Why not to send your kids to Oahu schools. (Waipahu: credit, homes)

[The_Wise_Man]

You shouldn't send your kids to Oahu unless you have money. There are some good private schools but they cost ridiculously too much. I go to Waipahu intermediate school and I get teased all the time. The English language spoken by the kids is like the language you would here from a child in kindergarten (i.e. Other states = Do you want to fight? Hawaii = a oon lick you? I'm not kidding). Many kids flunk, are expelled, and/or in gangs. There are lots of fights in various different schools. I've never been in fights or have been seriously bullied in my life but this is the first time these things have happened to me before. I'm an A student and I'm almost smarter then the teachers. Trust me. I'm from the mainland and Hawaii is not the place to bring or raise your kids in. There is almost no white or black people. They like to gang up on mainland people A LOT. Ive been stolen from, in fights that are almost unpreventable, etc. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not dissing anybody who goes to these schools or lives this lifestyle. I'm just telling the truth. There is good schools but they cost a fortune. There are some good students and teachers there but very few. They have no advanced classes and the education is like 2 or 3 grades below mainland schools. I love school but being here makes me beg my dad to leave.

Thanks for reading. You can leave questions or comments below.

[TheWarPlanet]

Atleast you live in a beautiful place, find the right people to hang out with and avoid the bad. CA got worse education and its ugly where i live so atleast you have one good thing about living in Oahu (beautiful place) I go to Highschool so im near your age since you said "I go to Waipahu intermediate school" Least the people are nice here.

[laloo]

Yes, a private education here in Hawaii does cost a fortune. I've ever only gone to private school. My parents, who are locally born and raised, REFUSED to send my brother and I to public schools because they've been through the public school system and saw what it was like first hand. I worked in a public high school for a semester and I was SHOCKED at what I saw. SHOCKED. SHOCKED. SHOCKED. Just the mentality that the students had was very different that what I was used to. I guess many people may see me as a sheltered private school graduate, but let me tell you, I am a proud Hawaiian, local girl. Yes, I do speak standard English, but I also speak pidgin when it is called for. Such as speaking to my father, who mostly only speaks pidgin. But just because someone speaks pidgin, does not mean they are uneducated. My father is very smart, the boss of his company, but that's just how he was raised. (Also, do note there are variations of pidgin). The best comparison I can think of is ebonics. Some people see it as ridiculous and uneducated, but that's just how those people who speak in ebonics choose or learned how to speak. However, I do have friends who came from the public school system who are VERY smart and did even better than I did in college. Yep. 13 years of private school tuition, outdid and outsmarted by a public school graduate. The public schools DO have Honors and AP classes. A lot of my college friends took such classes. I personally would not send my child to a public school here, but I do know many successful public school graduates. It all stems from the home. How you raise your children will greatly impact their educational successes. Plus, you have to really monitor who your children hang out with. Get to know them and their parents. You can't dog ALL of the schools in Hawaii from just one experience.

[arodrigues88]

Graduated from Kapolei High School with honors and a scholarship!! Class of 2006.

I do agree with the statement about Hawaii schools being behind in education. I applied for a university in Seattle and they told me that I had to take Freshman classes in history and english because my high school credits weren't enough. Pretty sad.

I'm also a proud Hawaiian and Portuguese, local girl!! I moved to the mainland 3 months after high school so my pidgin is a little broken but I still get those times when it comes out.

But you also have to look at the area that you're living in. I mean, Waipahu is a little sketchy to begin with. The friends that I do have who graduated from there are wonderful but other people just grow up on the wrong side of things. (Take 'Ani ani street for example)

Laloo is right... it's all about how you are raised and you cannot dis the entire island just because you've had bad experiences at one, out of the very many public schools there.

Ask if you can transfer to Kapolei... What grade are you in by the way?

[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.

[ohmanon]

I was thinking the same thing about the homeschooling, kukuicake. The OP seems like a serious student who is not asking for trouble and just wants to get along without all the garbage - it's a lot to handle at that age. I don't know the requirements involved but it sounds like he is motivated enough to make it work.

[eksotia]

I agree with OP. My son is 3 and he's attending a private school because there is no public pre-k. All my (locals) neighbors send their kids to private schools. I'm hoping by the time my son needs to go to elementary school we will be out of Hawaii. I don't know if we can afford 15k a year for elementary school!

[arodrigues88]

I think the OP should tell his or her school counselor about what's going on if he or she feels really out of place. If they don't take action against these kids, then this will continue and keep going. Or the OP can talk to the VP or Principle if it needs to go that far. They are going to keep picking on him or her because they know he or she will not doing anything back. Weakness can be your worst enemy. This has nothing to do with public schools because it can happen at private schools as well. That's just my opinion.

[ohmanon]

I see it more as a sign of strength rather than weakness - that he is walking alone rather than allowing the bad guys to have the satisfaction that he caved to their teasing and bullying by fighting back. And once someone becomes a target, it can become relentless. Don't private schools have a little more leeway with discipline? I honestly don't know, things have changed so much.

[lost_traveler1]

Graduated from public school, so did all my friends. ALL went to UH and graduated with Bachelor Degrees. ALL have god paying jobs above $50,000 8 to 10 years into our careers.

Its your parents fault you lived and had to go to school in Waipahu, one of the more poorer, uneducated, rougher part of Oahu. I'm Asian, if my parents moved to the deep south and made me go to school there, I'd probably expeience the same. Would I blame Alabama schools, nope, I'd blame my parents for making such a bonehead move.