“… the youth, especially those who I have taught, who pursue studies in ʻāina-based education, are the people who motivate me.”

Department

Learning Design and Technology

Related Degrees

• MEd, Learning Design & Technology

COEAA Spotlight on Pauline Sato (Credit: Kevin Agtarap)

Growing Up

I was born at Kapiʻolani Hospital in the early 1960s. My mother was an immigrant from Japan and she came to Hawaiʻi to join my father who was kibei, born in Hawaiʻi but raised in Japan. Both of my parents lived through economic and family hardships in the face of World War II but they believed in a better future for my sister and I through hard, honest work. My father was a veteran of the 100th Infantry Battalion and his service to the United States, along with his fellow soldiers, shaped my life in ways that I was oblivious to until my adulthood. I grew up in McCully-Mōʻiliʻili in the home where my mother still lives. The giant mango tree in our front yard is the root of many cherished memories, from picking mangoes with my dad high up in the tree to playing with a neighborhood friend making mud “brownies” under the shade of the tree. I even wrote about the mango tree in a high school essay written partly in pidgin English titled, simply, “Da Mango Tree,” which was published in a local publication thanks to my English teacher, Dr. Harstad at University Laboratory School.

The “Lab” school as we called it played a key role, I believe, in helping me see the value of being an educator and going to a school that promotes diversity and creativity. I had friends from all parts of the island and different socio-economic backgrounds, which helped me see things through different eyes while wearing other peopleʻs slippers. I learned to value the natural world though, admittedly, I knew little about it, particularly that of Hawaiiʻs unique environment and species. I valued things far away more than I did what was right in front of me because I didnʻt think there was a problem here. Through television, I learned about the plight of animals in Africa and the threats to the “undersea world of Jacques Cousteau.” But I didnʻt learn about Hawaiiʻs gifts to biodiversity until, ironically, I went away to college thousands of miles and ecosystems away in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Road to College

At the University of Michigan, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources with an emphasis in environmental advocacy and education in 1984. After a short break to do internships and volunteer work, I attended the University of Hawaiʻi to earn a Masters degree in Educational Technology in 1991. I had considered getting a degree in urban planning but ultimately felt that education was the “sweet spot” for me. I first felt this inclination after taking classes from a beloved teacher at the University of Michigan named Dr. Bill Stapp. Many considered him the “father of environmental education” in the United States. I was very fortunate to study under him as well as under Dr. Bunyan Bryant, who lit the path for a field of work that is now called Environmental Justice. He taught me skills in group process, problem-solving, and community organizing, which I still use today. At the University of Hawaiʻi, I learned to design educational programs and integrate technology, which at that time was nothing like it is today. But it provided a solid foundation from which I have built my career.

Career Path

I think I touched upon this in previous answers but Iʻll add a few things. My first job in Hawaiʻi in the field of environmental education was as a volunteer coordinator for Moanalua Gardens Foundation. Lorin Gill led the organization at that time and he was a great mentor to me. I learned about Hawaiian natural and cultural history from him, things that were missing in my education. I owe a lot to what he taught me through action and I feel that I stand on his shoulders. Something that I learned from Lorin and those who I worked with on the ʻŌhiʻa Project (an environmental education curriculum) is that I learned the value of having pride in Hawaiʻi first and foremost, and of teaching people how to think vs what to think. Of course, I had strong feelings about how things should be but I knew that people need to think for themselves with good information. Now more than ever, I see the calamity of not teaching people how to think and how to differentiate between credible information and propaganda. That is a true dilemma that I feel is the task of all of us as educators to resolve.

‘Āina-Based Education

This is a difficult question to answer because there are many variables and pathways that will affect howʻĀina-Based Education in Hawaiʻi will grow. Ideally, I would like it to be a fully recognized and valued field of study that is integrated into all subject areas and grounded in ʻike Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian knowledge) in every school. To reach that goal, we need to work both from the ground up (meaning teachers and students on the ground) and from the top down (school administrators and government leaders). Itʻs a kākou thing, as they say. We all need to work on it together by starting with valuing it as a field of study and honoring those who have come before us as leaders in the field, and those who excel in it today in whatever subject they teach at any grade level. The ʻĀina-Based Education Certificate is one part of it, and strengthening the Community of Practice around it, and making it inclusive rather than exclusive, is also critical.

Project with Impact

There have been many projects that have impacted me significantly. But perhaps the one that stands out the most is the first internship  program that I designed while working at The Nature Conservancy. It was called Hoaʻāina, Stewards of the Land. I led it for six years with excellent co-instructors and together, we trained more than 70 interns, all from Hawaiʻi, to find their own path in caring for Hawaiʻi by exposing them in a very hands-on way, to conservation all over the islands. Many of these former interns are working right here in Hawaiʻi doing great things for our ʻāina and kaiāulu (community). And even those who are far away still have Hawaiʻi in their hearts and give back as much as they can. They are all “reaching and teaching” in their own ways and I feel that Hawaiʻi is a better place because of them thanks to all who helped nurture them throughout their journey.

Inspiration

I have been interviewed by youth recently who, inevitably, ask the same question, “What keeps you motivated to keep doing what youʻre doing for so long?” Aside from feeling ancient by hearing that question phrased in that way, I come to the same answer–that the youth, especially those who I have taught, who pursue studies in ʻāina-based education, are the people who motivate me. Some of these youth are children of my former students and to see that they were raised to think not only for themselves but for the future of Hawaiiʻs environment and people, is very inspiring because I forsee this pathway continuing for generations to come… if we do whatʻs right today.

3 Fun Facts

1. I played the violin for many years, including at UH Symphony Orchestra.
2. I am much better at growing native plants than food plants.
3. I am the mama of Lama (the dog).