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Greta
We use the Keauu library all the time - I had no idea it was such a violent place. There never seems to be anyone around when we are there. Perhaps we've missed the recess times? I'm saddened to hear your account of what goes on.
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I have worked at several schools with anti-bullying programs, and one thing I was surprised to have learned from all the research that has been done is that bullies DO NOT have self esteem issues. That is a myth. All the data shows that bullies usually have just fine self esteem, and the most recent brain research shows that the pleasure centers in their brains light up when inflicting pain on others. Most bullies also continue to bully as adults, both at home and in the workplace. The home environment of these kids may teach them to take pleasure from other people's pain but they aren't abusing others to mask their own feelings of pain; they do it because it feels good.
About the comments about the young man Kathy met having an axe to grind: from working with teenagers and adolescents on a daily basis I can honestly say that axe grinding is an adult response I rarely see in this age group. Kids feel stuff very deeply, and tend to be "quick to respond and slow to recover" which means that they hold onto their pain when an adult might just let it go and move on. That is probably why this young man unburdened himself to Kathy, he still had a lot of pain from his experience very close to the surface, but I highly doubt he was axe grinding. It is more likely he was just processing his pain in response to a sympathetic soul.
God knows it is hard enough to grow up in this world, being a racial, religious, physical, or mental minority is tough anywhere, here it is even tougher because one is trying to join a community where everyone else seems to be related and you are an outsider. Hawaii isn't unique in that, just ask anyone who ever tried to move into a small farming community with few outsiders. The rural county my parents moved me to as a child had about a dozen last names shared by 1,000 families, after 40+ years my parents finally aren't newcomers any more. I know of a nice young couple who tried to move to rural Maine and had their woodshed torched in January by the neighbors. Losing all your firewood in a Maine winter is serious business, because no one would sell them wood they had to leave. Their kid got beat up on the school bus daily and it certainly wasn't a race issue.
My last comment is that I have seen kids who for whatever reason have had a tough time at the huge regular DOE schools thrive at public charter schools. That includes both local and mainland kids of all races, incomes, and backgrounds. In the small inclusive environment of public charter schools many kids just feel safer being themselves, plus in a community of 120 instead of 2200 it is pretty hard to single out classmates for harassment and not get called on for being a jerk.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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So many times I have read things written by people planning to move to Hawaii (Puna when it is on this website) and they clearly are looking forward to leaving behind something on the mainland in favor of something pleasant and rewarding in Hawaii. It could be snow or city living or whatever in favor of having land, living by the ocean, etc. I am not suggesting that anyone is a bad parent but it seems backwards to me that parents should pursue these things for themselves and only consider something like school environment for their kids at this most critical stage of their lives as secondary or as an afterthought. If half the things I have heard about Ke'eau Highschool are true I would stay back in LA or Detroit rather than put my kid through that. The idea that I would come here seeking personal satisfaction but my kid would have to roll the dice and take a chance on getting scarred for life doesn't make sense.
I don't have kids. My brother has 3. They were all homeschooled. I have property in Eden Roc and I plan to live there some day but frankly I would not put my kids in school there. My best friend, a local guy who grew up on Oahu, also plans to move to the Hilo side, probably in Puna, and he plans to homeschool his kids. There are opportunities in Puna but there are costs as well. One of those costs in my opinion would be the need to homeshcool or enroll in an alternative school.
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Hi, everyone... My name is Shelby and this is my first post, but a topic of interest so I thought I would comment. Hopefully I am a future Puna resident. I am also a former high school teacher in a medium sized Southern East Coast city. The school I taught at was subject to fights probably on a weekly basis. Many were caused by racial differences, but many were just kids being jerks. I find the information interesting on fights in Big Island schools, particularly since many folks have an idealist idea about what Hawaii is and how the people are. It is important to remember that no matter where you are on Earth, people can be nice and they can be mean... No matter what your difference is, people will find it and possibly use it against you. The Maine example given here by a previous poster indicates that color does not need to be the difference, but it is certainly an easy one to identify.
What programs are available for Puna/Big Island kids to keep them positive about school? Motivated? Or does a lack of motivation lead to drugs? Maybe this is another forum topic? I know some of my students from all tracks of life tended to get mixed up in drugs as soon as they lost hope for a legitimate way out of their current situation (for example, they failed so much at school that they knew they would not succeed that way).
Just some rambling thoughts while I can't sleep...
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quote:
Originally posted by Aaron S
When I went to public school here it was really difficult.I was teased mercilessly because I am tall and haole. It took me a long time to heal from the pain of this harassment (I graduated high school in 1994). Thus anyone who says racism doesn't exist in our schools here is living in denial !
Your right, it does exist to some degree. The Southern Poverty Law Center has an article about racism in Hawaii which includes some references to incidents in schools.
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelrepo...p?aid=1081
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I honestly believe that this kind of situation happens all over the country and as my first post on the subject stated, my high school in S.CA. had far worse things happening. The Black Panthers made regular visits. There were bombings and stabbings and riots. 1969-72 were some angry years. HOWEVER kids should not have to face bullies of any kind and that is what the kids in the article above are. Sad though true we all face bullies at some point in our lives, but the experience is not unique to Puna. It happens in enclaves all over our country where they are allowed to get away with it and where they are raised in families where they learn to hate and push other people around.
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com
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quote:
Originally posted by KathyH
...He said if any school is worse than Kea`au it is Pahoa where they need two police officers on duty, and kids are still doing drugs and selling them where everyone can see. He had never been enrolled there so didn't discuss any personal violence, just the drug use/dealing in front of the school which I guess he had witnessed....
If the kid obviously didn't attend Pahoa (must not have lived in the area) how in the heck did he witness drug deals, students doing drugs on campus, etc. and yet said he was never enrolled there?
Your statements (or his) don't add up.
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MDD7000,
Probably because kids have a pretty sophisticated coconut wireless going and as a result teenagers can tell you a lot about what is going on in most of the schools in their area. Many kids have friends at all the schools and so know what is going on there. I do know that at the end of last year fights at Pahoa were being posted on youtube regularly and they showed security standing around watching. I have some pretty tough students who have said they wouldn't feel safe there and they are local boys. They just don't want to risk being mobbed. On the other hand, a good friend of mine's blond blue eyed daughter graduated top of her class at Pahoa a few years ago and now has a free ride scholarship to a good west coast school. She did grow up here though.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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Coconut wireless = not reliable and not firsthand and probably exaggerated. With the massive amounts of video cameras now there and the digital storing of the images, it is not like some old past history you have heard stories about. I question my sons and the 2 friends I give rides to, each day.
