• Teacher hits the mark on testing • Torpedoing the constitutional convention • Kaua‘i, riot gear a bad fit • Paradise belongs to us all Teacher hits the mark on testing This is a big week for all the public
• Teacher hits the mark on testing
• Torpedoing the constitutional convention
• Kaua‘i, riot gear a bad fit
• Paradise belongs to us all
Teacher hits the mark on testing
This is a big week for all the public schools as HSA testing takes place. There has been a lot of pressure due to No Child Left Behind laws to focus on the student’s performance on these tests as the results are critical for some schools. With two children in two different schools, my wife and I have received a multitude of flyers coming home encouraging us to make sure they get to school on time, they get a good breakfast, and they not miss any school during this important period. So, what does my daughter’s third grade teacher do to prepare for such important matters? She arranged for a game of “Are You Smarter Than A Third Grader.”
It was brilliant strategy.
The game featured questions that would be similar questions to the topics that the students would be tested on. Mrs. Dingus, at Kapa‘a Elementary School, prepared the game with her students and it was played out similar to the TV game show that so many kids know about. The principal, vice principals, counselors and other school personnel actively participated in the game which pitted the faculty/administration against the students.
Guess who won? Everybody did.
Mrs. Dingus made learning fun as students learned about volcanic gases, calculated fractions, and read literary passages in which they had to figure out the key answers to various questions.
Given the heightened anxiety over the looming HSA testing, this type of creativity used by Mrs. Dingus not only lessened the tension, it got the students excited and interested about learning. Kudos to Mrs. Dingus and Kapa‘a Elementary School for using these strategies to remind us that yes, our keiki’s testing is important to all of us, but boy, when you have them cheering and smiling while they strive to get the correct answers, isn’t that what we should be striving for equally among the results of these test scores?
Jack Yatsko
Kapa‘a
Torpedoing the constitutional convention
Some Democrats in the legislature are trying to torpedo the Con-Con (constitutional convention) vote before it even leaves the dock. Witness what occurred last week at the Capitol.
Rep. Della Au Bellati introduced a measure establishing a task force to determine the costs of a potential Con-Con using members of the private sector and heads of relevant government agencies. Rep. Kirk Caldwell introduced and won a vote mandating the Legislative Reference Bureau estimate the costs. Since when is the LRB equipped for such a task?
Polls have shown when the cost of a Con-Con exceeds $10 million, citizens tend to discount its value weighed against potential benefits — and they are many. There are multitudinous ways to plan, and account financially for a Con-Con — the cost of which could easily be saved by streamlining of government functions. Beware those against a Con-Con creating a Cadillac budget.
We only get to vote once every 10 years for a Con-Con and we haven’t had one for 30 years. What is the legislature afraid of? That the people might want to directly make changes to Hawai‘i’s most important legal document resulting in some dramatic improvements to state government?
Mark Spengler
Kailua-Kona, Big Island
Kaua‘i, riot gear a bad fit
The County Council and police chief should be mindful that riot gear for our police could become in the nature of a self-fulfilling prophesy (“Police budget discussion touches on riot gear,” A1, April 5).
At the “SUV incident” that accompanied the Superferry’s first and only docking at Nawiliwili Harbor and that was featured repeatedly on TV news, a chant supporting the Kaua‘i police who were at the scene rose from the crowd. “Whose cops?” shouted one man. “Our cops,” responded the crowd.
Citizens who were taking direct action against the Superferry at the same time demonstrated their respect for our police officers, a remarkable turn of events.
We are fortunate to live in a community that confers respect and gratitude, not fear and hostility, upon its police department. We will all be better off if the County Council and police chief respond to the community in kind. Kaua‘i is not a proper fit for riot-geared police.
Kip Goodwin
Kapa‘a
Paradise belongs to us all
R.S. Weir (Letters, April 5) has done it again. Written a well thought out missive. He is, quite frankly, correct on all points.
There are too many people in this world and on this island in particular who think, “I got mine, so stop all new expansion. If you want something comparable go somewhere else. Leave my paradise to me.”
These islands were once empty of any humans. When the first humans arrived they were the “foreigners” of that time. So, if people want the islands to remain as they were, then all humans must leave, not just certain ones. And if one owns property, it should be theirs to do with as they please within the limits provided for by the government of the people, all citizens, not just some.
No U.S. citizen is more worthy of special treatment than any other U.S. citizen — just as no human has a right to claim “respect.” Respect is earned, not awarded or given.
Gordon Smith
Kapa‘a
