• What’s happening to kindergarten • ‘Lane-challenged’ drivers • A cautionary tale • Kikiaola is worth it • Only method of teaching changed What’s happening to kindergarten Mr. Kline’s recent letter regarding concerns in the Land of Kindergarten was spot
• What’s happening to kindergarten
• ‘Lane-challenged’ drivers
• A cautionary tale
• Kikiaola is worth it
• Only method of teaching changed
What’s happening to kindergarten
Mr. Kline’s recent letter regarding concerns in the Land of Kindergarten was spot on. According to an article “State Kindergarten Policies” by Kristie Kauerz, “Kindergartens were first introduced in this country as nurturing, play-based programs, intended to enhance children’s cognitive, physical, and social development to smooth the transition into formal schooling.”
Instead, the Department of Education and the Legislature have generated a somewhat fear driven emphasis on numbers: Get the highest test scores with the fewest teachers in the shortest possible time using as little state money as possible. Unfortunately, this high- pressured focus on academic testing begins with five year-old children.
‘Lane-challenged’ drivers
I sincerely thank Richard Heppard for bringing up the issue of people crossing over the center line on the roads. This is a far more annoying issue than people driving too fast — regardless of how fast you are driving, you can’t get in a head-on collision with someone unless somebody crossed over the center line. There is not a day that goes by when I don’t see at least 10 drivers either driving in the shoulder or crossing over into oncoming traffic. It seems people will find any excuse to drive outside the lane — I’ve even seen KPD officers do this. Frankly, this needs to be enforced as strongly as the posted speed limits. I’ve argued this several times in the opinion column, and even sent a letter to the County Council concerning the problem, and nothing is being done.
I have no illusions that anyone is listening to these pleas, though. I’m sure the majority of people here think this is some “evil Mainlander” trying to change “our way of life.” And as long as that attitude remains, people will keep dying in accidents. I guess you do get what you ask for.
A cautionary tale
Just a short note about the goodwill of the people in this community and a note of caution.
I want to thank publicly Oliver Shagnasty of Shagnasty’s Honey and Norm the life guard at Lydgate Park.
I foolishly left my backpack unattended on the beach at Lydgate and it was stolen.
Oliver, whom we had just met, offered to drive my wife home to recover our other set of car keys and return her to Lydgate so we could drive home.
Norm the lifeguard had come early to work and hearing of our plight, he promptly notified the police and grounds personnel to be on the lookout for my backpack.
This display of neighborliness and helpfulness has been a common experience since we moved here.
A word of caution to your readers. Do not leave your valuables in an easily grabbed container unattended. It is a big temptation.
Kikiaola is worth it
In a letter to The Garden Island newspaper, Gordon LaBedz said that if the handful of boat owners who use the Kikiaola (Kekaha) Small Boat Harbor want to spend millions of dollars to dredge the harbor, “They should pass the hat among themselves.”
This sounds good if you don’t think about it. But let’s spend a few seconds thinking about it.
This harbor was built about 40 years ago by the state and federal governments. Lots of immigrants to Kaua‘i don’t know this because they were living in Keokuk or Tucumeari at that time. Since the state and federal governments built it, they are required to maintain it. Dredging is one of the maintenance chores required of all boat harbors, both large and small.
Mr. LaBedz points out that only a handful of people use the small boat harbor.
So what? That’s not unusual. County, state and federal governments build many, many projects which benefit only a tiny percentage of the population. For example, JoAnn’s multi-million-dollar bikepath boondogle will benefit only a tiny percentage of Kauai’s population. And how many people will ever use the million-dollar rubberized track at Vidinha Stadium?
Gary Hooser, Mina Morita, Bertha Kawakami and Ezra Kanoho voted to spend $24 million to build cruise ship facilities at Kikiaola (Kekaha) Small Boat Harbor.
How many people — besides big businesses and big developers — will benefit from this boondogle?
JoAnn, if you want to build a multi-million-dollar bikepath boondogle, pass the hat around.
Only method of teaching changed
As a math teacher of 38 years and a member of the California State Department of Education’s Math Reform Commitees in the late 1990s, I read, with a measure of trepidation, The Garden Island story on new math teaching methods in Kaua‘i.
The way to improve math programs is to start with a philosophy or framework, develop high standards, provide material (books, films, ect.) that include these standards and provide an evaluation process to measure if the standards were met.
The downfall of this plan is to dictate to the teacher not what is to be taught but “how” it should be taught. Teachers are professional and should be able to use any method that works for them to get the job done.
From what I experienced in California, these new methods, including “Inquiry-Based Math,” co-operative groups, and “do say and write” techniques may be fine for some students. However, most of the mathematicians I worked with agreed that students learned best by direct instruction where mathematical concepts are presented in a logical sequential order. The concepts develop computational skills. This can be done with class worksheets, homework, drill and memorizing facts.
With a firm grasp of concepts and skills, the students are prepared for problem solving, one of the major goals of teaching math; the other being the appreciation of beauty and structure of mathematics.
Another area of concern is the use of calculators. There is absolutely no reason for students to use calculators until first year algebra. A mastery of addition and multiplication facts is imperative to the understanding process.
In the article, Vice Principal Speetjens says that “math has changed so much.” No, “math” has not changed, it cannot. So be very careful how you change the method of teaching. You might want to try highly qualified math-loving people teaching the tried and true traditional method.
