‘Lipstick on a pig’
Why do we continue to waste money trying to fix Kona Community Hospital?
We’re just putting lipstick on a pig. The facility is completely outdated and in a terrible location. We need a new hospital in a much more accessible site.
The Kona community and the terrific staff at KCH deserve better. Why do we keep throwing away money on this dinosaur?
Linda Albers
Kailua-Kona
Creating unity
There’s something that politicians and the media could learn from teachers about creating unity in our country and finding the common ground that enables that to happen — assuming that politicians aren’t solely focused on getting reelected or that media isn’t purely interested in generating political tension.
A classroom is much like a microcosm of society. Each year, a teacher meets a new group of children. They come in every color, shape and gender; economically comfortable or poor, cooperative or rebellious, kind or mean.
No learning or cooperation will take place unless that assorted group of children understands that they can trust the teacher to keep them safe and feel accepted. Rules are established, because that’s the only reasonable path to ensuring that each person in the room is respected and aided in their path to learning.
Chaos ensues when children are allowed to bully or shame other children. Chaos ensues when 2 + 2 = 5 is accepted as a fact instead of corrected as misinformation.
Chaos ensues when only some children breaking the rules are punished and others are not. Chaos ensues when children are encouraged to compete, rather than collaborate and help one another. Chaos ensues when children view the teacher as someone who cares about some students and not others.
Education is based on rules, responsibility and a common core of factual knowledge. Just as any civil, well-functioning society or nation should be.
Teachers must model being compassionate, fair and accurately informed, just as any politician or media source should do. They must embrace all children equally without bias, just as any politician or media source should do.
Teachers must look out for the common good of every child (not just their favorites), just as politicians and media sources should do. They must convey factual information that enables children to exercise their thinking skills and logic, just as all politicians and media sources should do.
Our country can reunite and collaborate for the common good when politicians and media embrace their responsibility of providing a factual, balanced education to voters. Just imagine the chaos in a classroom if all the teacher was doing was riling kids up and pitting them against one another!
Martha Hodges
Kailua-Kona