We all, to a certain degree, have the potential to teach someone, something. Yet more importantly, as teachers (formal or informal), we also have an even greater potential to learn something from these teaching experiences. Successful education professionals, coaches, mentors
We all, to a certain degree, have the potential to teach someone, something.
Yet more importantly, as teachers (formal or informal), we also have an even greater potential to learn something from these teaching experiences.
Successful education professionals, coaches, mentors and kumu, share a common thread by which they are engaged in a reciprocal learning process with their students.
The rewards are immeasurable, and often go unrecognized until one is able to take a step back and evaluate the teaching experience holistically.
In my brief yet extremely fulfilling position as program director for Leadership Kaua‘i, I was fortunate enough to experience firsthand this 360 degree leadership learning environment.
Since then, my admiration has grown tenfold for those who dedicate their lives to teaching others.
In this generation of information gluttony, 21st century educators have to reinvent themselves, and essentially turn teaching into an art form in order to be effective.
It is because I enjoy food that I think of educational systems as an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Some institutions will offer students a five-star, full-blown Sunday brunch, with a variety of selections that appeal to every culinary taste imaginable and a comfortable dining area for students to indulge in their savory selections.
Other less fortunate (and let’s face it, financially challenged) institutions offer a minimal, compartmentalized, grab-and-go selection.
No matter what the scenario is at a given institution, our modern day teachers (aka: Educational Gladiators) are faced with the hard question of, “Are we simply feeding information down the throats of our students, or are we offering them a balanced meal of good, useful information, in a creative and appealing manner, by which they can digest and truly learn something?”
Until I was involved in the Ka Ulu Pono Career Awareness Program, a grant which supported career pathway enrichment experiences for Kaua‘i students, I thought education was solely the kuleana of individuals who chose teaching as their profession — big mistake!
Education is everyone’s responsibility, and if we desire the future workforce of our island community to be filled with individuals who have been richly educated by our home-grown institutions, then we ought to commit, and get involved in the process.
There are ways to share responsibility in making “education your business.”
Directly contacting a school in your community to see what kind of assistance they need, whether financial or service oriented, would be the first step.
Leadership Kaua‘i, in partnership with Kupua‘e and Kapa‘a High School, is pioneering the way for Kapa‘a High School students to learn, develop and apply their leadership skills through an in-school program already in its second year.
Efforts like these, along with a handful of other agencies on the Garden Isle can certainly use your talent and support.
To learn more about Leadership Kaua‘i, visit www.leadershipkauai.org online.
Take the opportunity to teach someone something and I guarantee you will be pleased with the rewards … education is everyone’s business.
• Brenda Jose is on the board of directors of Leadership Kaua‘i. She can be reached at brenda@leadershipkauai.org
