Hoskinwood Family

Dear Hawai'i Department of Education,

I don't know how else to put it - you suck! I have poured and poured over your website many times, and thoroughly I might add. I started to familiarize myself with it in summer '07 and then again in July of this year. I decided I would like to substitute teach for your district. So applied myself to your rigid protocol and began following each step. I have not been able to verify if I am suppose to take your 30-hour substitute teacher training course or not, seeing as how I have already taught for one year in my own classroom and also completed a teacher training program in California, where I hold a teaching certification. I was told by one of your extremely unhelpful administrators to go ahead and apply and my transcripts would then be evaluated. I spent about three hours filling out the application and organizing all of my paperwork - six transcripts, letters of recommendation, copy of an essay I wrote, the application itself, test scores, etc. I requested that the documents be returned to me, since rounding up six transcripts is no easy or inexpensive task. I included a self-addressed envelope to cater to this request. I then received a call a few days later, the only phone call I have received from your agency, counter requesting that you cannot follow through on my request unless I send postage. So you made a long distance call to let me know that I would need to spend forty-two cents of postage, to send you $1.20 or so back. Brilliant. Nice way to really make someone feel highly desirable for employment.

Weeks went by and finally when I heard back nothing after all of my efforts (even though everyone in Maui practically kept telling me what demand there was for highly qualified teachers), I called you to ask what the next step was, and that I needed an interview. I told you that I needed an interview. I was scheduled for an interview that afternoon. I gussied myself up in my best professional attire, thinking I would be one step closer to finishing this lengthy process after the afternoon was over. I sat with a retired administrator, answering her twenty questions or so about teaching and pedagogy, only to find out this was a screening interview for full-time contracted teaching positions. Well, that would be great, if that's what I applied for. However, considering my scheduling conflicts with full-time teaching, this isn't really an option for me right now. But I figured, well, at least I am getting interviewing experience and you never know, maybe it will lead to something anyway. The interviewer informs me that I will still need to take the 30-hour sub course after all, that it is required of everyone. She hands me a sticky note with a phone number on it for the Maui Community School that offers the course.

I let a few days go by, and again, I hear nothing. I take it upon myself, to start calling upon principals in the area to schedule interviews with them to get on their preferred list for substitutes. Now, mind you, because of your delinquency and lack of initiative, it is the first week of school. Do you imagine that I got many calls back from principals during the first week of school? No, I did not. They are all to busy to deal with me, and frankly, many of the administrators that answered the phone, seemed completely baffled with my requests, as if a potential substitute candidate had never phoned them before. Awesome.

Finally, during the second week of school, two administrators called me back and I scheduled two interviews. I knew that one interview was for a full-time position at a high school for secondary math, and I was fine with that. I figured, maybe it will lead to something. I'm open to it. Ms. Scofield, the principal, was very nice and helpful and was also the first person within your agency to hand me a SEPARATE application for substitute teaching candidates. So despite the hours I spent dotting all my i's and crossing all my t's on your other application, now I have another beauty to fill out. But really, thank you, because it's much shorter. Ms. Scofield informs me that yes, I need to find out when I can take the 30-hour course and then proceed with it, now that I have her signature of permission basically. All things lead back to this 30-hour course.

I have another interview scheduled that afternoon at a new elementary school. I had left one of your principals at this school a message stating that I am a certified teacher and would like to interview with her to get on her substitute list. She calls me back and schedules me for 2:45. I arrived at the beautiful new school in Kahului and after a limp handshake she leads me into a conference room. Seated there at a conference table, are three other people - the vice principal, and two kindergarten teachers. This comes as quite a shock and I was not prepared to answer formal interview questions in front of four people. Why you ask oh Hawai'i Board of Education? This is because, I thought I was doing a quick substitute teacher interview! But no, this was an interview for a full-time kindergarten teacher. Yes, a kindergarten teacher. Did I mention that my background was in middle school and that I am trying to become a SUBSTITUTE TEACHER? Good, glad we are one the same page again. Oh, and one more side note. Did I mention that I taught SECONDARY MATH and that I hear there is a huge need for those teachers here in Maui and that you even pay bonuses for haoles like myself to move from the Mainland to teach here?

