In Hawai'i there is a myth known as the alamihi crab syndrome. The myth is a creation of foreign origin used to explain a Western worldview of Hawaiians. It is deployed to explain everything from the 1893 overthrow of the monarchy to the reason why Hawaiians can never better their lives. Crabs in a bucket have a tendency to struggle and fight…

It was the last day of Philosophy 492, the author's college course dedicated to teaching the principles and strategies of philosophy for children (p4c) Hawai'i. Months before she joined the Philosophy 492 class, she was asked to join Emerging Humanity as a volunteer in a project that focused on enhancing the classroom environments at the…

"How come your students are so engaged?" "What are the reasons your students perform so well on the Hawai'i State Assessments and Advanced Placement Exams?" "What makes the student experience in your classrooms so different?" "How do you use philosophy to teach language arts and social studies?" "The students are always talking about your class.…

In 2001, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) released the "Rainbow Plan" as the educational reform plan for the twenty-first century. As part of the plan, MEXT will make English education activities compulsory at Japanese public elementary schools beginning in 2011. The purpose of the Rainbow Plan is to…

Every multicultural society has a language of power--the language spoken by members of the dominant group or groups--as well as languages that lack power because they are spoken by members of the subordinate group or groups. The ascension of one language over another has long been a source of controversy in Hawai'i, as it has in many parts of the…

For the past six years the authors have been working together on a major study of early childhood education in China, Japan, and the United States. This study, "Continuity and Change in Preschools in Three Cultures," is a sequel to "Preschools in Three Cultures," a book by Joseph Tobin, David Wu, and Dana Davidson that was published in 1989. In…

During the US Occupation of Japan (1945-1952), a victorious America attempted to reform Japanese education by replacing Japan's tradition system of values with one that promoted American democratic values. The United States had considered the source of Japan's militarism to lie in the selfless loyalty and love of country that many older Japanese…

R. Burl Yarberry was born in 1920 in Pueblo, Colorado. He attended public schools in Pueblo and graduated from high school in 1938. After a year attending the Colorado School of Mines, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the Pacific during World War II. Following his discharge, he earned a BA in English from Western State College of…

In this article, the author proposes to describe some of the developments that have taken place in public education in American Samoa in the past few years. This has really been a period of rapid change and although many challenges remain, there has been considerable progress on several fronts. One of the fundamental organizational reforms that…

In spite of the changes that 100 years of Americanization have produced, the American Samoa people overwhelmingly identify themselves with their culture. They are proud to be Samoan; they are committed to the "fa'a-Samoa" or the Samoan way of life. The desire to balance American ways with the unique values that make up the Samoan sense of identity…

In 2000, state agencies and foundations in Hawai'i were poised to support readiness efforts to improve educational outcomes for children. There was, however, a lack of shared understanding of the construct of readiness to guide these efforts. Parents, teachers, and school administrators all play a critical role in the education of young children.…

The school-readiness of Hawai'i's children and the readiness of Hawai'i's schools for entering kindergarteners has been a topic of considerable thought and action in recent years. Indeed, Hawai'i's citizens have long made young children and their education a high priority. The first steps were taken as early as 1894 when the Samuel N. and Mary…

For many years, teacher education has been the subject of persistent concerns, many of which were reflected in a 1997 evaluation of the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP). The evaluation noted the lack of a common view of the purpose of STEP, resulting in "contradictory practices and mixed messages"; fragmented coursework; faculty turnover;…

In many ways, the changing history of the Dutch windmills reminds the author of the many teacher education programs she has worked with and, in particular, the one she now works with at the University of Washington. To those who are unfamiliar with the inner workings of teacher education, programs that prepare teachers probably appear much as they…

Over the past decade the phrase "making a positive difference in the lives of others" emerged and stuck as a statement--part vision and part goal--for the University of Vermont (UVM) College of Education and Social Services (CESS). The phrase captured the energy and intention of the educator preparation programs and signaled the role of these…