Re: A hui hou, Hamamoto!
Being born and raised in East Honolulu going to a pretty good high school (Kalani), and having been on the PTSA at Hokulani Elementary school by UH Manoa...then moving here to the Big Island and having to deal with the more rural schools, I can see a major contrast in what is perceived as important in a child's life depending on where you live.
Here on the Big Island education is not seen as a major part of some high schoolers. They are raised by parents who value hard work over education. That in itself is okay if not admirable. However when applying for a job "hard work" sometimes doesn't cut it over "College Educated", so some of these students never strive for higher education and end up working with their Uncle doing automotive bodywork, fishing, or even joining the military because that was all that was left after graduating from high school.
How can these students compare against the more urban public schools where education is pounded in their heads from the school and parents? Many DOE teachers that start off begin at the rural schools. But when they earn their stripes, they move into the City schools leaving a brain drain back where they started from. What happens to these students when they see their favorite teacher bail on them for a better school? They feel left out and abandoned, so what kind of incentive is that to move forward when their role models are selfish teachers, disrespectful parents and self serving school administators wishing to get out of that school?
And it's these very students that bring down the school scores. But who's fault is that? The student? The parents? The teachers? The administration? How about all of them, but who is the loser? The student.
Sure the major public schools are keeping the average from dropping any lower, and it's the rural schools that are dragging the entire school system into an abyss, but it is these students (rural students) that need the support to boost themselves so they can develop high scores on their own and it starts with deploying better incentives for teachers to stay in rural schools, for parents to support their children better in and out of school (education starts in the home), and for our school administrators to start putting more of the DOE's budget into the schools and students rather than the top heavy beauracracy within it's adminstrative ranks.
It takes a village? Well we are the villagers. Who's gonna start first!
Being born and raised in East Honolulu going to a pretty good high school (Kalani), and having been on the PTSA at Hokulani Elementary school by UH Manoa...then moving here to the Big Island and having to deal with the more rural schools, I can see a major contrast in what is perceived as important in a child's life depending on where you live.
Here on the Big Island education is not seen as a major part of some high schoolers. They are raised by parents who value hard work over education. That in itself is okay if not admirable. However when applying for a job "hard work" sometimes doesn't cut it over "College Educated", so some of these students never strive for higher education and end up working with their Uncle doing automotive bodywork, fishing, or even joining the military because that was all that was left after graduating from high school.
How can these students compare against the more urban public schools where education is pounded in their heads from the school and parents? Many DOE teachers that start off begin at the rural schools. But when they earn their stripes, they move into the City schools leaving a brain drain back where they started from. What happens to these students when they see their favorite teacher bail on them for a better school? They feel left out and abandoned, so what kind of incentive is that to move forward when their role models are selfish teachers, disrespectful parents and self serving school administators wishing to get out of that school?
And it's these very students that bring down the school scores. But who's fault is that? The student? The parents? The teachers? The administration? How about all of them, but who is the loser? The student.
Sure the major public schools are keeping the average from dropping any lower, and it's the rural schools that are dragging the entire school system into an abyss, but it is these students (rural students) that need the support to boost themselves so they can develop high scores on their own and it starts with deploying better incentives for teachers to stay in rural schools, for parents to support their children better in and out of school (education starts in the home), and for our school administrators to start putting more of the DOE's budget into the schools and students rather than the top heavy beauracracy within it's adminstrative ranks.
It takes a village? Well we are the villagers. Who's gonna start first!
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