An impending threat to future generations of Hawai`i is the sub-standard public education system. Anyone who drives by a public school in Hawai`i can see that it is run down. What goes on inside these schools? How well is the Hawai`i public school system doing compared to the rest of the country? Do our school systems need reform? The answer is yes, and the problem needs to be addressed soon.

Many of the students here at KCC have attended schools within this system. I ask these students: do you feel that your parents' hard-earned tax dollars contributed to the quality of education you deserved? A startling fact is that while your education may have been suitable, your children's education may not be. As reported in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, the educational standards in Hawai`i have fallen from a "B" in 1997, to a "C" in 1998, and finally to a staggering "D-" in 1999. The rating for Hawai`i's school climates is an "F" (Pendleton, Noemi and David, 1999:1).

Another article stated that a review done by the highly respected Fordharn Foundation also gave Hawai`i's education system a "D-". Surprisingly, that bit of news wasn't even reported to the state Legislature or the Board of Education (Rolf, 1999: 2). The article also declared that the children of Hawai`i placed last on the National Assessment of Education Progress fourth grade reading test. The director of the National Education Goals Panel, Ken Nelson, said that the parents in Hawaii should be alarmed because fourth grade reading is a gateway measurement; this means that these kids are more likely to fall farther behind as their education progresses (Rolf 1999:2). When it comes to improving the school climate, little is being done. According to Lester Chuck who is the DOE facilities director, the budget has been cut so much that "There will be more situations where we can't even repair the emergency things" (Kreifels, 1999:1).

Which candidate for the upcoming presidential election might help push reform of our schools along? I haven't heard of a candidate who has specifically mentioned Hawai`i's school system. There is information, however, on one candidate's views on education as a whole. George W. Bush's views on education that apply to Hawai`i are as follows: "[G]et rid of national tests [and] only administer local ones...praise and reward successful schools and shame failures

... it's ok to link funding to performance" (Political Resources OnLine 1999). If George W. Bush were to become president, I would tell him that these kinds of solutions will not help the desperately needy public education system of Hawai`i. We need the national tests to let us know how we are doing in comparison to the rest of the country. Our local control and accountability has not prevented failure. The problems of the Hawai`i school systems run deep, and these simple solutions offered by Bush would do little to help.

Our schools need updated curricula, better buildings, more equipment, such as computers, and nice, safe schoolyards for the children to play in. More charter schools need to be started up to allow families to choose the schools they want instead of schools being chosen for them. Charter schools have been known to be successful. However, there are only two of these schools existing in Hawai`i today. If any state school system is a failure it would probably be ours, but that doesn't mean that our system should be "shamed." However, our system does need help. Improving the public education system needs to be top priority. How is Hawai`i's economy going to improve if the people of this state are not educated? How is the environment going to hold out, much less improve if the people of Hawai`i have to concentrate totally on the survival of their families? This point seems obvious enough, but what is being done now to address these issues?

The legislature seems more interested in banning fireworks than improving the schools. Why is education such a "non-issue" for the state legislators? Why is the education of the upcoming and future generations seemingly unimportant to them? Maybe it is just easier to ignore the problem than to fix it.

The people of Hawai`i need to start pushing this issue with local and national politicians. To achieve this, however, the issue needs to be brought to the public's attention. More stories on the news stations should cover the progress of the school system, and more stories should be written about it in the newspapers. Parents and educators could start holding meetings to share their thoughts, concerns, hopes, and possible solutions to the schools' problems. They could start petitions demanding that more funding goes into the school system. They could try and encourage as many people as they could to start writing letters to legislators, demanding solutions to these problems.

Federal grants should be sought after such as the Obey-Porter grant. Two congressmen, David Obey and John Porter, started the federal funding of school-wide reforms in 1997. The schools which received this grant, including ten Hawai`i schools, have improved immensely. More programs need to be implemented. Two schools, Solomon Elementary and Pope Elementary, have launched new programs (Core Knowledge, Success For All) and the students have already shown measurable improvement (Rolf, 1999:3).

With some cooperation of parents, educators, and the state legislators the school systems will improve. Once the public recognizes and demands something to be done about this, the schools can start in the right direction.