https://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jul/11/op/op02a.html

According to a national report, Hawaii’s teachers are the lowest paid in the nation when their salaries are adjusted for inflation.

Hawaii’s average teacher salaries ranked 17th highest. But when adjusted for the state’s high cost of living, Hawaii’s average dropped to 51st, behind all other states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Federation of Teachers.

What’s appalling about this report is that Hawaii’s teachers had to endure a strike to get to that point. The strike won them an increase in starting salaries from $25,000 in 1997 to $34,300 in 2003 — a 34 percent or $10,000 increase in just a little over five years.

Sounds good, but not good enough. Hawaii’s average salary was $44,306 during the 2001-02 school year. In California it was $54,348, followed by Michigan, $52,497; Connecticut, $52,376; Rhode Island, $51,619; and New York, $51,020.

We understand the state’s fiscal condition makes pay raises difficult, But the high cost of living means many teachers cannot afford to buy houses — a key factor for a person deciding to avoid a profession or leave it.

Ultimately, we get what we pay for.

Let’s think this through — rather than relying on the union’s lobbyists to provide us with the facts and then have that magnified to monstrous distortions by the editorial writers, unchallenged.

“Hawaii’s average teacher salaries ranked 17th highest. But when adjusted for the state’s high cost of living, Hawaii’s average dropped to 51st, behind all other states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Federation of Teachers.”

First off, the American Federation did not say the second sentence as this writer implies. That embellishment is produced locally, probably by the editorial writer himself, using whatever arbitrary cost of living adjustment he wants. On the low end, that is usually a premium of 30 percent — arbitrarily tacked on. On the high end, the national average is doubled and then 30 percent is tacked on for good measure — which of course, will always result in our local salaries faring dead last in national comparisons. One simply decides what conclusions he wants and then makes up whatever “facts” he wants to substantiate his contention — and most people will go along.

If all pay was equal, where would most people choose to live? If all rents were equal, where would most people choose to live? One would expect that a premium would be paid to live in areas most people would find desirable and other consolations given for lesser fulfillments. One would logically expect that in a desirable place as Hawaii, other compensations would be lower because if quality of life is high and then other compensations are 30+ percent higher, everybody would be here.

For most people raised in the Islands, the competition is not whether to become a teacher in New York City or to remain in Hawaii — but whether it is more advantageous to be a policeman or school teacher in Hawaii. That is the real choice. Unlike most high paying professionals, teachers tend to remain in their local communities — as their highest priorities. Very few, I venture to say, are constantly scanning the Wall Street Journal daily to find out where the highest salaries are being paid — and then being quick to move there. In the examples cited where the pay is the highest for teachers, such as Connecticut, the rest of the community is making much more and so the relative pay is much less — relative to that community.

In Hawaii, on the other hand, the pay of school teachers and virtually all government workers begins above the median income for the rest of the community, which is about $20,000. Obviously people making $40,000 not only rank in the upper half but are statistically in the upper 25 percent — and then on the high end of the seniority scale, the person making $80,000 is in the upper 10 percent — while getting paid four times as much as the person at the lowest end of the pay scale — rewarding seniority. The $80,000 plus two beginning salaries of $25,000 will give one an average of $44,000 for the three — which doesn’t convey any of the real injustice of that pay scheme. The “average” doesn’t convey the real experience that those just beginning are being underpaid while those who have no intention of starting over, are overpaid.

The problem with teacher recruitment is attracting people into the field. That would be done by increasing the beginning salaries to attract both new talent and people of accomplishment in other fields who are reluctant to start over at the bottom. Meanwhile, people who really love teaching and wouldn’t want to do anything else for all the money in the world, are not swayed to remain in teaching by more pay — especially at the expense of their colleagues just beginning to experience the challenge and trauma of teaching. Those who remain for only the money, all things being equal, are your poorest teachers; you want them to move on — to find out what they truly love to do.

