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Students still misbehave, although they may not be up to mainland levels of misbehavior yet.
Student behavior is not a concern for me. My life has already been threatened multiple times by students in cases which had to be handled by police, and that did not deter me in the least from continuing to enjoy teaching. So anything less than that would not be likely to put me off either.
What I find exceptionally frustrating, is that it seems to be absolutely impossible to view teacher openings in Hawaii online. Even if you go to the DOE website, and take the time to register (which is ridiculous that they require you to register just to see employment openings), even so all they allow you to do is fill out an application for employment. You can't actually see the jobs listed anywhere! Additionally, I tried calling the teacher recruitment hotline for help (which I don't want to have to do because I'm just browsing at this point), and they did not answer despite it being during business hours. If HI really has a teacher crisis and has schools that require emergency employment, they could not have made it much harder to fill those spots with out-of-state teachers if they tried. There is no way to view open public school positions, nor a list of schools that supposedly provide bonus incentives for employment, so that one can see if this need is real and make a determination as to whether any of these hard-to-staff locations might fit a prospective teacher BEFORE they blindly apply to the entire state! I have perused online job listings for small districts throughout the US before without any major problem, so considering that Hawaii is the only state that compromises a single school district and is supposedly in need of teachers, it is pretty shocking that they have blocked out prospective applicants' ability to even see job opportunities. No wonder the Federal Dept. of Education criticized them for their poor mainland outreach and recruitment advertising!
It's too bad they make it so hard to find where the need is. I see from a few articles that the terrible "No Child Left Behind" which has been wreaking havoc on public education on the mainland for 20 years is just now reaching some of the hard-to-staff more remote/poor areas of Hawaii. That is not an incentive either, if they are just about to go through the constant revamping and obsession with standardized testing that other locations are finally starting to phase out and react against. They appear to be some of the last places in the US to enforce these rules, and while they do so it is not going to be fun for anybody. Having federal standards was a wonderful idea in theory, until it was implemented by politicians who don't know even the first thing about teaching, and entrench aggressive racism, sexism, and classism in their policies!
I love the idea though that culture classes are being made available to new mainland teachers as an incentive to teach in hard-to-staff areas where traditional Hawaiian culture and speech patterns dominate. That to me is a very strong incentive to give such an area a try. You can't be effective as a teacher if you don't understand where your students are coming from and what they relate to!
Na'alehu Elementary has been one of the chronically hard-to-staff schools. Not sure about now, but they used to offer the supplementary salary for teaching there.
Na'alehu Elementary has been one of the chronically hard-to-staff schools. Not sure about now, but they used to offer the supplementary salary for teaching there.
Thanks, that's good to know!
I would prefer to teach high school or middle school since that is what my degree is for and my years of lesson plans are all written for. I have taught people of every age, but most of my experience is teaching high school and university kids, which gives me a great perspective on how to prepare high school kids for the college world - something that principals usually really appreciate about hiring me. But I understand that emergency schools can hire outside of the degree if necessary, though it's not preferable. So an elementary school could legally hire me, but I don't think it would be the best fit for either of us, even though I really love kids. It's hard enough to make the transition from teaching about the world to 20 year olds, to teaching about the world to 11 year olds in 6th grade - much less changing your approach to teach that same topic now to 7 year olds! I will tend to forget and use words they can't understand when I get really wrapped up in and excited about the topic, and the poor kids will have to keep reminding me, "Wait, Miss, what does THAT mean?"
They are already struggling in a school in which they can't keep teachers from one year to the next and there is a lot of upheaval and scrambling around with the curriculum, not to mention adults in their lives who are total newcomers and know nothing about their town or culture. Adding to that teachers who are not properly trained for their age group is really not helping them, although I do understand that it's better than having no teacher at all. I have read a few articles where individual principals will comment on staffing issues that make it sound like they are almost begging for babysitters for these kids in some cases - just any adult in the community who can stand physically in the classroom and take a stab at reading from a textbook to them. I hope that kind of circumstance does not occur often, because it is really unfair to these children, and they could learn more from watching a really good TV program, than listening to a former softball coach try to explain compound fractions.
