teacher corps in hawaii · 2017. 8. 5. · kalihi elementary, blanche pop" elrm1·nlary, \vaimanalo...

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Ed is a chubby, fair-skinned fifth grader whose teacher is particularly concerned almut him bt•cuus•· he s•~•:ms with· drawn and wholly unacceptable to his p1•1•rs. This n·jeclion is apparently what leads him lo do many attention-gelling things: he hides pencils, lJOoks, crayons; he "accidentally" humps into peoplt• or steps on tlwir l0t•s; he cri1•s if some-01w rctuliutes, and pouts if he docs not get his way. Com· par1·d to th

FifLPt'n of Lhe gradualcs arc now leaching the "disadvan· lagcd": Lhirlcen in Hawaii (most of Lhcm in the schools where they served as "interns") and two on the l\foinland United Stales (one in New Mexico; Lhc other in ~lichigan).

The writer is confid1·11t that all tw1•11ty·two "interns" would agrt'c Lhat they went through a change in tlwir point-of-view during Lhcir two years in Lhe program. Most of Lhcm movt'd from complete, or ru·ar-complelc, rcj1•clion of establislu:d melhods of teaching, lo a viewpoint of learn· ing from successful teachers and universily instruclors. Most of them deepened their inlcrcst in serving the "disad-va11tag1·d" and have confidence that they can lie succ1·ssful in teaching such pupils.

The Second Pro~ram Has Begun On June 30, 1969, the twenty-four "interns" in tlw new

program met at Kaiulani School in Honolulu, and from there w1·nt on to the Waiana1• Elementary School, wlwre tlw present officP of Hawaii Teacher Corps is local1•1l. Tlwsc twcnly-four "interns," tlwir four "team leaders," the As-sociate Director, and Director of Hawaii Teaclwr Corps, and six Uniw·rsity of Hawaii instructors work1•d togetlwr during lht• nin1'-we1•k pn•-service period in .July and August. Tlwse activili1•s laid tlw "foundation" for tlwir work in the schools and communili1•s during the subsequent school year.

Six "inl1•rns" arc assigned, with their "lf•am leader," lo each of tlw four clem1•11lary schools on the Waianae Coast of Oahu: l\laili, Makaha, Nanaikapono, and Waianac. The "intern" spends at least thrc1• hours each day working in the classroom with pupils; and anollwr three hours in school-related acliviti1·s, such as, meetings at the school, planning lessons, and discussions with parents and leaclwrs. Besides his school and school·rclated dulit•s, the "intern" participates in community activiti1·s, and carries nine semes· ler credits of universily work.

Hawaii Teacher Corps Goals In Hawaii Teacher Corps, the first objeclive is lo gel the

pupil to attend school regularly. The second objective is lo help him develop those characteristics which will make life satisfying lo him, and make him acceptable lo others with whom he feels a need lo rclale. The third objective is to help him in his academic achievemPnl; language and ollJPr basic skills, and those learnings Lhat provide him with the ability lo compete in society. 3

A pupil who is not present in the learning situation when it is provided for him cannot learn from that situation. For that reason, attendance is the first objective: make school

the kind of place he wants lo attend. With tlw majority of Plementary school pupils, this can Le accomplished on tlu· school campus; for most secondary pupils, howev1·r, it may Le rweessary lo provide an off-campus lt>arning environ· menl, such as was done by Teacher Corps "interns" for a group of Farrington High School pupils who rt'fused to alll'nd classes al Farrington, but when an off-campus school plan was worked out al a 111·arLy elementary school, they maintained good attendance and served as tutors for ele-m1•11lary pupils.

The s

30 Intern and pupils wait for start of the next activity

made sure that each request was cloaked wilh warmth. " 5

Studt•nts were soon volunteering, and this sel lhe tone for lite teachl'r giving directions and the children responding positively. Tht• system of rewarding was physical, as well as verbal: palling a child on the back while praising him for completing an assignmcnl. As lime went on, simply saying "good work" was sufficienl lo keep lhc child trying. If a child would nol coopcrale in class, he was punished by non·parlicipation in classroom activilies. This acl of "ig· noring the child" proved to be cffrctivc punishment; it was handled in the classroom, lhc pupil watj not "senl lo the principal's office" as he would have been in the past.

An exciting part of lhc day was lite 45-minulc period during which llw pupils suggested topics for study, and the t1•achers worked with them on carrying it out. "The World al tlw Bollom of the Sea," became a topic for study after one of the childrPn had watched a television program that dealt with men who went down lo study the ocean floor "in a round-shaped thing. '16 After reading and discussion, tlu• study was culminated with an excursion lo Sea Life Park.

