"The interactive experience I get at my field school really helps me to think about how I would want my future classroom to be."

Hometown

Kapa‘a, Kauai

Department

School of Teacher Education - Elementary

Related Degrees

• BEd, Elementary Education & Multilingual Learning

What program are you enrolled in?
Dual Licensure in Elementary Education & Multilingual Learning (EEML)

Where are you currently working?
I currently teach hip-hop at a dance studio in Pearl City.

Did you always know you wanted to become a teacher?
I always knew that I wanted to work with children in my career. I had previously worked with children in summer programs, afterschool programs, and local dance studios. I wanted to pursue a degree in something that I loved doing, and being a teacher was exactly what I saw myself doing in the future. My goal in life is to become an elementary school teacher and to also create an afterschool dance program!

Why did you choose to pursue this dual licensure program?
Many of my relatives from the Philippines moved here a couple of years ago, and it was a little hard for them to transition to a new life in America. I was usually the one helping my cousins by translating their homework into Ilokano. These experiences with my family motivated me to continue to do something similar in the future. When I first heard about the program, I thought it was a perfect way for me to help others that need this type of support.

What are some instructional approaches or strategies you hope to incorporate in supporting the learning needs of multilingual learners?
One instructional strategy that really stands out and that I believe all teachers should do is to simply give multilingual learners (MLL) more time to think. Students who are MLL sometimes struggle with their answer because they probably have not had enough time to think about how they want to say what they want to say. They may have the answer in their heads, but putting it together in a sentence and knowing how to explain it might take a while, and the best thing that we can do as teachers is to just give them that extra time to think and process.

What has been the best part of the cohort experience so far?
I think the best part about being in the cohort so far is being at my field placement. I enjoy my time working with my students. The interactive experience I get at my field school really helps me to think about how I would want my future classroom to be. It’s amazing to think that when I am helping these students learn, I am learning from them as well.

What are your post-program plans?
I am waiting for the applications for the JET program! Being able to teach in Japan would be such a great experience to have as my first year out of the cohort program. I think the JET program would be a perfect way of using the knowledge that I have gained from being licensed for multilingual learning. My plan B would be to teach fifth or sixth grade in a school on the Leeward coast of O‘ahu. Upper grade levels are what I aspire to teach; however, I would be happy to work at any school in any grade level as long as I am teaching!