Poorly written bill dooms bottle recycling

Linda Smith's Feb. 6 op-ed column aptly illustrates that the problem with the bottle bill lies with how Hawaii's Democrats wrote the law in the first place.

Most bottle-bill states let customers redeem their empty containers at the stores, which in turn use the unredeemed deposits to pay off the costs of the recycling program.

But Hawaii's program has consumers take empty containers to government-run redemption centers. Stores have no incentive to become redemption centers because they would bear the costs of the program but wouldn't get to keep the unredeemed deposits.

More significantly, beverage containers comprise only 2 percent of Hawaii's waste stream. A curbside recycling program, such as the one that the Ho-nolulu city government has already implemented, is cheaper and much more environmentally friendly and efficient. Let's repeal the bottle bill before it does further damage.

Teachers continue to get no help

Regarding the falling ceiling in Room 219 at Kailua Intermediate School: When I began as a first-year teacher in 1996, my classroom -- Room 219 -- was in shambles. There were broken furniture and cabinets, dead plants and animals, and debris all over the room.

The administration told me that I would have to make repairs and paint the room at my own expense on my own time. It took me a week to remove the garbage, hazardous and unlabeled chemicals and mummified animals. I covered up or sanded down broken and splintering cabinets and furniture.

In September 1996, part of the wall supporting the chalkboard fell off. A huge slab of wood had nails and splintering pieces sticking out of it. I was told that the Department of Accounting and General Services would be asked to fix the wall. I was told to remove the broken part myself or just push it to the side, but it was too heavy and dangerous to move, so I covered it with a tarp and pushed it as far out of the way as possible.

DAGS finally came at the end of May 1997 to fix the wall. Workers came during an afternoon class and said that they could afford 30 minutes to fix the wall and remove the broken slab. They told me they had to interrupt my class or I would have to resubmit my request and wait until the following year to have it fixed.

I support teachers, but I feel that they receive no support from the Department of Education. Nothing has changed -- it has worsened, in fact -- in the 10 years since I left the system.

State tests are designed for failure

Schools in Hawaii are starting to fall apart at the seams because of the Hawaii State Assessment tests coupled with No Child Left Behind. I recently discovered that our state tests are the most rigorous in the nation. I also found out that last year the target for third grade math was 10 percent at or above grade level. Why only 10 percent? Because the tests are not appropriate grade level indicators by most state's standards.

It's really ridiculous that our state Department of Education has decided it needs to prove something to itself and the country by creating tests that only above average students can pass. I feel bad that the teachers are always taking the blame for our "failing" kids, who may not be failing after all.

I wonder when we're going to hold the DOE and Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto accountable for their failures. Maybe we need to do something about this before the teachers all walk out of their classes in protest.

Who qualifies to speak before a UH crowd?

Why does the University of Hawaii sponsor speaking engagements for some idiots but won't give other idiots the time of day (Star-Bulletin, Feb. 23)? For example, there's a fool standing on the sidewalk outside my office bellowing his head off. He sounds hateful enough; so why isn't he being asked to speak at UH?

Is it because he's not a professor and doesn't have the credentials to speak in academic circles? Well, let's not be too quick to assume so. He may at least be a Ph.D. or a former grad student. The folks at UH could prep him to deliver a short, vile speech at a campus forum.

Oops, forget everything I just wrote. I can hear the fellow outside clearly now. His hatred doesn't sound specific or hurtful enough to be interesting. In fact, I think he's cursing a bush he's standing next to.