new" boring school.

ALOHA ALL!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: AThought on Kamehameha

Everybody here knows I'm a KSBE supporter however I must admit that when my fourth child entered Waialae Elementary School as a kindergardener he was not prepared for that experience. That shocked me totally, for as a parent who had two children going thru the middle and high school programs at KSBE Kapalama campus and doing very well, I assumed KSBE's pre school program would be an excellent option as opposed to enrolling him into The Early School Preschool as my older children had gone thru successfully.

To this date my fourth child has struggled to keep up while my fifth child (two years younger) has academically caught up with #4 having gone thru The Early School. KSBE's pre school program wasn't as adept as I thought it was and it's showing in my fourth child.

We as parents are working hard with #4 to bring him up but those foundations were built on different academic standards and at 9-years old, he's already missed the boat on educational development and is just treading water at this point. My wife and I feel totally to blame for his situation and have dedicated our lives to ensure his and #5 and #6 will have the utmost attention to their personal and acedemic development as they grow up.

With my wife's dedication to Early Childhood Development Master's degree and my years of experience working with children both in public and private schools and activities (from fundraising chair to Little League president) we are striving to take the latest ECD research and use it for the benefit of our children. Moving to Keaau and working with impoverished families has given us invigored fuel to help others too.

This is exciting work and rewarding as well. But the greatest reward is when I see the eyes of parents light up when they see their child develop with their support. The sad thing is that I'm seeing more enthusiam from impoverished parents than I see from middle and upper class parents. As they say: The meek shall inherit the Earth.