Teachers union gets latest state offer, asks for negotiations

The most thankless job in the entire country - a teacher for the State of Hawaii.

"Neither side said it would release details of their latest respective proposals." The people not at the negotiating table for this stick-up? The taxpayers. Release the details of the proposals. Those being taught are the children of taxpayers, those paying for it. Why the need to hide anything from either party?

They don't agree to the contract get rid of em lots of teachers in the u.s.a would love to teach in Hawaii great place ro live.

Lots of hatred of teachers being displayed in these comments. The last few decades have seen growing inequality of income in the US as the middle-class has been hollowed out and the wealth has gone to the rich. Teachers are not, of course, the only occupation which has been squeezed. But with public workers, the decision to cut their salaries and benefits is on public display. We cannot pretend it is private employers who are deciding to slash wages. It is government officials, supported by a lot of people posting comments here.

So the schools will continue to deteriorate. Abercrombie and key legislators have been provided handy, but empty slogans about "teacher accountability" by the national political and corporate elite. First, from the Republicans with their "No Child Left Behind" propaganda. Now, with Obama and Arne Duncan uttering slippery catch phrase courtesy of "Race to the Top."

No one can pretend they do not see what is happening. Taxes are cut on the wealthy, who see little need for well-educated kids. There will be few jobs which require much more than obedient drones. The shrinking professional and creative classes can be adequately supplied by the private schools and the good schools serving upper-middle-class families. Not only have manufacturing jobs been shipped overseas but the corporations and their political lackeys, often at taxpayer subsidies, but now even a lot of middle and professional class jobs are being outsourced.

And the parents and grandparents of the underserved children watch Fox News and Celebrity Apprentice, while the kids play video games and the whole world goes to heck.

So long as developers are able to continue to build their expensive housing here, so the wealthy elite of the planet can secure a second (or third) home in "paradise," money will still be made by Don Horner's First Hawaiian Bank and Goldman Sach's Waikiki hotels. Or under-educated kids? They can join the military and police the world for the Empire.

Or, we can turn this around. Raise enough taxes to pay our teachers a decent wage, attract talent/ retain talent in the profession and build the egalitarian society Democrats had promised us with statehood. Our choice. But people who rant against teachers here, only display their contempt for democracy and equality.

I'm done listening to the crickets chirp. All of you claiming teaching is a "thankless" job, google it and you'll find plenty of people crying for teachers. For anyone else claiming teachers are so grossly underpaid in total compensation, show all the taxpayers how awful public school teachers have it compared to their private counterparts.

Government employees should be grateful they even have a job right now. I gaurantee you that we are going to have a sovereign debt crash in the United States which will make Greece's sovereign debt default look like chump change. The Federal Reserve policy of keeping interest near zero by buying US Treasuries is unsustainable. The end result will be hyper-inflation. The federal government will either have to restructure the 16 trillion in debt by a partial default or opt for hyperinflation, which is far worse. Assuming they restructure, severe auterity measures will be implemented. Government workers, who have been pulled in the wagon, will have to get out and help push. Many will be layed off, the rest will have to take drastic pay cuts. Remember, during times of hyperinflation, you will run to the bank to cash your paycheck, then run to the supermarket to buy all the supplies and food you can, because the next day, prices might double or there might not be anything left. The "eductation" or indoctrination system, is not much more than a large babysitting institution. Interest rates will rise, are rising on the 30 year T bill, and when they get beyond the control of the Fed, the economy, starting with the banks, will begin to fall off a cliff.

Negotiating with HSTA seems all but pointless, they will never agree to performance based evaluations or drug testing. For some reason Teachers believe they are "special" and thus exempt from the requirements imposed on other classes of public employees. Just impose the terms of the contract, if they don't like it ...... they know where the door is!

What's sad to comprehend here is if we paid teachers say 100K, would that change anything with the quality of education the students receive or improve test scores? Would high pay attract better teachers or atrract college students to pursue a teaching career, maybe; but in the long run would DOE produce a better product? My guess is we'd have well paid teachers with the same product graduating; again that's sad.

at least itsa job

keep feeding our kids pink slime. education starts and ends at home. lets start blaming police for crime and firefighters for fires.