Recently, 17 teacher furlough days were ratified by teachers. Though this solution is better than laying off teachers, which would have increased class sizes and reduced class options, this won't be pretty.

This means 17 less days for students to learn what will help them "exceed expectations" in HSA, SAT and AP tests. Yet the difficulty of each test will not decrease, and the expectations for Hawai'i's kids will not be reduced. It would be ridiculous if they were.

As students, we need to make the most of our furlough days. We cannot afford to be a half-month behind our Mainland counterparts. We need to rally ourselves and make the most of these days off. Our superintendent, Patricia Hamamoto, said that she hoped we would improve ourselves in that time. I share that hope.

Give these Fridays to extra curriculars, to community service, to hobbies and outside-of-school learning. We can turn this into a good thing. These extra hours can go to personal improvement. They have to. The world isn't going to slow down for us — we have to speed up to meet it.

Katelyn Orr | Grade 10, Kahuku High School