That’s true of all the occupations. You want peep there who love being there; that’s who they are and what they do best. Very few are well rewarded just in their pay. The greatest compensation is living the life you want to live, were meant to live. Now if one is constantly complaining about sacrificing a lucrative NBA career for that of a teacher, society is better served in letting that individual pursue his NBA longings, and then when the time is more appropriate, he can settle in with a world of wonderful experiences to share and teach to others — instead of never having experienced life outside of a school, as with many “teachers.” Or in the case of writers, they’ll have real world experiences to recount rather than words that have no meaning and validity.

”’Mike Hu, a resident of Honolulu, can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:humikhu@aol.com

https://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jul/11/op/op02a.html

According to a national report, Hawaii’s teachers are the lowest paid in the nation when their salaries are adjusted for inflation.

Hawaii’s average teacher salaries ranked 17th highest. But when adjusted for the state’s high cost of living, Hawaii’s average dropped to 51st, behind all other states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Federation of Teachers.

What’s appalling about this report is that Hawaii’s teachers had to endure a strike to get to that point. The strike won them an increase in starting salaries from $25,000 in 1997 to $34,300 in 2003 — a 34 percent or $10,000 increase in just a little over five years.

Sounds good, but not good enough. Hawaii’s average salary was $44,306 during the 2001-02 school year. In California it was $54,348, followed by Michigan, $52,497; Connecticut, $52,376; Rhode Island, $51,619; and New York, $51,020.

We understand the state’s fiscal condition makes pay raises difficult, But the high cost of living means many teachers cannot afford to buy houses — a key factor for a person deciding to avoid a profession or leave it.

Ultimately, we get what we pay for.

Let’s think this through — rather than relying on the union’s lobbyists to provide us with the facts and then have that magnified to monstrous distortions by the editorial writers, unchallenged.

“Hawaii’s average teacher salaries ranked 17th highest. But when adjusted for the state’s high cost of living, Hawaii’s average dropped to 51st, behind all other states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Federation of Teachers.”

First off, the American Federation did not say the second sentence as this writer implies. That embellishment is produced locally, probably by the editorial writer himself, using whatever arbitrary cost of living adjustment he wants. On the low end, that is usually a premium of 30 percent — arbitrarily tacked on. On the high end, the national average is doubled and then 30 percent is tacked on for good measure — which of course, will always result in our local salaries faring dead last in national comparisons. One simply decides what conclusions he wants and then makes up whatever “facts” he wants to substantiate his contention — and most people will go along.

If all pay was equal, where would most people choose to live? If all rents were equal, where would most people choose to live? One would expect that a premium would be paid to live in areas most people would find desirable and other consolations given for lesser fulfillments. One would logically expect that in a desirable place as Hawaii, other compensations would be lower because if quality of life is high and then other compensations are 30+ percent higher, everybody would be here.

For most people raised in the Islands, the competition is not whether to become a teacher in New York City or to remain in Hawaii — but whether it is more advantageous to be a policeman or school teacher in Hawaii. That is the real choice. Unlike most high paying professionals, teachers tend to remain in their local communities — as their highest priorities. Very few, I venture to say, are constantly scanning the Wall Street Journal daily to find out where the highest salaries are being paid — and then being quick to move there. In the examples cited where the pay is the highest for teachers, such as Connecticut, the rest of the community is making much more and so the relative pay is much less — relative to that community.

In Hawaii, on the other hand, the pay of school teachers and virtually all government workers begins above the median income for the rest of the community, which is about $20,000. Obviously people making $40,000 not only rank in the upper half but are statistically in the upper 25 percent — and then on the high end of the seniority scale, the person making $80,000 is in the upper 10 percent — while getting paid four times as much as the person at the lowest end of the pay scale — rewarding seniority. The $80,000 plus two beginning salaries of $25,000 will give one an average of $44,000 for the three — which doesn’t convey any of the real injustice of that pay scheme. The “average” doesn’t convey the real experience that those just beginning are being underpaid while those who have no intention of starting over, are overpaid.

