Why not to send your kids to Oahu schools.

[KauaiHiker]

This is a very interesting thread, great mix of candid student, recent grad, and parent viewpoints. Thanks for reviving it.

I have a daughter at 1st grade level and my wife and I are struggling to decide between the cost of private school, the situation in public schools, and the dedication (and lost wages) for home schooling. Add in the neighbor island factor, and it's all more difficult. I was thinking public grade schools can't be that bad, but I just heard about a new transplant kid (8 months on-island) getting bullied at school. The parent said a larger girl in the same grade threatened to beat up their daughter, and also threatened anyone who would play with the daughter. This was in Kindergarten.

We thought we could do private school, but the 8hr days and cliquishness were tough on her. Homeschooling for now, but it's not a long term solution, at least not without a homeschool community that we can't seem to find. I was wondering if she would do well in public school, but something in the back of my head was telling me it wouldn't work. I think kukuicake summed it up very well:

Originally Posted by kukuicake

Kids have to spend over 6 hours a day in school. If your kid is super stressed by it (the OP sounds pretty stressed) you can't just leave them in that setting for years. Even inadequate homeschooling would be better, at the very least not being stressed like that would be make learning more likely. Sometimes I'm amazed at what people think kids need to toughen up about or just endure because most adults would be incensed if they had that kind of environment at work! Think about it.

However, I think this thread also shows that some kids can adapt and find their niche, and succeed. Sometimes it has to do with the school and sometimes it has to do with their personality. The problem is, you can't really move your kid either from school to school or change neighborhoods all the time, hoping to find that perfect match.

[Chaseimai]

So if you are interested you should call 808-383-8359. The teachers name is Michael Mercede.

[CyberCity]

Parents, regarding home schooling:

Before diving into home schooling or online schooling, make sure you fully understand how the DOE works in Hawaii. I don't know if it is still the same as 10 years ago, but at that time, if you left the general high school setting (ie did home schooling), the DOE would not count the years of home schooling towards your grade level if you wanted back back into the system. Elementary years were not a problem, but high school was.

Like I said, just be sure to fully understand what the current rules are before you decide that homeschooling is the right option. Ditto for online schooling, make sure you know what the DOE rules are before you decide.

Meanwhile, there's not a problem when changing between private and public schools. We did private school for the years that public schools were out of the question (some public schools are failures, and our children were not going there!). Some neighborhoods we lived in offered decent public schools (that is, with enough direct parental involvement) for certain grades. But for us, private schooling at times was part of the part budget.

[Perspectives]

This post is confusing is the_wise_man a student or parent. It seems that he has one opinion and everyone seems to be siding with this one person. Visit the school first. A few kids always mess up the feelings of the overall students in the school. Hawaii schools create the ability to meet and understand students from different cultures and ethnicities. If you are closed because of a few, who give their own ethnicities and families a bad name you will not be embraced from the larger majority. Those from the mainland with the self fulling prophecy of being discriminated against usually are because they are seeking that type of behavior from those around them. The search for the negative. Embrace the positivity of others and those others will find you.

[bus man]

Originally Posted by kukuicake

Don't make your kids pay for your ideals.

One of the best pieces of advice I've seen. Idealistic parents need to understand that there are two worlds: the way it should be, and the way it is. Work towards creating the world the way it should be, but don't sacrifice your children by not accepting the world as it is.