"Once [students] realize their abilities, their passion along with their fresh ideas can move mountains!"

Hometown

North Shore, Oahu

Department

School of Teacher Education - M.Ed. in Teaching

Related Degrees

• MEdT, Teaching - Elementary, Secondary & Hawaiian Language Immersion

What drew you to your current program?

What drew me to secondary education is my passion for motivating teenagers in their special and fragile stage of abundant energy, as well as my love for language and literature.

Where do you work?

I work as an English Language Learner teacher at Roosevelt High School and am currently in my first year of working for the Department of Education.

What is your philosophy of teaching?

I believe that all students have amazing potential and can truly make profound differences. Once they realize their abilities, their passion along with their fresh ideas can move mountains!

How do you relate to your students as a teacher?

As a teacher, I never think of myself as superior in any way to my students, and I am very silly in class (but serious when I need to be). It creates a level of comfort so they lose any inhibitions about their speaking and are more willing to do the activities and work. I’m just starting and am still learning, but being my usual goofy self has been effective in getting them to open up as well as try new things in the classroom.

Describe your road to becoming an educator.

I didn’t think I would become a teacher until I was almost finished with my bachelor’s degree. I started working with teenagers, as well as international students of all ages, who were learning English. I taught and tutored in various schools and agencies, but my favorite age group is definitely teens. I originally wanted to be a journalist/lawyer, but the fulfillment I got from those experiences made me feel I should go into education.

How has the COE helped you along the way?

The College of Education helped me by providing me with a variety of experiences and challenges that strengthened me not only as a teacher candidate, but also as a person.

About Ms. L’s class (Shuang Shuang Lin, Grade 9)

“I think that education is very important. It can let me learn many different kinds of knowledge. It can also decide my future. If we don’t have education we can’t create new and good things, and won’t become teachers, doctors or drivers. I learned many things from Ms. L. and from this class I can speak more English, be friendly to other people. I feel good in class and I want to be a good person.”

The MEdT Cohort 37 partners closely with Waipahu High School and is made up of teacher scholars and teacher interns working and learning at various DOE, private, and charter schools. The focus is on building strong communities with and within schools and utilizing giving back as a means of scholarship. Please contact Dr. Jon Yoshioka at jonyoshi@hawaii.edu or Dr. Vail Matsumoto at vail@hawaii.edu for more information.