The problem with teacher recruitment is attracting people into the field. That would be done by increasing the beginning salaries to attract both new talent and people of accomplishment in other fields who are reluctant to start over at the bottom. Meanwhile, people who really love teaching and wouldn’t want to do anything else for all the money in the world, are not swayed to remain in teaching by more pay — especially at the expense of their colleagues just beginning to experience the challenge and trauma of teaching. Those who remain for only the money, all things being equal, are your poorest teachers; you want them to move on — to find out what they truly love to do.

That’s true of all the occupations. You want peep there who love being there; that’s who they are and what they do best. Very few are well rewarded just in their pay. The greatest compensation is living the life you want to live, were meant to live. Now if one is constantly complaining about sacrificing a lucrative NBA career for that of a teacher, society is better served in letting that individual pursue his NBA longings, and then when the time is more appropriate, he can settle in with a world of wonderful experiences to share and teach to others — instead of never having experienced life outside of a school, as with many “teachers.” Or in the case of writers, they’ll have real world experiences to recount rather than words that have no meaning and validity.

”’Mike Hu, a resident of Honolulu, can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:humikhu@aol.com

https://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jul/11/op/op02a.html

According to a national report, Hawaii’s teachers are the lowest paid in the nation when their salaries are adjusted for inflation.

Hawaii’s average teacher salaries ranked 17th highest. But when adjusted for the state’s high cost of living, Hawaii’s average dropped to 51st, behind all other states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Federation of Teachers.

What’s appalling about this report is that Hawaii’s teachers had to endure a strike to get to that point. The strike won them an increase in starting salaries from $25,000 in 1997 to $34,300 in 2003 — a 34 percent or $10,000 increase in just a little over five years.

Sounds good, but not good enough. Hawaii’s average salary was $44,306 during the 2001-02 school year. In California it was $54,348, followed by Michigan, $52,497; Connecticut, $52,376; Rhode Island, $51,619; and New York, $51,020.

We understand the state’s fiscal condition makes pay raises difficult, But the high cost of living means many teachers cannot afford to buy houses — a key factor for a person deciding to avoid a profession or leave it.

Ultimately, we get what we pay for.

Let’s think this through — rather than relying on the union’s lobbyists to provide us with the facts and then have that magnified to monstrous distortions by the editorial writers, unchallenged.

“Hawaii’s average teacher salaries ranked 17th highest. But when adjusted for the state’s high cost of living, Hawaii’s average dropped to 51st, behind all other states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Federation of Teachers.”

First off, the American Federation did not say the second sentence as this writer implies. That embellishment is produced locally, probably by the editorial writer himself, using whatever arbitrary cost of living adjustment he wants. On the low end, that is usually a premium of 30 percent — arbitrarily tacked on. On the high end, the national average is doubled and then 30 percent is tacked on for good measure — which of course, will always result in our local salaries faring dead last in national comparisons. One simply decides what conclusions he wants and then makes up whatever “facts” he wants to substantiate his contention — and most people will go along.

If all pay was equal, where would most people choose to live? If all rents were equal, where would most people choose to live? One would expect that a premium would be paid to live in areas most people would find desirable and other consolations given for lesser fulfillments. One would logically expect that in a desirable place as Hawaii, other compensations would be lower because if quality of life is high and then other compensations are 30+ percent higher, everybody would be here.

For most people raised in the Islands, the competition is not whether to become a teacher in New York City or to remain in Hawaii — but whether it is more advantageous to be a policeman or school teacher in Hawaii. That is the real choice. Unlike most high paying professionals, teachers tend to remain in their local communities — as their highest priorities. Very few, I venture to say, are constantly scanning the Wall Street Journal daily to find out where the highest salaries are being paid — and then being quick to move there. In the examples cited where the pay is the highest for teachers, such as Connecticut, the rest of the community is making much more and so the relative pay is much less — relative to that community.

