Conference turris::womannotes-v2

    What sort of unpleasant things?  Where is she going to be going to
    school? Honolulu is a big city and some of the schools in it have
    the problems you might expect in any big city.  If your daughter
    is white, she might experience some racial prejudice. 
    
    We vacationed in Kauai a couple of years ago, and while we didn't
    go to high school there we did attend a dance-and-crafts festival
    that one of the high schools put on at a local mall. The kids in
    the demonstration, and the kids we saw hanging out at the mall or
    driving around after school all looked like average American high
    school students.  The school buildings were in good shape, and the
    paper reported athletic scores every night. 

    The pace appeared to be somewhat more mellow and socially oriented
    than the pace in the average New England school.  Grades didn't
    seem to be considered as important -- not worth sacrificing
    activities for. 

    --bonnie

    	RE:  .0
    
    	Do you know what area she will be living in (and/or exactly
    	which High School she expects to attend?)
    
    	Some of the High Schools have a better reputation than others.
    	(Also, as Bonnie mentioned, some schools are more prone to
    	racial tension than others.)
    
    	In Hawaii, the racial tension is mainly directed towards 
    	caucasions (who are in the minority) as well as between kids
    	of the same ethnic background who have been 'American' for
    	a different length of time.  (For example, there are groups
    	who clash with others of their identical ethnic background
    	over the differences between their level of assimilation
    	into the local/U.S. culture and use of language.)

    	It would help if you could be more specific about where she
    	plans to go.

    
    My cousins have been living in Hawaii for the last 15 years.  All
    three have graduated.  My cousin Eva is a doctor, her brother 
    just graduated from Annapolis and last one just graduated from high school.
    
    We haven't had much contact with them.  But they seemed to have
    done well.  They are 1/2 Irish-German and 1/2 Spanish.  
    
    They live in Honolulu but I don't know where they went to school.

    I've just talked to my mother who told me my cousins were in
    a private high school in Hawaii.  (Puna ???)
    
    My aunt did not like the public schools in the area.  It sounds
    like she had the same fears your daughter has.  
    
   My mother believed that the public schools in the area had a
    "tough" reputation.

    Barbara,
    
    Your note was forwarded to me by a co-worker. I was born and raised
    in Hawaii. I can't belive some of the reply you have received. It's
    obvious these folks have never lived there. Hawaii is not as these
    folks have pictured it. I would love to talk to you on some of your
    concers. You can contact me via ENET or DTN
    
    WMOIS::D_Bradbury
    DTN: 241-3295
    
       
    

    	RE:  .5
    
    	Well, I've lived in Hawaii off and on my whole life (since I
    	was 4 years old.)  I went to grade school there and college
    	(I skipped high school because I went to a boarding school
    	in Massachusetts.)
    
    	When I was last there, the news about racial tension at the
    	High Schools (between ethnic groups that were from the same
    	country but differed in lengths of time in America) were in
    	the local news all the time.  Unless the local TV news reports
    	were lying, the tension was indeed there.
    
    	My son went through much of his grade school in Hawaii.  As
    	a young white male with extremely light blond hair (at the
    	time,) he was often singled out ("challenged") in physical
    	confrontations with other boys in his class.  The fact that
    	he was tall for his age probably contributed to the tendencies
    	to want to challenge him, but the fact that his blond hair
    	stood out in a class that had a small minority of white children
    	didn't help him either.
    
    	I'm not being critical of Hawaii.  It's more home to me than
    	anywhere (although my love for Colorado is catching up gradually.)
    	My son thinks of Hawaii as his home for life (and goes back
    	to see my parents much more frequently than I do.)
    
    	I don't think it's being disloyal to Hawaii to admit that there
    	is some racial tension in the schools (at least in SOME schools.)
    
    	If you have other impressions, I'd like to hear them.  Please
    	don't make blanket statements about other Hawaii residents being
    	all wet about this unless you are prepared to back them up.