Tag Archives: Hawaiian Teachers

Joel Truesdell of Hawaii inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame

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High school science teacher Joel Truesdell has been inducted into the 2024 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: NTHF

There are many exceptional educators who have spent their careers working in American schools. One of these is Joel Truesdell, a science teacher from the state of Hawaii. For his work in the classroom, Joel has been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF).

Now retired, Joel’s career as an educator spanned 34 years. He taught chemistry courses at Kamehameha High School, a private school for Native Hawaiians located in Keanu, Hawaii, from 1987 to 2021. There he worked tirelessly to integrate aspects of Native Hawaiian culture into his lessons and labs. He spent the final year of his career at Tuba City Middle School, a Bureau of Indian Education school in the Navajo Nation of Arizona.

In 1991, Joel founded the Hawaiian culture-based Kamehameha Summer Science Institute in Organic Chemistry of Hawaiian Medicinal Plants, (KSSI). In this program, high school students isolated the bioactive components from medicinal plants identified by legendary Hawaiian traditional healer Papa Henry Auwae, who was recognized in 1997 as a Living Treasure of Hawai‘i. In 2012, Joel added a koa reforestation project along with other cultural practices to his 10th grade Chemistry classes.

Joel’s inauguration into the NTHF is not the only recognition Joel has earned. He garnered the National Science Teachers Association’s Shell Science Teaching Award in 2017. He was the winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in the state of Hawaii in 2002.

Joel earned both his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and his Master’s degrees in Organic Chemistry, both from the University of Maui. He earned his PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, in 1987.

The NTHF was founded in 1989 by Emporia State University. The program recognizes dedicated and successful educators throughout the United States through an annual induction ceremony. Located on Emporia State University campus in Kansas, the Hall of Fame honors teachers through a gallery of previous honorees, a Wall of Fame, a museum, and resource center that records the history of education through antique textbooks and other artifacts. 

To read more about Joel, click on this link to an article about him published by Kamehameha Schools. To read more about the NTHF, click on this link to their website.

Teacher Art Kimora has been designated a Living Treasure of Hawaii

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Science educator Art Kimura has been named a Living Treasure of Hawaii for his work in the classroom. Photo Credit: PAEMST

I always enjoy sharing the story of an outstanding educator who has worked with young people in our public schools. One of them is high school science teacher Arthur Kimora. He has been designated a Living Treasures of Hawaii for his work in the classroom.

Arthur, who prefers to be called Art, worked as  an educator for 48 years. He spent twelve years as a biology teacher, nine years as an aerospace teacher, five years as a school administrator, and 22 years as an education specialist with the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium, University of Hawaii.

Furthermore, Art is a US veteran. He served on active duty for five years in the US Air Force and then 23 years in the Hawaii Air Guard, retiring as a Lt. Colonel.

As for honors and recognition, Art garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in 1983; the Phi Beta Kappa; the Biology Teacher of the Year Award; the Civil Air Patrol Crown Circle Award; the Air Force Association Christa McAuliffe Award; and the Living Treasures of Hawaii designation.

Art says that engaging students includes the use of demonstrations, hands on inquiry-based laboratory activities, project-based learning, using a real-world context with a culminating demonstration or challenge, and using community resources and experiences, including global connections and collaboration.

“Consistently, I seek opportunities offered by the community,” says Arthur. For him, examples of this include being the first class to sail on an oceanographic research vessel, serving on the zoo’s education board, and camping and touring at night in the zoo. He has also organized trips to the science center, planned space conferences and our own planetary themed summer camps, and organized experimentation in the field and lab activities.

Art earned his Bachelor’s degree in Zoology and his Master’s degree in Science Education, both from the University of Hawaii.

Arthur Kimura: a true Chalkboard Champion.

Jackie Freitas named Hawaii’s 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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Jackie Freitas named 2024 State Teacher of the Year Photo Credit: CCSSO

There are many excellent educators deserving of recognition who work in public schools in the state of Hawaii. One of these is his school agriculture teacher Jackie Freitas. She has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Jackie teaches at Leilehua High School in Wahiawa, Hawaii. In a career that spans 13 years, she has worked nearly all of them at Leilehua. There she instructs courses in natural resources and serves as the advisor for her school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) Club.

Jackie teaches her students to grow produce through coding and STEM research. She has introduced her students to lessons on hydroponics, bee apiaries, and more. She has also pioneered a new initiative at the high school which allows students to sell and donate produce to local families. She created a curriculum for animal husbandry in order to give students hands-on experience, and designed lessons in organic farming to train them to become certified organic inspectors for the state. She has also formed partnerships with the State Department of Education for certification in food handling and with the State Department of Land and Natural Resources for hunter education certification.

In addition to working with young people, Jackie also serves as a facilitator for providing professional development and hands-on training to teachers across the state. 

Her advice to colleagues? “Take the time to build a community within your classroom, get to know your students and what they can offer within your classroom, as well as allow students the opportunity to learn beyond your four walls of the classroom,” she says. “There are many ways to incorporate instruction other than just lecturing and worksheets, but rather come up with ways to incorporate labs, hands-on instruction, or different types of technology,” she continues.

Jackie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at the University of Hawaii at West Oahu in 2011. She also earned certification to teach Career and Technical Education in natural resources from Leeward Community College. She is currently pursuing her National Board Certification in natural resources.

Annual song competition honors beloved Hawaii educator George Alanson Andrus

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There are times when a particularly special educator inspires students long after he or she no longer walks this earth. One of these educators is George Alanson Andrus, a beloved music teacher who taught in the Hawaiian islands during the early part of the 20th century. Even though he lived a century ago, George became the inspiration for a singing competition that still takes place annually at Hawaii’s Kamehameha School. The Kamehameha School is a privately-funded high school originally founded to provide quality education for Native Hawaiian students. Many consider the institution to be one of the most prestigious schools in the Hawaiian islands.

When George suddenly collapsed and died on May 26, 1921, the principal and faculty of the school wanted to honor the popular teacher. To do so, they hastily organized an impromptu choral competition between the classes that very same day. They held that first competition in the dark on the steps of the campus’s Bishop Museum, illuminated only by the headlights of automobiles aimed at the contestants. The following year, the Kamehameha School for Girls staged their first annual song contest.

In the early days of the contest, each class sang the school’s alma mater, Sons of Hawaii, followed by a Hawaiian composition, and culminating with an original song in Hawaiian composed by members of the class. In 1968, the competition was televised for the first time, live, with a simulcast on radio. Today, the event is still highly anticipated, and, like the very first competition, many of the song selections are still delivered a cappella.

To learn more about the Kamehameha Schools, visit their website at www.ksbe.edu. To view a performance at the 2024 competition, view this four-minute YouTube video below.

Hawaii’s SPEDucator Project: “You are exactly who our students need!”

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Every dedicated, hardworking educator knows how difficult the job of teaching is, and sometimes we may feel like, no matter how hard we try to make a positive difference in the lives of our students, we are not good enough. This happens not only to many Special Education teachers, but to many regular education teachers, too. Well, here is a video created by the Hawaii’s SPEDucator Project especially for Special Education teachers that offers a message for every educator:  “You are exactly who our students need!” View the video below.

The is SPEDucator Project comprised of Special Education teachers working with the Hawaii State Department of Education. These teachers were selected by educational leaders for their passion, ingenuity, and excellence in the field of special education. Participants advocate for resources and training to better serve Special Education students, parents, and communities. Click on this link to learn more about the SPEDucator Project.