In Hawaii, on the other hand, the pay of school teachers and virtually all government workers begins above the median income for the rest of the community, which is about $20,000. Obviously people making $40,000 not only rank in the upper half but are statistically in the upper 25 percent — and then on the high end of the seniority scale, the person making $80,000 is in the upper 10 percent — while getting paid four times as much as the person at the lowest end of the pay scale — rewarding seniority. The $80,000 plus two beginning salaries of $25,000 will give one an average of $44,000 for the three — which doesn’t convey any of the real injustice of that pay scheme. The “average” doesn’t convey the real experience that those just beginning are being underpaid while those who have no intention of starting over, are overpaid.

The problem with teacher recruitment is attracting people into the field. That would be done by increasing the beginning salaries to attract both new talent and people of accomplishment in other fields who are reluctant to start over at the bottom. Meanwhile, people who really love teaching and wouldn’t want to do anything else for all the money in the world, are not swayed to remain in teaching by more pay — especially at the expense of their colleagues just beginning to experience the challenge and trauma of teaching. Those who remain for only the money, all things being equal, are your poorest teachers; you want them to move on — to find out what they truly love to do.

That’s true of all the occupations. You want peep there who love being there; that’s who they are and what they do best. Very few are well rewarded just in their pay. The greatest compensation is living the life you want to live, were meant to live. Now if one is constantly complaining about sacrificing a lucrative NBA career for that of a teacher, society is better served in letting that individual pursue his NBA longings, and then when the time is more appropriate, he can settle in with a world of wonderful experiences to share and teach to others — instead of never having experienced life outside of a school, as with many “teachers.” Or in the case of writers, they’ll have real world experiences to recount rather than words that have no meaning and validity.

”’Mike Hu, a resident of Honolulu, can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:humikhu@aol.com

https://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jul/11/op/op02a.html

According to a national report, Hawaii’s teachers are the lowest paid in the nation when their salaries are adjusted for inflation.

Hawaii’s average teacher salaries ranked 17th highest. But when adjusted for the state’s high cost of living, Hawaii’s average dropped to 51st, behind all other states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Federation of Teachers.

What’s appalling about this report is that Hawaii’s teachers had to endure a strike to get to that point. The strike won them an increase in starting salaries from $25,000 in 1997 to $34,300 in 2003 — a 34 percent or $10,000 increase in just a little over five years.

Sounds good, but not good enough. Hawaii’s average salary was $44,306 during the 2001-02 school year. In California it was $54,348, followed by Michigan, $52,497; Connecticut, $52,376; Rhode Island, $51,619; and New York, $51,020.

We understand the state’s fiscal condition makes pay raises difficult, But the high cost of living means many teachers cannot afford to buy houses — a key factor for a person deciding to avoid a profession or leave it.

Ultimately, we get what we pay for.

Let’s think this through — rather than relying on the union’s lobbyists to provide us with the facts and then have that magnified to monstrous distortions by the editorial writers, unchallenged.

“Hawaii’s average teacher salaries ranked 17th highest. But when adjusted for the state’s high cost of living, Hawaii’s average dropped to 51st, behind all other states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Federation of Teachers.”

First off, the American Federation did not say the second sentence as this writer implies. That embellishment is produced locally, probably by the editorial writer himself, using whatever arbitrary cost of living adjustment he wants. On the low end, that is usually a premium of 30 percent — arbitrarily tacked on. On the high end, the national average is doubled and then 30 percent is tacked on for good measure — which of course, will always result in our local salaries faring dead last in national comparisons. One simply decides what conclusions he wants and then makes up whatever “facts” he wants to substantiate his contention — and most people will go along.

If all pay was equal, where would most people choose to live? If all rents were equal, where would most people choose to live? One would expect that a premium would be paid to live in areas most people would find desirable and other consolations given for lesser fulfillments. One would logically expect that in a desirable place as Hawaii, other compensations would be lower because if quality of life is high and then other compensations are 30+ percent higher, everybody would be here.

For most people raised in the Islands, the competition is not whether to become a teacher in New York City or to remain in Hawaii — but whether it is more advantageous to be a policeman or school teacher in Hawaii. That is the real choice. Unlike most high paying professionals, teachers tend to remain in their local communities — as their highest priorities. Very few, I venture to say, are constantly scanning the Wall Street Journal daily to find out where the highest salaries are being paid — and then being quick to move there. In the examples cited where the pay is the highest for teachers, such as Connecticut, the rest of the community is making much more and so the relative pay is much less — relative to that community.

