What a bunch of whiners. Well, most teachers do handle the job very well, thank you. But why anybody in his or her right mind would want to go into teaching at this time is a wonderment. Not a day goes by that somebody in our community isn't spouting off about what is wrong with Hawaii's public schools, with the curriculum, with the teachers. Even the newspapers get on our case, although teachers are probably the only people in the state other than the Star-Bulletin's circulation manager who cares about or promotes reading the newspaper.
Children are the future, and public-school teachers are the true believers in that future.
They really believe they can make a difference. They believe that education is the foundation of a true democracy. That society can only succeed when everyone is given an equal chance to do so. That education is the key to making life's important choices. This is what I wanted for myself, for my own children and for all the young people I have had the privilege of teaching for the past 12 years.