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maybe it's true that my standards for what my kids could be when they grow up is high, but it should be. I strongly believe that I should try to get my kids the best most-rounded education possible. And maybe I'm being snobbish saying I don't necesarily want them to be fedex drivers. If they choose to do that anyways, that's their choice. But it sucks if that's all they can be. And educationg them in Puna isn't going to give them as many options as if they went to a good school. I want their teachers to encourage college, not be praying that they will graduate. and I want his teacher to teach them more than reading, writing and arithmatic. like geography, languages, music, sports.... Things that are not in the puna's schools budgets. And I think it's unfair to say that I could teach them everything. I have strength, but not in every topic. I can't put myself in charge of making sure they are learning in every topic. That is after all why we send our kids to school. I think it's a parents job to teach kids our morality. Let them learn reading and math at school. I'll teach my kids tolerance and love and right and wrong ... I can help them with their homework and encourage them to love to learn, but I am no teacher. Not an academic one anyways.
I have plenty of friends that went to school here. and those who care about their kids education are all trying to find ways not to make their kids go to the school they went to. now that should be telling you something. They have all kinds of stories about the things that they learned that you DON'T want your kids to learn.
I know that there are many alternative schools here and that there was that kid in your class who went to Harvard and that I can do soooo much to help educate my kids, but... there isn't really much you can say that will convince me that Puna schools don't suck. If I had decided to stay in Hawaii, my kids would probably be going to St. Joseph (of which I have only heard good thing, except for the commute thang). So I'm not leaving b/c of the schools, but I am very happy to get my son out of Pahoa E.S. And not because anything really bad happened. Just enough things to give me a flavor of what things were going to be like.
enough venting for now. just don't like people downplaying the importance of the best education you can give your kids.
aloha,
stef
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Tony, Que es "Vogon?"
Carrie
"The opportunities to reach into the lives of others in an inspiring way arise in countless ways every single day..." Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
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And educationg them in Puna isn't going to give them as many options as if they went to a good school. I want their teachers to encourage college, not be praying that they will graduate. and I want his teacher to teach them more than reading, writing and arithmatic. like geography, languages, music, sports.... Things that are not in the puna's schools budgets. And I think it's unfair to say that I could teach them everything. I have strength, but not in every topic. I can't put myself in charge of making sure they are learning in every topic.
I beg to differ... the first graduating seniors from keaau, and some seniors from Pahoa had national merit scholars, another 1 took state in science and went to nationals, a greater than average number went to big time schools (Ivy, and the best schools on the west coast). Why? I knew many of these parents - they were involved, their kids went to Cindy's school (name??), Malamalama Waldorf, HAAS, Volcano Charter, and the Hawaiian charter down by the hotponds, all then into Pahoa and Keaau. Granted the first 2 are private, but the others are not.
What made the difference between these kids and others? Hard to know for sure - except their parents (as far as I knew) weren't meth/ice addicts, didnt seem to be alcoholics, and they stayed involved with both kids and teachers.
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Stef
I have heard locals ( used in the sense that it refers to people whose families have lived in one place for more than 100 years) say that they preferred that the educational system not be very good because, otherwise, their children would grow up and move away.
Before anyone disputes this, know that I grew up in one of these families and know that my extended family still actively does not value education.
My grandfather, who had a second grade education, removed all nine of his children from school (including my father) at the end of the 8th grade.
One of my uncles continued this tradition with his children and believed anyone with a college education ( no matter how brief, was a Communist)
I only point this out because it seems to be a belief that all parents and people support education. There are some us who know that there are people who actively oppose it. I escaped my family and environment but there was a cost involved.
In any school, no matter how bad, there will always be some cream that floats to the top. Trust me, the school is NOT responsible for this and the parents aren't always either.
I wish it were otherwise.
Sadly Lee D
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That's funny because communists believe anybody with an education is an intellectual bourgeoisie and not part of the proletariat.
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My uncle (who is now dead) was not a particularly humorous guy and he really did not like me. But the feeling was mutual. If you are saying that he was ignorant, you are correct.
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quote:
That's funny because communists believe anybody with an education is an intellectual bourgeoisie and not part of the proletariat.
Communists believe anyone with an education is an intellectual and has to be a member of the Communist Party to carry on the brainwashing of the non-educated (and to protect the upper class in a society that claims not to have class differentials.) Trust me, I know, I have lived there for 28 years.
Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,PB,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
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Karl Marx believed otherwise. I suppose no communist country ever really carried out what he believed. The Khmer Rouge of Cambodia exterminated all the intellectuals.
Edited by - bystander on 08/22/2006 14:08:39
Edited by - bystander on 08/22/2006 14:09:55
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I think whether the intellectuals were communist-educated or not made all the difference. In revolutionary times, educated people who are not in the revolutionary movement are suspect and subject to extreme measures. Post-revolution there were usually purges of the revolutionaries and power struggles among them. Eventually things would settle down and newly educated Communists were the new elite, unless and until they got out of line.
Cheers,
Jerry
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quote:
I think whether the intellectuals were communist-educated or not made all the difference. In revolutionary times, educated people who are not in the revolutionary movement are suspect and subject to extreme measures. Post-revolution there were usually purges of the revolutionaries and power struggles among them. Eventually things would settle down and newly educated Communists were the new elite, unless and until they got out of line.
Cheers,
Jerry
You are correct Jerry, I got out of line, errr out of the country.  Since I was a communist-educated intellectual and the country "invested" a lot into my education, my defection was a crime there and I couldn't go back for 10 years (statue of limitation.) Not that I really cared about it.
Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,PB,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
75-5870 Walua Road, Suite 101
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
(808)327-3185
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