In Hawaii, on the other hand, the pay of school teachers and virtually all government workers begins above the median income for the rest of the community, which is about $20,000. Obviously people making $40,000 not only rank in the upper half but are statistically in the upper 25 percent — and then on the high end of the seniority scale, the person making $80,000 is in the upper 10 percent — while getting paid four times as much as the person at the lowest end of the pay scale — rewarding seniority. The $80,000 plus two beginning salaries of $25,000 will give one an average of $44,000 for the three — which doesn’t convey any of the real injustice of that pay scheme. The “average” doesn’t convey the real experience that those just beginning are being underpaid while those who have no intention of starting over, are overpaid.

The problem with teacher recruitment is attracting people into the field. That would be done by increasing the beginning salaries to attract both new talent and people of accomplishment in other fields who are reluctant to start over at the bottom. Meanwhile, people who really love teaching and wouldn’t want to do anything else for all the money in the world, are not swayed to remain in teaching by more pay — especially at the expense of their colleagues just beginning to experience the challenge and trauma of teaching. Those who remain for only the money, all things being equal, are your poorest teachers; you want them to move on — to find out what they truly love to do.

That’s true of all the occupations. You want peep there who love being there; that’s who they are and what they do best. Very few are well rewarded just in their pay. The greatest compensation is living the life you want to live, were meant to live. Now if one is constantly complaining about sacrificing a lucrative NBA career for that of a teacher, society is better served in letting that individual pursue his NBA longings, and then when the time is more appropriate, he can settle in with a world of wonderful experiences to share and teach to others — instead of never having experienced life outside of a school, as with many “teachers.” Or in the case of writers, they’ll have real world experiences to recount rather than words that have no meaning and validity.

”’Mike Hu, a resident of Honolulu, can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:humikhu@aol.com

David Broder’s conclusion in his Independence Day column in ”’The Honolulu Advertiser”’ editorial section, July 4, 2003, asks if the wisdom in the Declaration of Independence still holds true today with the people who enjoy the freedom born out of its plea.

For me, a day doesn’t go by that I don’t wonder the same. But it is most certainly my fellow countrymen’s perceptions, such as those made by Mr. Broder that nag at my conscience.

His interpretation of the passage, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,

David Broder’s conclusion in his Independence Day column in ”’The Honolulu Advertiser”’ editorial section, July 4, 2003, asks if the wisdom in the Declaration of Independence still holds true today with the people who enjoy the freedom born out of its plea.

For me, a day doesn’t go by that I don’t wonder the same. But it is most certainly my fellow countrymen’s perceptions, such as those made by Mr. Broder that nag at my conscience.

His interpretation of the passage, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,

David Broder’s conclusion in his Independence Day column in ”’The Honolulu Advertiser”’ editorial section, July 4, 2003, asks if the wisdom in the Declaration of Independence still holds true today with the people who enjoy the freedom born out of its plea.

For me, a day doesn’t go by that I don’t wonder the same. But it is most certainly my fellow countrymen’s perceptions, such as those made by Mr. Broder that nag at my conscience.

His interpretation of the passage, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,

Many speculate we may be in an extended period of “jobless recovery.”

A recent ”’Associated Press”’ article reporting that of the nine million Americans who were unemployed last month, 2 million had been jobless for at least 27 weeks.

On the same day, ”’Knight Ridder News Service”’ reported on the rising healthcare costs and a weak economy now causing employers to nip away at employee benefits. Diane Stafford reported that more than nine out of 10 employers averaged a whopping 18 percent cost increase over what they paid for healthcare benefits in 2002 (“Employers passing on high cost of healthcare”).

Let’s look at the tea leaves and hazard a prediction. Is it reasonable to suppose private sector, for-profit enterprises will attempt to restore profitability in these difficult times by making ever deeper cuts in rising labor costs through the use of increasingly potent digital technology? If so, many of the jobs lost since the beginning of the Clinton era recession may be gone forever regardless of any subsequent Bush administration tax cutting/pump priming palliatives.