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I can't help but think that if Hawaii put half the effort into their more remote public schools that they do into their tourism budget, this would not be an issue. People on the mainland see nothing but "a special Hawaii episode" of whatever TV show, and plenty of commercials always trying to attract people to the island, but nowhere in any of those do they show 36 kids crammed in a classroom with no teacher. How about taxing the resorts for school money? 'You want to make money here? - then you will fund an increase in our education budget!' The Florida Keys are now doing that with environmental costs and low-income housing, where new resorts are required to build affordable housing complexes and/or to pay to fund local environmental conservation efforts, in order to get permission to build. Those are the current crises where I live, so that's what the resorts need to do to gain entry here. Or maybe publicly shame the long-standing hotels in the state into action to give back to their local community.
There are no easy answers, but the more I read about this crisis, the more it is clear this has been going on for a long time, and the answers being employed thus far are not really solving the problem. You can't just switch curriculums on a school every year or 3 when you don't get immediate results, and throw in a one-time payment of $1.5k onto somebody's salary to encourage them to move from Iowa, and expect long-term results for the kids. Personally, I do think the cultural classes for new teachers are a great idea, but it is only going to result in more non-Hawaiian people moving to Hawaii, which is not what it sounds like many Hawaiians want. Probably providing housing vouchers to teachers who choose to use them would be very helpful, if people are really leaving because they can't afford to house themselves and their families. Then they can live a normal life in the community, as a true integrated member of society, and have the time to focus on grading and preparing better lesson plans, rather than on working a 2nd and 3rd job as a waiter and a house painter just to cover the rent/mortgage. And if they don't choose to use the voucher on housing, then the money stays in the fund so it is not wasted on teachers who don't need it.
And as I said, certainly better advertising to the mainland teacher community would get you qualified teachers over there in a heartbeat. No one I have spoken with has ever heard of this problem in Hawaii, and I know plenty of people who love the idea of living in Hawaii!
Teach for America and similar programs have flaws, but have helped a great deal in hard-to-staff areas on the mainland. NYC for instance has a public program called "NYC Teaching Fellows" that brought a LOT of enthusiastic and educated, if not always qualified, people into understaffed areas of the city. They partner with the local public colleges and ensure that Fellows get a subsidized or fully covered Masters in Education at night, while teaching during the day. There is a requirement to see the program through to completion and certification, or the individual must refund the cost of their education - which is a strong motivator to get people to stay until they settle into a groove and know what they're doing. If Hawaii created its own program like that (and learned from other programs' mistakes) and got the word out, a ton of eager new people would be on the next plane over. The current Teach for America program in Hawaii is small, and the organization can sometimes be too selective in looking for ideal fresh-faced candidates, rather than in realistic mature people who get adequately get the job done. A lot of their people use it as a resume booster, and then move on to an Ivy graduate school. Completing a Masters while working for TFA is optional, while in local programs like the NYC Teaching Fellows it is a mandatory part of the program. Having a locally-based rather than national program is also a lot better because Hawaii can then integrate cultural resources and tailor everything to the unique situations teachers are likely to encounter in Hawaii, pull strings for local housing pools, and focus on problem-solving where it will best address typical local needs.
The good thing about programs like these is that even if the people they attract don't ultimately stay, they foster an awareness of local culture and needs in the people they integrate in the community, that these people will then take back with them wherever they live afterwards. It helps to change the culture of the rest of the country, to be more understanding of and supportive of those needs in the hardest-hit areas of our nation. Hawaii could definitely benefit from more mainland awareness of local culture and concerns, rather than its constant image of an idyllic paradise that mainland people should come and make their own and rebuild in their own image.
In my experience working in several different schools on Hawai'i (Kona side), it's sometimes hard to find a teacher without a tattoo. The majority of my coworkers had tattoos and most had visible tattoos (particularly since "summer clothing" is always in season).
Similar to the thoughts of a pp, I found it ridiculously difficult to get a job teaching when I was already living there. It would have been easier to have been recruited straight from the mainland. I was highly qualified, on island, and ready to teach and it was difficult to get information on what to do, let alone to actually go through the required steps. My job came from direct contact of principals. It's too easy to languish on a list once you get into the system. Like many places, a lot depends on who you know and the connections you make. That was an advantage of being on-island, once I made it through the required red tape.
And StarfishKey, Ka'u Middle/High School would probably love to have you.
In my experience working in several different schools on Hawai'i (Kona side), it's sometimes hard to find a teacher without a tattoo. The majority of my coworkers had tattoos and most had visible tattoos (particularly since "summer clothing" is always in season).
