ISLAND VOICES
A day in the life of a student
By Jim Shon
Jim Shon is the associate director of the Hawai'i Educational Policy Center.
As the governor, legislators, parents, business people and other stakeholders wade in on how to reform our schools, it might be helpful to keep in mind what the day in the life of a "typical" student is in Hawai'i.
He is a 10th-grader, part-Hawaiian, attending a large (over-2,000-student) school. His day will include English, math, science, a foreign language, lunch and social studies. Most often, what is taught this year has little relationship to what was taught the year before, even though research tells us it is best to build on each year's skills and knowledge.
Like a majority of his schoolmates, he doesn't belong to the band or orchestra, nor does he take a fine-arts course. This is a shame, because research tells us that students who participate in the arts do better academically.
Between classes, he often has no time to visit the unpleasant restroom, which is filthy, has no soap or paper, and is the hangout for the school bullies.
His hot classrooms are filled with 27 students and with teachers who have as many as 150 different students each week. Essays and term papers are rare, for who has time to correct them? Computer access is limited. Lots of time is spent preparing for national or state tests.
He's a bit out of shape, but he doesn't have physical education. His school day ends at 2:30, when he has nothing more to do on campus. He has nothing to do until about 6 p.m. when his mom and dad return from work. He hangs out with friends, often at the mall. Some are into drugs and sex. The temptations are strong.
He doesn't have a regular study hall at school to do his homework — the school day is too short for that — and he seldom has a textbook to bring home. One of his brothers or sisters is often watching TV, so it is very difficult to find a quiet place to study.
Education reformers promote local school boards, funding that follows the student, school choice and more testing. They seldom talk about what impacts this student directly, namely, class size and school size, the length of the school day, the limited curriculum, the lack of time and a place to study, and often being "lost in the crowd."
Perhaps these, too, should be added to our agenda for reform.
