More ideas for BOE

I expose my ideas to the public for only two reasons: constructive feedback and to make sure our leaders can’t say they didn’t know. It is also paramount that we all stay grounded and keep the focus on our children and the system, not fighting one another.

Recently, a friend—a stakeholder, with children in the school system—asked to use the media equipment that PSS is not taking full advantage of and use the equipment to start a media course for students. There is equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars just sitting at Lower Base. Given the legislation for a technical school, this equipment could be used to serve a dual purpose. Students could take vocational courses in media production (printing, photography, T.V., radio productions and a PSS newspaper that could help inform all the stakeholders about the school system). Students will also be able to produce advertisements (printed and digital), booklets, documents, letterheads and other materials used in the school system. With PSS no longer having a PIO, this position could also be incorporated into the course where students will actually create reports and promote events and activities of PSS. The commissioner already suggested hiring a media staff but students could do the work if we set up the course. I’m sure students will be objective and balanced in their reporting, which will be appreciated much more, coming as it does from students than from a paid spokesperson.

I would also like to remind everyone about adding the Chamolinian Voc. Ed. Curriculum & Courses to the technical high school. I’m sure the record still exists in the archives of the newspapers where I asked PSS not to fire bilingual teachers because they didn’t pursue a teaching degree. Maybe the idea still has a chance. We only need provide limited training and requirements for these instructors because all of the potential cultural instructors are not getting any younger and the longer we wait, the more difficult the challenge will it be to even find instructors to preserve the culture.

My exact words to BOE and in the news were, “The Chamorro people have preserved the Chamorro language and culture for over 3,500 years without a degree so why are we getting rid of the bilingual teachers in the mad rush to reach American standards?” We did it to ourselves. I also mention the comments made by a group of KHS teachers about the language bill, which was to create a cultural school or courses with a curriculum like Hawaii did, if we truly want to save the entire culture. Language alone is insufficient to preserve the entire culture. Students need to know everything possible about their entire culture if the culture is to survive. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel; we only need to follow the excellent example that Hawaii has established but on a smaller scale.

We teachers also suggested that all cultural-related courses be taught by special instructors to avoid the need for teacher certification as a classroom teacher. But I’m sure the attitude of “outsiders can’t tell us what to do” got in the way of considering the idea then. As you can see from the recent suggestion that we rehire the bilingual teachers, the truth and right has a way of shinning through.

More interesting in the chair’s article was that it clearly defined how poor the cultural preservation efforts are. The only solution offered was no solution, just hoping something would happen to change things. This requires that someone ask why was the article written if nothing was going to be done about the problem. The chair only told us that the culture is dying and that’s it. Where is the new BOE policy proposal to change the existing conditions? What are we going to do about the growing problem of complete culture erosion? When will we put all the cultural efforts under one leadership umbrella to create true cultural reform, with a broad collaborative base that will create real synergy in our efforts to preserve the local cultures? We keep passing the buck and mixing culture preservation with politics and education officials keep denying the responsibility. For me, the only way to save the language and the culture is to “educate” and that makes it the Board of Education’s business. End of story.

Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman High School