Similar to the thoughts of a pp, I found it ridiculously difficult to get a job teaching when I was already living there. It would have been easier to have been recruited straight from the mainland. I was highly qualified, on island, and ready to teach and it was difficult to get information on what to do, let alone to actually go through the required steps. My job came from direct contact of principals. It's too easy to languish on a list once you get into the system. Like many places, a lot depends on who you know and the connections you make. That was an advantage of being on-island, once I made it through the required red tape.
And StarfishKey, Ka'u Middle/High School would probably love to have you.
Thanks, this is good information!
Funny that "it's sometimes hard to find a teacher without a tattoo" - I don't have any ink, but it's kind of nice to think that people in Hawaii may be more concerned about how you actually are with the kids, than judging superficial qualities. Then again, if this is simply an indicator that they are desperate and will take anyone still breathing, that's not good.
It is really a concern that this is a prevalent problem across the state, not simply an isolated problem in the poorest segments of one town, as is more common on the mainland. It's never ok for any kid to be let down by the system that is supposed to protect them, but just scary to think how many kids are being affected across HI, and how this will impact Hawaii's future. If these children grow up with a sub-par education, they will have a hard time effectively running the state, and having good opportunities for themselves in their lives. I hope Hawaii will create a system that will streamline this process for potential teachers, so they can get a Masters locally and get the proper training to be highly qualified, while receiving the support they need to stay a part of the community long-term. There is no need to re-invent the wheel, this has already been done in other locations with moderate success. HI seems like it has many kind people who really love their community, who can come together to make this happen for their kids' (and the state's) future. I really hope so. It is not as though HI has trouble attracting people who want to move there, as is the case for most other hard-to-staff schools in places like inner Detroit, or rural Arkansas. Parts of the state have just as few resources as those locations, but have climate and proximity to the ocean in their favor, which makes a huge difference to people who might be lured away from mainland teaching. There is a lot of good that HI has to work with, to help it overcome the bad.
I am aware that hard drug use is apparently rising across the islands, and my concern is that that trend will continue as kids feel disconnected from and uninvested in their education, feeling unattached to the teachers and like school is either too boring, or too hard, or maybe just too pointless, to bother staying committed to. I know that in the schools I have worked previously, the kids were heavily affected by the idea that their teachers didn't want to be there, didn't relate to their community, had to be begged to teach there, and always ended up leaving. They felt abandoned and rejected, and like there was something inherently wrong with them, and where they come from. They were feeling pretty hopeless, and drop-out rate was high. I really hope that is not the case for HI, but I would not be surprised if as I continue researching, I start reading about student morale as a problem. Kids know what's going on around them. They are not blind to the community's problems.
Last edited by StarfishKey; 04-01-2016 at 06:02 PM..
If these children grow up with a sub-par education, they will have a hard time effectively running the state, and having good opportunities for themselves in their lives.
If???
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarfishKey
I am aware that hard drug use is apparently rising across the islands
Apparently? Meth use has led the nation since the 80's in Hawaii.
You seem to have a problem with my post, but I don't know why. Did you want me to word it more strongly, perhaps at the expense of being polite?
You don't need my opinion to sound more aggressive, to help you form your own. You've formed your opinion already, before I even said anything.
Not everyone needs to express themselves in exclamation points. What I said was no less true, simply because I worded it cautiously. The entire state is not in such dire circumstances, after all - but certain communities are suffering a lot more than others, especially when it comes to education. If you want me to say that in a more dramatic way, I'm sure you can re-word it for me.
You seem to have a problem with my post, but I don't know why. Did you want me to word it more strongly, perhaps at the expense of being polite?
You don't need my opinion to sound more aggressive, to help you form your own. You've formed your opinion already, before I even said anything.
Not everyone needs to express themselves in exclamation points. What I said was no less true, simply because I worded it cautiously. The entire state is not in such dire circumstances, after all - but certain communities are suffering a lot more than others, especially when it comes to education. If you want me to say that in a more dramatic way, I'm sure you can re-word it for me.
Not so much a problem with your post - more in the phrasing, for instance - the drug problem in Hawaii has been an issue for decades now, it isn't a recent problem.
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The majority of my coworkers had tattoos and most had visible tattoos (particularly since "summer clothing" is always in season). 
