Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2009 — 'Suffer the children' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Suffer the children'

Anumber of years ago, there was a brief public argument over the meaning of the phrase, "suffer the children." Some people mistakenly believed that the phrase meant that young people were undergoing considerable hardship. While that might have been so at the time, the phrase actually comes from the Bible, Matthew 19:14, and is Jesus' response to his disciples' action in tuming away little children. What Jesus is reported to have said is, "suffer little children and forbid them not to eome unto me, for such is the kingdom of heaven." Suffer is defined as: "To allow, permit, tolerate," Webster's New World College Dictionary, 2006. That definition comports with the phrase from the Bible and is, I believe, applicable to the furlough situation facing our public schools. In the context of the contentious contract negotiations between the State administration and the public teachers' union, something is missing that is of extreme importance to Native Hawaiian families with ehildren in the public school system. The parties' efforts do not seem to be "suffering" the children to receive a complete and adequate public education. The DOE says there are 170,830 students across the state attending public schools and that almost 30 percent, or 49,464, identify themselves as Native Hawaiian. For the most part, Kamehameha Schools is unable to accommodate them, and their parents cannot afford the tuition at private schools, whieh, incidentally, are popping up all over the state.

Consequently, the controversy over teachers' salaries and other education issues weighs heavily on Native Hawaiian families. Native Hawaiian parents need to be concerned about the contract negotiations and involved in what takes

plaee in the education community as a result. They need to be asking, "How, exactly, is the issue of teachers' pay going to affect the educational opportunities offered to my keiki or my mo'opuna?; How are the children going to be affected by the "Furlough Fridays?' " Additionally, they need to ask: "Are my keiki's educational opportunities truly being enhanced by the public education system? If not, what ean we do to enhanee those opportunities?" For several years now OHA has been presented with numerous proposals for and descriptions of independent teaching initiatives that make use of innovative educational and motivational techniques that have proven to be quite successful in educating Hawaiian children. Generally, the techniques used are a synthesis of "hands-on" educational techniques, and traditional Hawaiian cultural teaching methods. Such teaching techniques have eome to be widely used in the charter schools and the Hawaiian "immersion schools." OHA has funded several of the charter schools that are employing these educational innovations. Foremost among these is Kanu o ka 'Āina New Century Public Charter School on the Island of Hawai'i. Every Native Hawaiian parent with children in the public school system needs to visit the charter schools, see firsthand what those schools are doing and discuss the success of their endeavors to provide a meaningful education to Native Hawaiian students. Beyond that, Native Hawaiian parents need to engage in serious discussion with the principal and faculty of their child's public school about the present curriculum and teaching methods and urge the adoption of these innovative teaching techniques. We need to "suffer the children." ■

leo eleletrustEE mESSSagES

[Hhl www.oha.org/kwo

Walter M. Heen VicE Chair, TrustEE, ū'ahu