I go along with the interview. I had to ask the nice woman to repeat the first question because I was still taken aback and feeling caught off-guard. Then I pull myself together and brought a pretty good a-game I thought, considering. I left the interview still a little stunned but feeling like I did pretty well considering I had no idea what I was walking into. Needless to say, I got a call two hours later saying they were not interested in me for the position. Big shock there.

Following my interview there, I head over to the Maui Community School for Adults to inquire about the 30-hour course. No, they say. They are not currently offering the course. Check with the Department of Education for when it will be offered.

Here we are today. I resolve to get to the bottom of this, once and for all. I sit down at my laptop and poke around your website and the Maui Community School's website. I call them again to double check on the status of that course. Again, they refer me to you. I call your offices, and imagine my surprise when I'm referred back to them! It is at this point, that I'm really starting to unravel. It is a vicious cycle that you have thrown me into and no one seems to have answers!!! I point this out to you, and you say, after pulling up my file, that oh....it looks like I don't have to take the damn course anyway since I have already been a teacher in the classroom. How kind of you to inform me of this. However, I am not really assured since you prefaced this statement with, "I believe, I think" or something of that nature. So you get my number and say you will get back to me. I don't think you will be surprised to know that I have not yet heard back from you. I am not holding my breath and feel like I can see my future already. Wait...wait...oh yes, I can see it. I am calling you back, either later this afternoon, if my sanity can handle it, or tomorrow when I feel I can handle it. Because as I hope it has become clear to you now, all of my phone calls to your agency, LEAD NOWHERE.

A final note and then I am hoping to put this behind me. I saw ads posted for educational assistants in your school. I thought, perfect, that could really work for me. I call the number listed to see if I have to fill out another application, because as you well know, completing government applications is NO SMALL FEAT. It is ludicrous to think that someday, in this age of technology, that the government, at least the states, would standardize their applications so that people like myself did not have to spend countless hours filling them out, when more than likely you only read about 5% of them and only about 10% of the ones filled out are even qualified. But still, people go through the motions anyway. Do I need to point out that TIME IS MONEY and TIME IS VALUABLE? No, surely you already know that. After all, I'm sure every minute you spend at your government job is spent doing very worthwhile, meaningful tasks, like EVALUATING MY APPLICATION thoroughly so that you may call me to inform me that yes, you could use a qualified teacher and no, I do not have to take your 30-hour course. Bottom line, you inform me that yes indeed, I will have to fill out another application to apply for the educational assistant position, because you are separate agencies, even though you have the SAME address that I sent my previous application to, along with all of my documents and transcripts. Hell, it might even be the same suite number. You probably even sit next to the woman that called me to ask me for postage! But time is money and I wouldn't want you to waste your's. Just think of all the time you spend being completely apathetic to every hardworking person that calls you to get information because your website sucks! Good thing you are there to answer the phone and refer them to someone else or somewhere else that won't help them either.

Because I am very persistent and well, stubborn actually, I am going to gussy up for the third time and hit the pavement again and go to speak to your principals directly. Screw your system, and screw your paperwork. If you cannot value me for my Bachelor of Arts at a highly regarded university, my acceptance into a very prestigious teaching organization, my experience teaching to underprivileged students, and teaching secondary math and science, then I will move on to someone who can. THE RED TAPE AND BUREAUCRACY IS COSTING YOU VALUABLE EDUCATORS. You take the spirits out of fine teachers due to your incompetency. And I am certainly not just talking about me. You can imagine that if this is just my story, what are the others?

Education is of the utmost importance in our society. You demand so much of our teachers. Demand the same of your administrators. They are the link between the teachers and students. HIRE PEOPLE WITH COMPASSION THAT LIKE PEOPLE AND WANT TO HELP THEM.

I'm a hostess at a restaurant for gosh sakes and I am warmer to potential diners than you are to teaching applicants! GET A CLUE because if you don't, you have lost me and hundreds of other talented potential educators. Maybe you think I'm high and mighty, but if I don't value myself and my experience, skills, and talent, who will?

Sincerely,

Heather