Flag-flying bill deserves support

As a veteran I fully support House Bill 2311 related to flag-flying in planned communities. As a card- carrying Democrat and an activist at our state Capitol for almost 30 years, I can't help but be embarrassed at what happened initially in our state House regarding lack of support for HB 2311.

I fully understand how members feel concerning all the very important and critical issues facing our state. However, they must understand the American flag is a symbol of our great country that many veterans shed their blood for and saw their friends die for. Consequently we veterans are proud of our country's flag, and if some of us want to fly our great flag for whatever reason to honor our flag or our fellow veterans, I ask, Why not? We have many young Americans dying in two wars for our flag today, so our Aloha State now looks like a damn fool in the national media and syndicated talk shows.

To my fellow veterans: Keep waving your flags, but also get your okoles in the committee hearing and talk to your government—they've got to hear from you.

Education relies on 3 strong legs

Education of our keiki depends on strong support by the three legs of the platform that enables them to succeed. Without support from all three, failure is almost guaranteed.

The first leg is parental support. Providing food, clothing and shelter meets the physical needs, but for educational success parents must provide a mental structure for learning. This includes reading to young children on a daily basis and encouraging them to explore new ideas and concepts. For the teens and preteens, this includes setting aside areas and times for focused study and discussing what they are studying.

The second leg is school support. Every teacher has strengths and weaknesses and the school must encourage teachers to constantly upgrade teaching skills. Administrators must provide materials and classrooms that are comfortable and conducive to learning. Above all, administrators must build teamwork within the school so that “;together we can”; becomes the norm.

The third leg is community support. Successful communities put their children first, with parents active in the school and volunteers in every classroom. Financial support is necessary but not sufficient to build a great school. The community that provides activities for its young people and makes sure that truants and “;problem children”; are quickly counseled, will reap the reward of a great school that enables every student to succeed.

Per capita debt in Hawaii is high

California's current budget has been in the news lately. It seems that the Golden State has a $20 billion budget shortfall because of a lack of revenues to keep up with state spending largely driven by California voter-approved entitlement programs.

In Hawaii, the state has a $1.2 billion budget deficit. On the face of it, Hawaii appears to be in better shape than California. However, when the populations of both states are considered, things are not so good. California has a population of about 36.9 million, a deficit of about $542 per every man, woman and child. Hawaii has a population of about 1.3 million, a deficit of about $923 per person.

Will our elected officials cut enough non-essential spending at the state level to close the gap? Or will our representatives burden an already depressed state economy with increased taxes on Hawaii business and tourism?

Which of the two choices is economically regressive?

I believe that your readers who have good economic sensibility know the answer. However, I'm not so confident in our elected representatives' economic sense.

Teachers do a lot that goes unsung

Regarding cutting nonteachers from the payroll (”;Cut nonteachers from the payroll,”; Star-Bulletin, Letters, Feb. 22) I will not comment on the teacher-to- administrator ratio, because I do not have those figures. However, regarding the suggestion that teachers do not need their preparation days but can do the necessary work at home in the evenings and at weekends, I have to comment.

Those preparation days and hours after class are used not only to prepare for classes but to have staff meetings to discuss curriculum and policy, to meet with parents of special needs students, to learn how to teach better through taking courses, to prepare reports, and so on.

Being a good teacher involves a huge lot more than just standing in front of a class.

In any case, preparation already takes place during evenings and on weekends. Last Saturday my wife spent the entire day cutting out cardboard butterflies, pasting tissue paper on them, and preparing for this week's classes in which, using insects as a vehicle, she is teaching special-needs students to understand color, count, verbalize, enhance motor control. As I write this, at 8.30 at night, my wife is again creating butterflies, again to be used as a fun vehicle to reinforce the information her students are learning about color, to provide practice in fine motor control, and so on.

So please don't harp on about the preparation days. And please do not compare teachers to other professions—except in terms of their dedication. My wife makes about $40,000 a year; would a doctor work for that? A dentist? A lawyer? With teachers, you get unconscionable value for money.

HSTA using kids as political pawns

As a public school teacher I read with interest the Feb. 24 article by Susan Essoyan (”;Gov blasts HSTA over furloughs”;), who quoted Gov. Linda Lingle: “;The HSTA's latest action proves once again that the union leaders care more about money than educating Hawaii's children.”;

My union, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party, is using my students to play a game of political “;gotcha,”; to wound a Republican governor and thereby discredit her lieutenant governor who is expected to run for the top spot this year.

Teachers did not pick the furlough days; the union did. Had the governor been a Democrat, there is no doubt it would have picked non-teaching days to furlough teachers.

What a shame parents and other taxpayers will not be moved to rise up and smite Democrats on Nov. 2 for the harm they are so callously inflicting on children. Democrats could not survive without such apathy.