Setting aside the immediate, near term predicament of adult workers who have lost their jobs for extended periods of time, what would this imply for the next generation of workforce employees — those now in public school?

To answer this, one might reasonably wish to know how effectively public schools are preparing their young charges today for the highly automated, highly competitive world of work that awaits them tomorrow.

Such work will inevitably place critical emphasis on the basics: good reading, writing and applied math skills on the part of ”’every”’ carefully selected (highly costly) employee. Low-tech work will be done by machine, not by costly human assets.

Let’s bring such an inquiry close to home: how well are public schools in Hawaii doing under the thumb of a single, statewide school district putatively administered by a single state department of education to prepare students for the world of work? That should not be difficult to answer.

Consider for example the quality of the teachers and the conditions under which they work. An American Federation of Teachers study comparing average teacher salaries for the 2001-02 school year on a state by state basis — Hawaii ranks dead last. (“Report says Hawaii teachers lowest paid”). In this context, Jennifer Hiller of The Honolulu Advertiser reports the DOE hires about 1,500 teachers each year to replace those who have resigned or retired citing considerable shortages remaining for math, physics, chemistry, earth science, biology and Spanish-language teachers.

And how does DOE respond? In the traditional way of course, which is to say business as usual.

“It’s different ways of looking at it,” Greg Knudsen, DOE spokesman is quoted as saying. “It’s the best and worst ways. They’re both valid. What they’re missing is the improvement that has happened over the years.” This brazen individual has the audacity to claim Hawaii teachers have done well when compared with the average worker in the private sector in Hawaii.

One cannot possibly be surprised. It is necessary that a DOE flack must again be trotted out to offer up such humbug diversions arrogantly used to deflect public attention from organizational malfeasance. After all this lash-up is quite comfortable promoting the comfy bureaucratic careers of team players in a “school” system that has no academic curriculum, no measurable performance standards and no common scale with which to determine quantitatively what grades A, B, C, D, and F mean. Indeed we are on the threshold of “report cards” that would do away with these traditional grades altogether.

In a third rate bumpkin outfit urgently seeking to avoid any sort of accountability, where careers count and kids don’t, such chaos is a blessing.

It has often been observed that if one provides enough monkeys with enough typewriters, they will eventually tap out a Shakespearean play. The customary DOE solution to any and all problems that arise is to demand more money for more typewriters. Before the docile citizens of Hawaii agree to dump over even more of their hard earned money down a fiscal rat hole masquerading as a department of education — now sucking it up at the rate of well over a ”’billion”’ dollars a year with no accountability whatsoever — isn’t it time to quit monkeying around with public education? Isn’t it time to get serious about preparing bright, capable public school children for what awaits them?

Their future, the future of our state, and of our nation — that is what hangs in the balance.

One can only hope our governor will re-introduce legislation — and that our legislators ”’this time”’ will enact such legislation — in the next session that will replace this unwieldy, grossly inefficient, bureaucratically stultified DOE with locally determined school boards and districts responsive to the very real needs of both parents and students.

Those legislators who adamantly refuse do their duty to support the children and future of this state should be replaced in toto in the election next year. The time has come for them to lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.

The jury is no longer out in matters of public education. Business as usual ain’t gonna feed ”’this”’ bulldog.

”’Thomas E. Stuart, a public school teacher in Kapaau, Hawaii, can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:Thom1s@aol.com

Many speculate we may be in an extended period of “jobless recovery.”

A recent ”’Associated Press”’ article reporting that of the nine million Americans who were unemployed last month, 2 million had been jobless for at least 27 weeks.

On the same day, ”’Knight Ridder News Service”’ reported on the rising healthcare costs and a weak economy now causing employers to nip away at employee benefits. Diane Stafford reported that more than nine out of 10 employers averaged a whopping 18 percent cost increase over what they paid for healthcare benefits in 2002 (“Employers passing on high cost of healthcare”).

