“Live Fearlessly”

The 12th annual “Wahine Forum” took place on Thursday, October 24, and this year’s theme was “Live Fearlessly.” I had not attended any of the previous events so I was pleased to receive an invitation though I had no idea what to expect. Wow! There were so many women expected (1,200+) that they turned the men’s restroom at the Coral Ballroom into a women’s restroom. It was strange and humorous to see all the potted palms lined up to block the urinals, but it was in-and-out for women with no long lines. I knew that this was going to be an incredible gathering of women!

There was so much energy throughout the event. Every woman I spoke with was so grateful to have this opportunity to bond with other women, to learn and network from each other, and to be inspired by the speakers. Wendy Sachs was the keynote speaker, and she got the forum off to an energetic start. I loved her stories and her advice to the audience: Be confident; confidence matters more than competence in the business world. Stop apologizing; women tend to do that a lot. Don’t be afraid to fail because “Failure is success in progress.” (Albert Einstein) Know what you’re going after and create opportunities for yourself - make the magic happen. Have a growth mindset, a term that’s used a lot nowadays in education. Believe that you can get better. Lift each other up and connect on a personal and professional level. Brand yourself; image is important. Ignore the voices in your head that are preventing you from going all-in. Great advice for women!

I grew up in a different time; many of the women attending the forum were closer to my sons’ ages, in the time of their career when they are thinking of making a change or pivoting in a new direction. Their life experiences are very different from mine. I grew up when girls wore dresses to school every day, when the women’s liberation movement was just getting started, when moms were often housewives relegated to taking care of the home and children, and when jobs for females were primarily as clerks or secretaries, teachers, nurses, or other lower-paying positions. There was no Title IX so we didn’t have equal opportunities to play organized sports like our male friends did. We were taught to cook, sew, and to set a table correctly in Homemaking class while boys took classes in Agriculture, Metal Shop and Wood Shop. I often laugh when I hear the lyrics of the song “Wives and Lovers.” Yet, this was the world I grew up in. Fortunately, my parents encouraged all of us kids to work hard and to follow our dreams while learning skills that would help us later in life.

Today, women have many more opportunities in life, but there is much more to do. For example, they are still not paid equally (Data) and although women earn more undergraduate and graduate degrees, they hold substantially fewer leadership positions. (Data) This is why the Wahine Forum is such a successful event; these women want to move up the ladder but may be hitting roadblocks along the way. Learning from and with other strong women can provide the motivation as well as the support that is needed to be successful.

Back in 2016 after our female candidate for President was defeated, I wrote this blog: “Why is it Taking So Long?” After attending the 2019 Wahine Forum, I realize the importance of bringing women together so they can be inspired. As Dr. Jill Hoggard Green shared in her welcome address, “Think forward, build new skills, meet new people, and build the future of our community.” Women need to hear that message!

Thank you, Cheryl Oncea from Hawaii Business Magazine, for continuing to sponsor the Wahine Forum! I hope the next one is even more successful!

 With Josh Reppun, one of the few males in attendance. 

(He is Cheryl Oncea’s husband and invited me to the event. Thanks, Josh!)

 Cheryl Oncea, publisher of Hawaii Business Magazine, welcomes the attendees.

Wendy Sachs, keynote speaker and author of Fearless and Free: How Smart Women Pivot and Relaunch their Careers

Telling Our Stories

I was so fortunate to be able to have a career that I loved. As an educator for 45 years - the last 15 as a principal - every day was a new beginning, an opportunity to make a difference for someone. From my first day on the job until my last, I continued to learn. I chuckle at my naïveté when I began; I didn’t realize how challenging it is to be a teacher and how much effort it takes to truly make a difference for our students, their families, and the school community. Even on the most difficult days, though, I was able to reflect and find something positive that happened that day. That’s what kept me going all those years.

The role of educators is not easy; we are entrusted with our nation’s most precious resource - our children. Our students’ perspectives - their voices - are so important as we seek to engage them as learners. Our responsibility is to work with our school community to empower our students with the skills and tools they will need to solve the problems they will face now and in the future. We prepare them for the world they will inherit.

Schools around our state and in our nation are reinventing themselves to become relevant in the 21st century. Social media provides the opportunity to learn with and from other schools and educators.  It is not enough, however, to just share photos of our school, our students, our staff, or our events. Let’s share our stories as well - our challenges as well as our successes. Additionally, social media can be a vital part of our professional development, and by sharing links to blogs, articles, podcasts, or videos, by participating in edchats, asking questions of our colleagues, starting discussions, or sharing resources, we are elevating the education profession. And it doesn’t cost any money, just a commitment of time.

Let’s get more educators on social media!

Equity in Education

In Hawai`i, 20% of students attend private schools, a higher-than-average number when compared to other states. Recently, a teacher shared on Twitter about the equity gap that exists between private schools and public schools here in Hawai`i. She pointed out the tuition at private schools ($15,000-$26,000/year) and the experiences those students have (such as class trips to Australia) that her public school students would never have. As teacher Sarah Milianta-Laffin states, “Private school money isn’t just buying access to different technology, it’s buying access to a different life.”

I don’t blame private school parents for wanting the best for their children. (Full disclosure: our older two sons attended a private school; tuition was high, but as parents, we were willing to make the sacrifice so our sons could benefit from the opportunities they might not have had in public schools. We never regretted our decision.)  I don’t blame private schools who often have alumni with big pockets who are more-than-willing to make large donations to their alma mater. I don’t blame private school teachers who just want to do the best for their students like their counterparts in public schools.

