I have been bombarded by people in Hawai who are concerned that Michelle Rhee and her husband, the former Mayor of Sacramento Kevin Johnson, have arrived to advise state officials about education reform. Several sent this article.
I recall that Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were invited five years ago to lecture at the University of Hawaii on the subject of ethics in education.
I am hoping to visit Hawaii for the first time next January or February and check out the water supply. Or is it something they are smoking?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Ethics? At least the newspaper seems to have them pegged as anything but ethical.
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That was the least receptive towards Ed Reform article I can remember seeing in a regular newspaper.
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Has there been a more worrisome invasion into Hawaii since December 7, 1941?
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According to birthers, yes. The one where the woman from Kansas assaulted the shores with her Kenyan anti-Christ.
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Hawai’i is a weird state. The public schools are equally funded. Property tax does not fund education. And yet, those who live in Hawai’i seem to think that private schools are better than public schools, and THEY ARE NOT. I have taught in the Hawai’i schools, as well as schools in Michigan, Ohio, Colorado and California, and so I do have some experiences and knowlege about this topic. They would rather LIVE GRIDLOCK!
Hawai’i is also weird when it comes to WHITE people. While the local don’t care for them, they think that WHITE is better. I don’t GET those locals at ALL. I couldn’t LIVE there anymore. Glad I left and will NEVER make my home there again, ever.
Yes, it is beautiful there. But the GRIDLOCK and all those hotels and tourist traps are AWFUL. Hawai’i has been RAPED and continues to BE RAPED by $$$$$.
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Yvonne Siu-Runyan….
Do you suppose that this school, with tuition of $23,850 a year, is a reason people in Hawai’i may say that private schools “are better than public schools’?
http://www.punahou.edu/about/campus-and-facilities/campus-tour/index.aspx
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Laura,
Obama was a student at Punahou.
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Diane I spent 10+ years in Hawaii working in public and charter education(a full unionized charter school) and know that the leadership there is not looking for a change. They continually perpetuate a system where students are expected to be marginal and are promoted so they can have a workforce for the tourist industry. I published a paper with the then Dean of the CC system. It is a sad but true reality ( https://www.slideshare.net/jeff.piontek/an-inconvenient-reality-oct-2007-2780003 )
The thought that they are searching for a new state superintendent at the same time Michelle Rhee is there also has me worried,
On Tue, Mar 14, 2017 at 12:01 PM, Diane Ravitch’s blog wrote:
> dianeravitch posted: “I have been bombarded by Hawaiians who are concerned > that Michelle Rhee and her husband, the former Mayor of Sacramento Kevin > Johnson, have arrived to advise state officials about education reform. > Several sent this article. I recall that Mr. and Mrs. ” >
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Jeff,
That may explain an interest in no-excuses charters that teach docility, hard work, compliance, and obedience as cardinal virtues.
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Yes, Diane!
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This is like an H-bomb on Pearl Harbor!
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I have lived all over the world, but I have never seen Hawaii. I am hardly an expert on the Aloha state. But I find it interesting, that Hawaii has the lowest percentage of eligible children attending public schools in the USA (Tied with Washington DC). Many Hawaii parents make sacrifices, to send their kids to private schools, or home-school them.
see
http://www.civilbeat.org/2014/03/living-hawaii-many-families-sacrifice-to-put-kids-in-private-schools/
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TRUE! It’s totally weird and have LIVED this mentality. BTW, I feel qualified to speak about this since I was born and bred in Honolulu.
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It is not only Hawaiians that are concerned about the appearance of the Rhee/Johnson Duo. Many of us who are actively working towards an equitable, place-based system are currently trying to figure out not only who brought them here but their intent and how we can counter any thing they might try to manipulate into our islands. Your post is appreciated for getting out the information.
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Just a clarification… I think it might be better to use the terms ‘people in Hawaii’ as opposed to Hawaiians, which refers to the people indigenous to this place. But thank you for elevating our struggle! Yesterday was an especially challenging day for critical educators in Hawaii, for some of the reasons you mention above.
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Amy, thanks for the clarification.
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STOCKHOLM SYNDROME is well and alive in Hawai’i and has always been a problem.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Stockholm-syndrome
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Hawaiian mom’s should keep a close eye on their teen-aged daughters when Kevin comes to town as his previous “interests” might be renewed. And public school teachers should be honing their martial arts skills in order to fend off Rhee’s attacks on them!!! 🙂 Why is it that creatures from the swamp keep reemerging under Trump’s supposed “swamp-less” regime!!!
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Oops.. read your words Amy and should say moms in Hawaii…
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I wish I could see a video of their presentation to see if they can deliver a talk on ethics with a straight face.
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Now that the mainland is catching on and parents and tax payers are realizing that charters are no better and in many instances just scams to steal tax dollars from the public school system the Rhee invasion has set its sights elsewhere. Just look at the devastating effects on Florida’s public schools the charter/testing scam has caused. Don’t let your greedy politicians strong arm you into believing public schools are broken and you need charters. The test numbers are cooked. They move the test target score in order to get the numbers they want to show schools are bad. I have been in the testing room and seen exactly what they have been doing for the last 20 years.
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VERY well said, Arturo!
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While I realize that he was never actually convicted of anything (not exactly the most exacting or desirable standard of probity), haven’t the numerous sexual abuse allegations made against Kevin Johnson, by now, undermined his credibility?
In fact, given the sordid history of these people as individuals, who remains sufficiently credulous to take them seriously?
I’m stunned, frankly. On the other hand, this is the country that elected Donald Trump president, so I suppose I shouldn’t be….
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Kevin Johnson is a black basketball player who once played in the NBA so what the hell does this goon know about education?? Kevin Johnson who dropped out of college to play in the NBA is a complete neophyte when it comes to education and you can rest assured if a dude like Johnson came into my office with corrupt Michelle Rhee as his partner in crime, that they would NOT being telling me about education. Is this country really on the abyss?? Have we gone insane beyond belief?? These two corrupt misfits coming to my state to tell me how to educate my students?? This is over the top and probable Rhee and Johnson were more interested in the sugar cane in Hawaii and not so much the schools.
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