By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer
The hardest thing I had to do in a long time was face down several classes of third-graders at Kamaile Elementary School in Wai‘anae recently.
Don’t get me wrong. The kids were great. So were the teachers. In fact, every one I met all day long was sincere, dedicated and professional; I came away thoroughly impressed. The campus was spotless, the faculty engaged and the kids attentive and well-behaved.
The only problem came when the kids started asking questions. How long do I work every day? What do I wear? Do I surf? Did I ever meet June Jones? And, inevitably, how much do I get paid?
That was the tough one because it made me question just how much I’m worth. And that’s not the kind of inquiry that a lot of us can face squarely. The truth is I make a lot more than most of the teachers in Hawai‘i.
And that’s just not right.
Is anything more important than the education of our children? Should anyone be worth more than the people to whom we entrust our children for the better part of each day? Is it fair that a silly columnist can enjoy the material benefits of life more than a lifelong educator?
No, no and no.
Yet here’s how the math works out. Daily newspaper reporters with five years’ experience in Hawai‘i make, by union contract, at least $56,000, and often more. We are among the best-paid journalists in the country. Most public school teachers with the same amount of training and experience in Hawai‘i make just over $30,000, among the lowest salaries in the nation.
The Hawai‘i State Teachers Association is asking for a 22 percent pay increase over the next four years. Even then, teachers would be underpaid. The state says it can’t afford more than 11 percent. The teachers are prepared to strike, and if they do, we should stand behind them 100 percent. I mean, they’ve got the future of the world in their hands, and we’re going to quibble about money?
And when I say we, I mean all of us, however much we earn. We owe it to one another, to the children, to our society, to make our concerns known now. If paying teachers more means painful cuts elsewhere, so be it. If it means those of us already making more than teachers have to share our wealth through higher taxes, that’s OK, too.
We’ve ignored this problem too long. When we say public education, the public is us. We should be ashamed. Standing up there in front of those third-graders and their teachers, I know I was.
Mike Leidemann’s columns are published Thursdays and Fridays. He can be phoned (525-5460) or e-mailed (mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com).
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