Maybe Obama can help teachers

During President Barack Obama’s recent re-election campaign, the National Education Association, whose affiliate is the Hawaii State Teachers Association, was the first union to recommend Obama to the voters.

Obama emphasized the importance of public education, stating that more high-quality schools and teachers were needed.

Unfortunately, the president’s friend, Gov. Neil Abercrombie, is going in the opposite direction. Abercrombie continues to mistreat Hawaii’s public school teachers by failing to offer a meaningful contract in a timely manner. Teachers have been waiting for 18 months since he imposed the last, best and final offer.

Perhaps while the president is here on vacation he can remind Abercrombie that it is time to steer public education in the right direction for the next generation.

Fran Bellinger
Kaneohe

Not all students are wonderful

Private schools admit students based on entrance exam scores and academic ability. Those who do poorly are kicked out and the public schools must educate them. No one would blame private school teachers for these students’ performances.

Public school teachers are forced to educate class clowns, bullies, kids who cut classes, come stoned, smash the toilets, hate school, including those who the police, preachers or parents cannot control.

Good teachers quit. They want to teach but classroom management overwhelms good teaching.

Teacher evaluation tied to student performance ignores the student elephant in the classroom. A student’s poor performance is the teacher’s fault? This is crazy. Test scores belong to the students, not teachers.

When each student owns the consequences of his or her own poor performance, that student will take school seriously.

Caroll Han
Punchbowl

UH should reveal hoops attendance

I see the University of Hawaii basketball program is still not releasing attendance figures. The Star-Advertiser estimates attend- ance at times, but it should not have to do that.

The reason stated a while back was that it did not want recruits to see the poor attendance numbers. What a horrible lesson for our student athletes — deception by omission.

In addition, the general public, fans attending the games and boosters all provide the substantial funds required to support the basketball team, and I think the program has an obligation to reveal the attendance.

Perhaps this is another example of our dysfunctional athletic department and the secrecy so loved by the UH administrators.

Meanwhile, let’s all hope for a winning team playing exciting basketball that will fill the stands.

Ron Yoda
Hawaii Kai

Campaign class was inspirational

I am so impressed to think the newspaper gave Jeffrey Hackler’s class from ‘Iolani School such wonderful recognition in the paper ("A lesson in elections, from classes to campaigns," Star-Advertiser, Dec. 12). He inspired within his class the need for them to get active, and they did.

The group from ‘Iolani were tremendous to work with during the election. Working with them touched me as much as it touched them. It gave me hope for our future.

Ayami Hatanaka’s description of the calling center was amusing to read. She along withEugene Au,Joshua Rasay,Christine Rivers, Brandon Iwaishi, Aaron Lee, Samatha Wong, Miranda Yip, Kyle Miller, Jordan Van Duyne, Evan Lum, Timothy Leong, Sutter Grune and Kiana Harpstritewere a delight to have working within our campaign.

I’d like to thank Jeffrey Hackler for creating such an interest with these young people to partake in our political system. He should be awarded for his efforts, too.

Penelope Burniske
Cayetano Calling Center coordinator