It’s not a problem of private schools having too much; the problem is that public schools don’t have enough. As a public school principal, I know how difficult it was to take our limited funds and to craft a budget that provided our students with a well-rounded education, one that included not just academics, but fine arts and physical education, as well as supports for students and teachers. As a larger elementary school, we had more choices than smaller schools, hiring teachers for drama and physical education as well as a part-time art teacher. Many schools don’t have those kinds of choices or they have to apply for grants or rely on their Parent-Teacher Organization to fundraise to provide students with non-academic experiences. All students need those opportunities.

I follow many Hawai'i educators on Twitter, and I am constantly amazed at how much they give of their time to provide their students with amazing opportunities - Robotics, video productions, place-based project based learning, musical performances, designing and painting murals, participating in student marches - these are just a snippet of what our public school students are doing. Educators are sharing via their tweets or Instagram posts, podcasts, videos, or blogs. They share their successes as well as challenges, and they encourage each other to keep going, making suggestions when a colleague may be feeling discouraged. They plan their own professional development sessions such as W-RITE or EdCamp or 808Unconferences and spend “spare” time continuing to learn with other like-minded educators. I doubt that the public is aware of how much our educators sacrifice for their students.

The equity divide between private and public schools will only grow wider if we don’t do anything to increase the funding pot for public schools. Years ago, I asked a state senator why the Legislature couldn’t increase the General Excise Tax by 0.5% with the additional funds solely dedicated to the Department of Education. He shared that it is always unpopular for legislators to increase taxes, and there would be little support for such a bill. Even for our kids? Yes, even for our kids. 😞 (Maybe that can be changed. 😊) Private schools can fundraise to upgrade their buildings; our school (Daniel K. Inouye Elementary) was fortunate to be able to apply for a Department of Defense grant for our project because we are on a military base. What funds exist for other public schools, many of which are old and in need of renovations? Legislators advocate for their schools, but there is never enough money to go around, and schools sometimes have to wait for their chance. A few years ago, the Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs proposed and the 2013 State Legislature approved Act 155. “This Act requires the Department of Education (DOE) to identify three school-related sites that could generate revenue through a public-private partnership (P3) or other mechanisms to create a source of funding for the construction of new schools and enhancement of existing schools into state-of-the-art learning environments.” I look forward to seeing how such a public-private partnership can work to enhance the learning environments for our students. Wouldn’t it be great to ensure the success of this type of partnership?

Lastly, I hope educators continue to share their stories about their students and invite the public to be partners as we prepare our students for their future. It will take all of us - not just educators - to ensure that the divide between public and private schools does not get wider. Let’s work together to ensure that public schools have sufficient funds to provide their students with a quality education. Our students and our schools deserve it!

I Found My Voice through Blogging

I am an introvert. I prefer small group or 1:1 conversations over large group presentations. I have opinions and thoughts but have never felt comfortable standing up and speaking my mind. Yet, I knew that as an educator and a school leader, it was important for me to share my thoughts and opinions especially when the issue impacted our school community.

I found my voice through blogging.

I started blogging back in 2012 after reading that “Blogging is the New Persuasive Essay.” This was when schools began implementing the Common Core State Standards, and persuasive writing was emphasized. I decided that if blogging was good for students, I needed to try it out first. It was challenging, (See my blog from July 2012.) but through the process, I found my voice. I began sharing my thoughts, challenges, successes, questions, and frustrations. There were times when I was so concerned that I immediately started a blog post. Fortunately, I saved it as a draft and didn’t publish it; after some time to cool off and to see things more clearly, I realized that I was either misinformed or had overreacted or it really wasn’t that important in the long run. So I deleted that draft. Blogging gave me a venue to make my thoughts visible to the public. I like to think that the reader makes a connection with my blog and has some sort of reaction: they agree; they disagree; or it’s not relevant.

For students, persuasive writing is not about writing for the teacher but writing for a wider audience. It is not about telling students how to respond to a persuasive writing question on a standardized test. Rather, it is about students asking questions, researching to see different viewpoints of an issue, and then taking a stand, explaining their reasons to the audience. It is about producing quality writing that students can be proud of and being open to receiving comments from readers. Persuasive writing is about writing, reading, and thinking.  The writer writes a blog post; others read the blog and think about what the writer had to say. They may agree; they may disagree, or they may have further questions. They can respond to the writer or they can reflect on how the blog impacted him/her. Persuasive writing is about reading and reflecting, on expanding our viewpoints beyond ourselves.

Recently, teachers in our state formed W-RITE, a safe supportive community focused on writing. As the group grows to include W-RITE communities on all islands, I envision a site where educators can share their blogs or their writings to get feedback from their peers. After all, those reflective or clarifying questions or comments will not only help us to improve as writers, it will help us be better teachers of writing, and our students will then benefit.

I finally found my voice when I began blogging, and writing became important to me. If I had not stuck with it all these years, I know I would not have had the confidence to write a book. (Leading with Aloha: From the Pineapple Fields to the Principal’s Office) I hope that more educators will see the value in writing and reflecting and publishing their writings. It might be a step out of your comfort zone, but as the old adage states, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." You might be surprised at how empowering blogging can be!

I was able to share about my writing with educators at W-RITE earlier this summer. 

The group is growing as educators commit to supporting each other in their writing.