Public School Revelations

If we are to fix the public education system in Hawaii, we must know the facts.  Laura Brown shares ten things about our schools that we must consider as we go about fixing them.

Remember: Furlough Friday is a symptom.  Addressing only the symptom while ignoring the cause of that symptom is foolish at best, dangerous at worst.

Top 10 Most Shocking Revelations About Hawaii's Public Education System
Part 1 of a Series
By Laura Brown, 12/11/2009 6:03:24 AM

This is a report on the top 10 most shocking revelations about Hawaii's public education system.
 
10. There is an 88,000 person payroll with only 170,000 students in the Hawaii Public School System. Just over 10,000 of those employees are classroom teachers.*

9. Personal information of those employees is kept on 3 X 5 index cards rather than being housed electronically, so the information is not easily searchable.

8. The Department of Education (DOE) accounting department does not link with the DOE budget department. For example, the DOE has a $40 million carryover at the end of each year while DOE asks the Hawaii State Legislature for $40 million in emergency appropriations nearly every year. DOE is allowed to carryover these funds, but each new budget does not reflect the carryover.

7. The $2.5 billion DOE budget has grown by $1 billion over the last 10 years, while student enrollment has dropped by several thousand.
 
6. The DOE has statewide standards, but no K-12 curriculum to provide content for those standards.
 
5. The DOE has 50,000 computers networked in classrooms and 1,200 servers.

4. The teachers' collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Hawaii State Teachers Association limits instruction to 1,415 minutes per week or approximately 4.5 hrs per day.

3. Hawaii's taxpayers spend more than $14,500 per student for public education.
 
2. Hawaii's students scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reveal that 1/5 of all students function at grade level or above in reading -- and 1/4 of all students function at grade level or above in mathematics, with 4th graders performing a little higher. Only 15 to 20 percent of all students tested ranked at grade level in writing and science.
 
1. The longer students remain in public schools, the less academically educated they get, according to standardized scores.

* DOE Web site has varying numbers of teachers as compared with the DOE budget

More money is not the answer.  More bureaucracy is not the answer.

Finding the right solutions may be as simple as focusing like a laser on this one simple question, "What do the STUDENTS need from the system?"

In her speech, yesterday, as the 2010 session opened, I love what Representative Lynn Finnegan said, 

Remember, the fundamental purpose of our educational system is to educate…not just to employ.

Are You Listening?

More than an expert telling them what they think is the best course of action, more than a professional diagnosing problems and selling solutions, people want someone they can trust who cares enough to listen.  Really listen.

Listen to their concerns, their fears.  Listen to their ideas, suggestions and insights.

This is what I must strive to do better.  Forget about being so quick to force my ideas on others.  No matter how right I think I may be.  Slow down.  Listen to what the other person has to say.  Consider their point of view.

Really listen.

Wow.

I need to work on this.

Olelo FOCUS 49

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed on a community cable TV show.  Please watch this clip to see where I stand on the important issues of public education and the economy.

Matt Asks a Question

Thomas Jefferson said:

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

To which my good friend, Matt, asks, "And those who can't?"

Of course, compassion must be shown to those who truly "can't". The problem with runaway entitlements (which will kill the democracy) is the increasing number of those who actually "can" but think they "can't".  As more and more people lose their self-reliance and depend on (and demand) the government to provide for their wants AND needs, economically, socially, and morally we all crash.

But how do we determine who can and cannot work?  What government department, bureaucrat, or regulated criteria can determine with accuracy and fairness who really deserves aid and who is only trying to "work the system"?

The answer is to ultimately depend on the individual, not the government, to qualify him or herself.

Sure, there will always be those who out of laziness, low self-esteem or corrupted values will try to get something for nothing.  Certain guidelines are needed.  But most people, if given the responsibility to self-assess their own situation instead of giving this right of welfare determination to another (person or institution), will more times than not take the high road.

I truly believe that most people live their lives with honor.

I have this box that tells me so.

Getting Recognized in The New York Times

Stephen J. Dubner, a journalist for the New York Times, mentions the Honor Box and me in his Freakonomics Blog.

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/more-news-on-the-pay-what-you-wish-front/

And from an earlier post:

So plainly there are limits to the viability of PWYW (Pay What You Wish). But one factor that PWYW pricing calls into play is human conscience: if set up properly, PWYW can make it hard for all but the most callous customer to rip you off... When you match PWYW with a face-to-face, conscience-inducing contact, it’s not very risky.

There is practical business side to the Honor Box practice.  It is not just an idealistic concept set up solely on the intangibles of faith, kindness and unselfishness-- although that is the most essential principles behind its execution.  As Dubner explores, the Honor Box (PWYW) can be an effective way of doing business if the protocols and marketing behind it are done just right.

It is a model of health care that can be done by other doctors.   I have always believed this and I do hope that there will come a day when the Honor Box becomes a more common way to practice health and wellness care.