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I went to a private high school on the island known as ‘Iolani.

When you typed “iolani” into the urban dictionary, the resulting definition was, “Asian nation with a sprinkle of white sugar.”

Since then, this definition has been removed, with good reason, because the native Hawaiians at our school were not part of the Asian nation or the white sugar.

Still, they were there and they came to our school.

The Hawaiians banded together on campus, and they never had free periods during the day. Their free time was dedicated to working in the offices of the administration as a result of being on scholarship or receiving significant amounts of financial aid.

I knew there were schools, like the private Kamehameha, only for Hawaiians. They were much, much cheaper than any other private school in the state. Yet, ‘Iolani was paying for Native Hawaiians to come to their school.

We literally brought these people down by thinking we had more to teach, when we really had more to learn.

I actually wondered for a long time if this was out of guilt or out of the need to diversify the student body. Nobody missed the fact that almost every student who was at least part Hawaiian was guaranteed a scholarship if not a full ride.

Looking back at history, Hawaii had one of the highest literacy rates during the reign of Kauikeaouli. Ninety-six percent of Hawaiians could read, a number unheard of in any other state in the U.S. We brought these people down by thinking we had more to teach, when we really had more to learn.

Mari Matsuda, one of the contributors to the Value of Hawai’i Volume 1, wrote an essay on the public education system that she witnessed first-hand at Manoa Elementary School. She addressed how far that system had fallen after she had left. She talked about a “white flight,” when parents who were wealthier — predominately haoles — started sending their kids to private school instead of public ones.

I never realized that I too was a part of this “white flight.”

My district middle school was Stevenson and after going to the school orientation, my parents decided they did not want me in a classroom with children they associated with trouble and danger. It’s fair to say that my parents feared the public school system. I grew up with this fear and took special pride in my private school education.

I was too quick to forget that until high school, I had gone to public schools all across the nation, and the education that they gave me during my critical learning periods is what got me into private school in the first place.

I feel like Iolani and other private schools thought they could give back to the community by supporting the education of a couple Hawaiian kids here and there even as the rest suffered in our public school system along with everyone else.

And though, at first, I thought it was ridiculous that a student could only be admitted at a Kamehameha campus if they were ethnically eligible, which is really a form of discrimination, I understand now the need to preserve their identity and educate their children because that preservation effort isn’t going to happen when ‘Iolani or another institute decides to admit a few Hawaiian students as an act of charity.

Mari Matsuda wrote that the public school system of her youth was equal to, and perhaps even surpassed the education offered by private schools.

The question is how we allowed the educational foundations of our children to fall so far below standards that have already become obsolete.

As this year’s election rolls around, it is important to keep in mind the candidates who not only value the public education system, but who are also willing to take action to fix problems from their source.

As a voter, it is our civic duty to actively elect candidates who will seek out change for our schools. If not we the people, then who?