Altlmugh emphasis was givrn lo the academic skills in this class, "the nature of our children demanded that WI' at least attempt lo influence their basic altitudes toward school. We needed to show them that school could bl' inter-esting and successful. In order to do this we showed them how lo work in groups; taught them responsibility, how lo care for school equipment, how lo care for each other; and, how jobs needed to lie completed and handed in on time. "7

Intern works with a small group

Interns Role- play a problem

Tiu· clemenlary school teacher and the "intern", in this instance, Wl're able lo work with their "disadvantaged" pu-pils liy using typical subject areas as their curriculum. The "inlf'rn" who worked with the Farrington High School lenlh·graders, however, could make no progress teaching them academic subjects. Any all1•mpl lo leach English, mathematics, or science "turned them off," though they were more than willing lo serve as tutors, of the same suli-jrn1• "inkrns" who i.tartcd out with Litt· point-of-view that ll'adll'rs in Lill' schools and inslrUf'lori. al tlu: Univ1•rsity have faih•d to lt·arn how lo l

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difficult to gain total agrccm••nl a!> to what his "id1·al" lcaclwr would be like. Tlw writer proposes that the follow· ing would be some of the n1•ed1·d characl1·rislics:

I. A gcnuim• low for this kind of pupil and the patience lo work with him. This implies concern about him and his education; respect for him and trust in him, though he may often function in ways generally unac· ceptahll' lo most people.

2. A concern and an understanding of whal his lolal environment has done and is doing lo make him what he is- tlw vision lo bring alioul changes, for the bel· tcr, in that environment.

3. The "lasting power" to continue in this kind of leach-ing long cnough-~cveral years, if not as a life-lime career- to have some impact on the pupil.

4. The ability to work in a group situation (usually in a school classroom) with such pupil~ in a way that en· courages them lo ll'arn . Although much of the timl' may be spent away from the school selling, most lcaclwrs will find that llw school sl'lling will he wlwrc tlwy will do most of their work.

The Future of the Hawaii Teacher Corps The twcnly· four "interns" and four "team leaders" now

serving on the Waianac Coast have a distinct advantage over the Hawaii T1•acher Corpsmen who have just completed their two-year program in thal they will learn from the success1.'s and failures of tlw past; where the Proposal for tlll' 1967 -69 program was vague and indc•finitc , the new Proposal will be more sp1•cific and will project many of the details fur the full two years.

Project REAL which was held al the University of Southern California last summer was a ten-day workshop in which four "ll'am leaders," lwo principals, a community leader, and ~he dircdor of Hawaii Teacher Corps partici-pated. Whereas the 1967-69 program was slarl1•d in Hawaii with each person struggling lo d1•v1•lop a definition of what Teacher Corps was aU about, Project REAL gave llw eight Hawaii dt'legales a unifi1·d approach lo the 1969-71 pro· gram for the Waianac Coabl.

At the prcs1·nl time 1•ach team is fitting into its rcspcc· tive school program according lo what it feels is bt•st for that school. For cxampl1·, al Makaha, four "inlnns" volun· leered lo be in charge of lwcnly·six fifth-graders, all drawn from other fifth-grade classcil. This is the first time Hawaii Teacher Corps "interns" have dared lo take on such a heavy leaching rt'sponsibilily during tlw first s1•mcslcr of their internship. At first they were overwhelmed, but with the skillful help of their "team lcadrr" and the assistance of

University instructors, they arc beginning lo anticipalt! each day with their "far out" pupils. Since four "interns" have charge of the class, they each have time lo gain experiences during the day that will help lo develop and broaden their competencies in working with the "disadvantaged."

The other three trams have not moved as rapidly in assuming full responsibility for leaching, but arc in the pro· cess of developing their respective plans. Al \Vaianac, a group similar lo the one al Makaha is being formed . Al Nanaikapono, the "interns" arc rotating between pre-school and grade six in order lo experience each level of the school bPfon· centering their work on any one grade-level. Tlw Maili team has assumed responsibility for fitting into grade-lcvcl groups whcr1• they feel they arc urg1·ntly needed. Thill rol1· will be continued until the need is no long1•r felt; then they will moVI' on lo other aclivilil's.

For the remainder of this school year and next, the teams on the Waianac Coast will continue lo study the needs of C