"make Me Be Good": Reform Strategies for the Islands
Hezel, Francis X. (2010-05-13). "make Me Be Good": Reform Strategies for the Islands. Micronesian Counselor (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Micronesian Seminar. pp. 1–12.
- Has attachment: File:7HCBNF28.pdf
Abstract: The summons to reform is very much in the air these days. Certainly since the amended Compact went into effect in 2004, we’ve heard the call almost incessantly. The subject is raised in foreign embassies, by donors, by big-name financial institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and most of all by Interior Department’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA). Everything seems to need reform of some kind. The public utilities of the Freely Associated States were the target of reform in a recent workshop held in Honolulu. But focus quickly tends to narrow on one or two of the most urgent needs. Just within the past two months I’ve been asked several times for thoughts on what can be done to reform Chuuk’s public education system. Since the improvement of the public schools in Chuuk seems to be at the top of many people’s priority list, this might make a good case study to illustrate a few of my own thoughts on how reform might best be implemented in the islands.
To our friends from Chuuk who might feel that this is just another cheap shot at a state clearly having its problems, I ask you to bear in mind that not every public discussion of a problem is meant to discredit the state and its people. If we hope to fix the problem, we must first admit to it. Remedies will require broad discussion, not just to ensure they are the best available, but to win the popular support they will need if they are to work. Besides, many of the problems discussed in this article are not unique to Chuuk; they are shared more widely by other entities than the latter might care to admit. This article, in fact, is as much about reform movements in general as it is about Chuuk’s public school reform. What are the strategies that might work? How can they be effectively implemented?...
...Structural change seems to offer the best hope for reform today. It does not require a foreign takeover of the Chuuk education system, but it certainly demands something along the lines of the insulation strategy that has been outlined in this article. If the reform is properly designed, it will have local managers working alongside expatriates in genuine partnership. The partnership might be uncomfortable at times for both sides–for this sort of relationship can involve arm- twisting and demand a willingness to accept blame for what the other does–but it probably has a better chance of working than anything else.