Let’s look at the tea leaves and hazard a prediction. Is it reasonable to suppose private sector, for-profit enterprises will attempt to restore profitability in these difficult times by making ever deeper cuts in rising labor costs through the use of increasingly potent digital technology? If so, many of the jobs lost since the beginning of the Clinton era recession may be gone forever regardless of any subsequent Bush administration tax cutting/pump priming palliatives.

Setting aside the immediate, near term predicament of adult workers who have lost their jobs for extended periods of time, what would this imply for the next generation of workforce employees — those now in public school?

To answer this, one might reasonably wish to know how effectively public schools are preparing their young charges today for the highly automated, highly competitive world of work that awaits them tomorrow.

Such work will inevitably place critical emphasis on the basics: good reading, writing and applied math skills on the part of ”’every”’ carefully selected (highly costly) employee. Low-tech work will be done by machine, not by costly human assets.

Let’s bring such an inquiry close to home: how well are public schools in Hawaii doing under the thumb of a single, statewide school district putatively administered by a single state department of education to prepare students for the world of work? That should not be difficult to answer.

Consider for example the quality of the teachers and the conditions under which they work. An American Federation of Teachers study comparing average teacher salaries for the 2001-02 school year on a state by state basis — Hawaii ranks dead last. (“Report says Hawaii teachers lowest paid”). In this context, Jennifer Hiller of The Honolulu Advertiser reports the DOE hires about 1,500 teachers each year to replace those who have resigned or retired citing considerable shortages remaining for math, physics, chemistry, earth science, biology and Spanish-language teachers.

And how does DOE respond? In the traditional way of course, which is to say business as usual.

“It’s different ways of looking at it,” Greg Knudsen, DOE spokesman is quoted as saying. “It’s the best and worst ways. They’re both valid. What they’re missing is the improvement that has happened over the years.” This brazen individual has the audacity to claim Hawaii teachers have done well when compared with the average worker in the private sector in Hawaii.

One cannot possibly be surprised. It is necessary that a DOE flack must again be trotted out to offer up such humbug diversions arrogantly used to deflect public attention from organizational malfeasance. After all this lash-up is quite comfortable promoting the comfy bureaucratic careers of team players in a “school” system that has no academic curriculum, no measurable performance standards and no common scale with which to determine quantitatively what grades A, B, C, D, and F mean. Indeed we are on the threshold of “report cards” that would do away with these traditional grades altogether.

In a third rate bumpkin outfit urgently seeking to avoid any sort of accountability, where careers count and kids don’t, such chaos is a blessing.

It has often been observed that if one provides enough monkeys with enough typewriters, they will eventually tap out a Shakespearean play. The customary DOE solution to any and all problems that arise is to demand more money for more typewriters. Before the docile citizens of Hawaii agree to dump over even more of their hard earned money down a fiscal rat hole masquerading as a department of education — now sucking it up at the rate of well over a ”’billion”’ dollars a year with no accountability whatsoever — isn’t it time to quit monkeying around with public education? Isn’t it time to get serious about preparing bright, capable public school children for what awaits them?

Their future, the future of our state, and of our nation — that is what hangs in the balance.

One can only hope our governor will re-introduce legislation — and that our legislators ”’this time”’ will enact such legislation — in the next session that will replace this unwieldy, grossly inefficient, bureaucratically stultified DOE with locally determined school boards and districts responsive to the very real needs of both parents and students.

Those legislators who adamantly refuse do their duty to support the children and future of this state should be replaced in toto in the election next year. The time has come for them to lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.

The jury is no longer out in matters of public education. Business as usual ain’t gonna feed ”’this”’ bulldog.

”’Thomas E. Stuart, a public school teacher in Kapaau, Hawaii, can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:Thom1s@aol.com

Many speculate we may be in an extended period of “jobless recovery.”

A recent ”’Associated Press”’ article reporting that of the nine million Americans who were unemployed last month, 2 million had been jobless for at least 27 weeks.

