WHEREAS, Hawaii is an island state located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and in close proximity to Asia and is already tightly linked to the Asia-Pacific region in many ways – from defense, security, business, and social concerns to academic, artistic, and personal pursuits – and is ideally situated to serve as the crossroads of the Asia-Pacific region; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's trade with the Asia-Pacific region accounts for a substantial percentage of its total exports worldwide and the continued expansion and growth of Hawaii's economy will depend, in large part, on the State's ability to encourage continued Asian investments and to improve its balance of trade by penetrating Asia's huge markets with its exports; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is enmeshed economically, culturally, historically, socially, and geopolitically with the Asia-Pacific region and its relationship with the region is crucial to Hawaii's continued growth and prosperity; and

WHEREAS, however, a lack of knowledge about the Asia-Pacific region will place Hawaii at risk on many fronts, including losing our inherent comparative advantage or even becoming irrelevant as other mainland regions and states develop their own Asia-related expertise, while countries in Asia overlook or bypass Hawaii in their trade relations and other dealings with the United States; and

WHEREAS, in order to maintain Hawaii's competitive edge over other states vis-à-vis the Asia-Pacific region, Hawaii's residents must have the knowledge and skills to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Asia-Pacific region; and

WHEREAS, research indicates that the United States as a whole is failing to graduate enough students with expertise in Asian languages, cultures, and policies to fill the current demands of business, government, and education; and

WHEREAS, according to a recent report by the blue ribbon National Commission on Asia in the Schools, more than nine in ten American adults believe that Asia-related education is vital for American students and seven in ten students agree that learning about Asia will prepare them for life and work in the twenty-first century; and

WHEREAS, the same report by the National Commission on Asia in the Schools further found that both American adults and students identified teachers and schools as their principal source of information about Asia. However, the Commission found that less than five per cent of our teachers have adequate backgrounds to teach about Asia effectively and that textbooks and teaching materials on Asia often contain factual and conceptual inaccuracies, rely on misleading clichés, and lack breadth and balance; and

WHEREAS, the Asia-Pacific region represents a challenge to Hawaii educators and schools for many reasons. For example, the region presents a wide and diverse array of varying cultural and geographic topics to master, most of Hawaii's teachers lack adequate backgrounds to teach about the region, and Hawaii's schools lack access to high quality teaching materials; and

WHEREAS, education in Hawaii should impart Asia-Pacific-related competence to Hawaii students as an integral part of their education at all educational levels; and

WHEREAS, the majority of Hawaii students and their parents value Asia-Pacific-related education and want our schools to teach about the Asia-Pacific region; and

WHEREAS, promoting Asia-Pacific education for Hawaii's current and future generations will ensure that the people of Hawaii will be able to acquire the knowledge and skills to prepare them for success in our increasingly interconnected world in which Asia will certainly be a key player; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the Department of Education in partnership with the East-West Center, the University of Hawaii, and other cultural and educational institutions having expertise with respect to Asia, is requested to establish a Task Force on Asia-Pacific Education in Hawaii to ensure that learning about Asia and the Pacific region and the mutual impact of our relationship with that region becomes a new fundamental area of learning in Hawaii's schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a representative of the East-West Center is requested to act as chairperson of the Task Force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force is requested to conduct, with the support of the Department of Education, an academic evaluation of current efforts in the public schools to help students learn about Asia and the Pacific region and to take an inventory of the State's Asian-Pacific resources to examine how these could be usefully employed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force is requested to establish an agenda for action to develop a strategic plan for Asia-Pacific education that incorporates and integrates Hawaii's content and performance standards, encourages all schools in Hawaii to include studies of Asia and the Pacific as a regular and integral part of their core curriculum, and provides criteria for monitoring progress; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature supports the initiation of a statewide movement to carry forward this work for the benefit of all Hawaii's residents, in particular our future leaders, namely our young people; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force is requested to submit the findings of its evaluation and inventory taking in a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education, the President of the East-West Center, and the President of the University of Hawaii.

Report Title:

Asia-Pacific Education