Toto, we're not in Kansas any more...
It is really boring to listen to someone talk about what it was like at their old school, so I'm really trying not to do that here. Refraining from comparisons is almost impossible however, the difference is so stark! But if educational wonky stuff bores you, skip this post. (and as soon as i get my good camera, I'll post better pictures).
It's little things and really big things too. Little things like before every meeting, norms are stated; things like "keep questions that pertain to you personally until after" or "respect others input and time." Just a general sense of respect that I didn't know what diminished in my last job. Then there's the union kind of things. Things like our scheduled hours are the school day, and there is built in planning time that is sacred. No extra duties or covering others classes. And we have 18 sick/personal days. That's DOUBLE what I had before. Plus a week long fall break, two weeks winter break, and a week of spring break, PLUS, 13 state/federal holidays. It's crazy! Other things that are super different, there's no set grading scale. Like none. We can set it individually based on our kids. Holy smokes that's different. It seems like we have a lot of autonomy, which can cut both ways. The good teachers will work fine without so much structure, and even have the chance to be creative. The lousy ones will do what they always do, as little as possible.
And then there's the really big things. Testing happens here, but there is so much less focus on it here. The focus in every meeting, in every piece of literature, in on the students first, relationships second, and everything else comes after that. What are our kids needs and how do we meet them. How do you forge a relationship and build trust with them. Everything is relational. So much so that they have been piloting a new outcomes policy across the state! You can check it out here. Like the orientation today, half of it is in native Hawaiian. So much so that I think I'm going to start taking some Hawaiian language classes here. To see so much emphasis on the unique indigenous culture and to work to integrate it into the institutions like school and government blows my mind. The focus on the social and emotional development of students, of the responsibility we have as teachers to send our kids out better people, the passion with which these school leaders talk about their work and the importance of place in what we do, it's revelatory. And incredibly validating.
At no point in any of what I have been presented so far did anyone show me a chart or graph of test scores. Not one. No one talked about data-driven decision making, accommodations, reporting categories, or anything else like that. How very different.
The public school system in Hawaii is one of the oldest in the country. King Kamehameha III established the first public school in 1841 and it was all taught in native Hawaiian. Virginia didn't get public schools until 1869! After the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, English was the language of education and the speaking of Hawaiian was banned in schools in 1896. The rise of the civil rights movement sparked a renaissance of interest in Hawaiian culture and history in the 1960s and 70s. In 1986, the Hawaii DOE started an immersion elementary school. And now there's an immersion system of elementary, middle, and high school. Additionally, Hawaiian history is taught in the 7th grade (I'll be teaching it!!!). How fundamentally amazing is that? And I get to teach here. I'm just blown away. I can't wait to get started.
My favorite quote of the day:
"When I walk into a Hawai'i public school, I want to close my eyes and know that I am in a school in Hawai'i...and not somewhere else." Suzanne Mulcahy, Complex Area Superintendent, 2015
It's little things and really big things too. Little things like before every meeting, norms are stated; things like "keep questions that pertain to you personally until after" or "respect others input and time." Just a general sense of respect that I didn't know what diminished in my last job. Then there's the union kind of things. Things like our scheduled hours are the school day, and there is built in planning time that is sacred. No extra duties or covering others classes. And we have 18 sick/personal days. That's DOUBLE what I had before. Plus a week long fall break, two weeks winter break, and a week of spring break, PLUS, 13 state/federal holidays. It's crazy! Other things that are super different, there's no set grading scale. Like none. We can set it individually based on our kids. Holy smokes that's different. It seems like we have a lot of autonomy, which can cut both ways. The good teachers will work fine without so much structure, and even have the chance to be creative. The lousy ones will do what they always do, as little as possible.
And then there's the really big things. Testing happens here, but there is so much less focus on it here. The focus in every meeting, in every piece of literature, in on the students first, relationships second, and everything else comes after that. What are our kids needs and how do we meet them. How do you forge a relationship and build trust with them. Everything is relational. So much so that they have been piloting a new outcomes policy across the state! You can check it out here. Like the orientation today, half of it is in native Hawaiian. So much so that I think I'm going to start taking some Hawaiian language classes here. To see so much emphasis on the unique indigenous culture and to work to integrate it into the institutions like school and government blows my mind. The focus on the social and emotional development of students, of the responsibility we have as teachers to send our kids out better people, the passion with which these school leaders talk about their work and the importance of place in what we do, it's revelatory. And incredibly validating.
At no point in any of what I have been presented so far did anyone show me a chart or graph of test scores. Not one. No one talked about data-driven decision making, accommodations, reporting categories, or anything else like that. How very different.
The public school system in Hawaii is one of the oldest in the country. King Kamehameha III established the first public school in 1841 and it was all taught in native Hawaiian. Virginia didn't get public schools until 1869! After the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, English was the language of education and the speaking of Hawaiian was banned in schools in 1896. The rise of the civil rights movement sparked a renaissance of interest in Hawaiian culture and history in the 1960s and 70s. In 1986, the Hawaii DOE started an immersion elementary school. And now there's an immersion system of elementary, middle, and high school. Additionally, Hawaiian history is taught in the 7th grade (I'll be teaching it!!!). How fundamentally amazing is that? And I get to teach here. I'm just blown away. I can't wait to get started.
My favorite quote of the day:
"When I walk into a Hawai'i public school, I want to close my eyes and know that I am in a school in Hawai'i...and not somewhere else." Suzanne Mulcahy, Complex Area Superintendent, 2015
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