On the same day, ”’Knight Ridder News Service”’ reported on the rising healthcare costs and a weak economy now causing employers to nip away at employee benefits. Diane Stafford reported that more than nine out of 10 employers averaged a whopping 18 percent cost increase over what they paid for healthcare benefits in 2002 (“Employers passing on high cost of healthcare”).

Let’s look at the tea leaves and hazard a prediction. Is it reasonable to suppose private sector, for-profit enterprises will attempt to restore profitability in these difficult times by making ever deeper cuts in rising labor costs through the use of increasingly potent digital technology? If so, many of the jobs lost since the beginning of the Clinton era recession may be gone forever regardless of any subsequent Bush administration tax cutting/pump priming palliatives.

Setting aside the immediate, near term predicament of adult workers who have lost their jobs for extended periods of time, what would this imply for the next generation of workforce employees — those now in public school?

To answer this, one might reasonably wish to know how effectively public schools are preparing their young charges today for the highly automated, highly competitive world of work that awaits them tomorrow.

Such work will inevitably place critical emphasis on the basics: good reading, writing and applied math skills on the part of ”’every”’ carefully selected (highly costly) employee. Low-tech work will be done by machine, not by costly human assets.

Let’s bring such an inquiry close to home: how well are public schools in Hawaii doing under the thumb of a single, statewide school district putatively administered by a single state department of education to prepare students for the world of work? That should not be difficult to answer.

Consider for example the quality of the teachers and the conditions under which they work. An American Federation of Teachers study comparing average teacher salaries for the 2001-02 school year on a state by state basis — Hawaii ranks dead last. (“Report says Hawaii teachers lowest paid”). In this context, Jennifer Hiller of The Honolulu Advertiser reports the DOE hires about 1,500 teachers each year to replace those who have resigned or retired citing considerable shortages remaining for math, physics, chemistry, earth science, biology and Spanish-language teachers.

And how does DOE respond? In the traditional way of course, which is to say business as usual.

“It’s different ways of looking at it,” Greg Knudsen, DOE spokesman is quoted as saying. “It’s the best and worst ways. They’re both valid. What they’re missing is the improvement that has happened over the years.” This brazen individual has the audacity to claim Hawaii teachers have done well when compared with the average worker in the private sector in Hawaii.

One cannot possibly be surprised. It is necessary that a DOE flack must again be trotted out to offer up such humbug diversions arrogantly used to deflect public attention from organizational malfeasance. After all this lash-up is quite comfortable promoting the comfy bureaucratic careers of team players in a “school” system that has no academic curriculum, no measurable performance standards and no common scale with which to determine quantitatively what grades A, B, C, D, and F mean. Indeed we are on the threshold of “report cards” that would do away with these traditional grades altogether.

In a third rate bumpkin outfit urgently seeking to avoid any sort of accountability, where careers count and kids don’t, such chaos is a blessing.

It has often been observed that if one provides enough monkeys with enough typewriters, they will eventually tap out a Shakespearean play. The customary DOE solution to any and all problems that arise is to demand more money for more typewriters. Before the docile citizens of Hawaii agree to dump over even more of their hard earned money down a fiscal rat hole masquerading as a department of education — now sucking it up at the rate of well over a ”’billion”’ dollars a year with no accountability whatsoever — isn’t it time to quit monkeying around with public education? Isn’t it time to get serious about preparing bright, capable public school children for what awaits them?

Their future, the future of our state, and of our nation — that is what hangs in the balance.

One can only hope our governor will re-introduce legislation — and that our legislators ”’this time”’ will enact such legislation — in the next session that will replace this unwieldy, grossly inefficient, bureaucratically stultified DOE with locally determined school boards and districts responsive to the very real needs of both parents and students.

Those legislators who adamantly refuse do their duty to support the children and future of this state should be replaced in toto in the election next year. The time has come for them to lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.

The jury is no longer out in matters of public education. Business as usual ain’t gonna feed ”’this”’ bulldog.

”’Thomas E. Stuart, a public school teacher in Kapaau, Hawaii, can be reached via email at:”’ mailto:Thom1s@aol.com