SUBSCRIBE  |  PREFERENCES MY LINKS:              chat center STATES  |  GRADE LEVEL  |  SUBJECTS

HI Teachers Chatboard

TOP POSTS ALL POSTS SUBMIT POST
Search Teachers.Net
Advanced

Advertise with Teachers.Net - Rate Card, Demographics, etc. Live Chat - Online Teacher Meetings and Workshops Harry Wong - Effective Teaching Teachers.Net Gazette - Articles by Teachers, For Teachers Mailrings - Teacher Email Discussion Lists Teaching Jobs - Free Job Listings for Classroom Teachers Teacher Classified Ads K-12 Classroom Projects Lesson Plans - Over 4000 Free Lesson Plans Teacher Chatboards - Discussion Forums for Teachers Teacher Chat - Over 150 Teacher Discussion Topics
next post skip topic



Print | Share | Report Post

Re: sending my "haole" children to Hawaii's schools
Posted by Amy on 5/19/04

    On 12/25/03, Joanne W wrote:
    > I am currently a special education teacher in NY. I taught
    > on the small Pacific Island of Saipan for 3 years and I
    > loved it there. My husband and I have been longing for the
    > tropical lifestyle and are in the planning stages of moving
    > to Hawaii in the summer of 2005. I have read the postings
    > on this site and I am so saddened by them that I am
    > reconsidering my move. I feel that I could handle the
    > teaching conditions in Hawaii (in Saipan we no breaks, had
    > to mop, sweep our own rooms and even took out our own
    > garbage). What really worries me, though, is the prospect
    > of sending my two little, innocent "haole" children to
    > school where they may be hated, teased because of their
    > color (my daughter is so white she's practically blue!)
    > Honestly, is it really bad for white children in the
    > schools? I would apprecaite any feedback. Thanks you-
    > Joanne


    Hello,

    First of all, let me say that I feel a bit of resentment
    towards the assumption that mainland whites who move to
    Hawai'i treat Hawaiians as if they are somehow ignorant
    people. I fell in love with the culture and history quite
    passionately. In another post, I stated a few of the things I
    had learned, as well as noting that I had a close native
    Hawaiian friend. He always tells me that my love for Hawai'i
    must have been what hurt me most when the racism started to
    appear, because I loved pidgin and listening to the musical
    language, hearing the stories, and studying what had happened
    in the past. This did not seem to matter to anyone; I was
    saddened as well to see how many Hawaiians knew so little
    about their own history. Education did not matter, the fact
    that I was there to learn all these things did not matter.
    What mattered was the color of my skin, and that is very sad.
    It is sad anywhere, and I do not approve of it. There is no
    excuse for that kind of behavior. I have also lived in Key
    West, a much different place; however, people have their
    prejudices there as well. People assume if you live there
    you're 'wastin away in Margaritaville' when anyone who lives
    there works harder than they would anywhere else, simply due
    to the cost of apartments (driven up by these same tourists).
    Not all tourists are like that, however, and neither are all
    whites. Some of us were there to learn and came with an open
    mind, and experienced things like not being waited on in
    places, being shoved out of line at stores, etc., before they
    said a word, so it really doesn't hinge on having an educated
    or open attitude.
    My childhood best friend was moved to Hawaii at a very young
    age. She became interested in hula. She was tortured by
    everyone in her class, including her teacher, for years. I
    don't know how it was that she was allowed to stay in class,
    but apparently there was a performance done near the volcano
    at one point. While my friend was performing, a dove flew
    over the volcano (at least, I think they said it was a dove),
    and suddenly she was OK. Granted, this is only a story, and
    may be a contrived one, but her entire family has had a lot of
    problems with racism there. The family is open-minded and
    quite loving; her father is a lawyer who has made an effort to
    help employ low-income Hawaiian people. He also loves the
    culture and the people, but he told me it took twenty years
    before anyone would even give him respect as a lawyer simply
    because he was white.

    I loved Hawai'i, its culture, language, and people. This was
    not helpful in the least. I wish it had been otherwise, but
    that was my experience.

    -Amy

     
     

You are on the HI CHATBOARD:   LATEST POSTS   ALL POSTS   SUBMIT POST

Check out our latest FREE Lesson Plans...
 
Google
 
Web Teachers.Net
Click here
  Site Map: Home Search Teaching Jobs Classifieds Lesson Plans Contacts PR AdvertiseSite Map
  © 1996 - 2008. All Rights Reserved. Please review our Terms of Use, Mission Statement, and Privacy Policy.