This is a very complicated subject to understand, but there are several blogs and groups that have been fighting an uphill battle for the education of our children. I would really love to see a teacher/parent with a background in dealing with the consistent roadblocks and shutdowns they deal with from school panels writing here at BigGov. There is a Yahoo group called Where's the Math where several such individuals could be found, as well as other sites I'll list below. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/wheresthemath/
Just the tip of the iceberg tho, really.

http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.co...
http://www.curewashington.org/
http://usworldclassmath.webs.com/

As a Hawaii resident, I must clarify several mistakes in your blog entry.

First of all, Hawaii's Republican governor, Linda Lingle, proposed the furlough mandate on all state workers on June 1, 2009, NOT the HSTA.

"We now have a government we cannot afford," she said in a televised speech. http://bit.ly/23eZpG

Many in Hawaii believe Gov. Lingle's furloughs bear the burden of our deficit on the backs of state workers, but after weeks of deliberation, HSTA agreed to paycuts instead of facing layoffs. Had the teacher's union decided otherwise, Hawaii's classrooms would be even more overpacted than they are all ready, no doubt hurting the education of our students.

Second of all, these furloughs are not limited to just teachers. The Hawaii Government Employee Association is also being hit with paycuts and days off. This includes public school administratioin and all non-education departments. If anything, the furloughs are a right-wing tactic implimented by a Republican governor to shrink the government of Hawaii. Conservatives should be applauding the mandate, especially since there is a growing market of private childcare programs emerging in the state. It is unfortunate, Mr. Olson, but necessary at this point of Hawaii's economic cycle.

Your assesment of the the furlougs in Hawaii is flawed and misleading. As an employee of a public school in Hawaii, I can tell you now that no teacher wants to walk out on their students. But taking a paycut in addition to shortening the schoolyear is preferred. Firing teachers and administrators would do a greater disservice to students, lessening the quality of their education, and reducing their learning to a touch-and-go model.

In my opinion, YOU do not deserve to be in the presence of children if you believe stuffing sixty kids in an un-air conditioned classroom in Honolulu with one teacher is the better option. That is inhumane. The DOE would like to lengthen the school year and fortify the education in Hawaii, but until we can afford it, laying blame on teachers and their unions without any FACTS is complete spin and rhetoric.