Kelvin YS Chun - District TOY

Kelvin's Home Resumé

HSTA

PURSUING QUALITY

A JOURNAL OF QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION FROM THE

HAWAII STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

VOLUME 3, NUMBER 2, NOVEMBER 1999

Kelvin Chun

Life Long Learner

"To prepare myself for the challenges of the 21st century, I must consider the dynamics of my field, and the need to keep abreast of the latest curriculum and technological changes," says Honolulu District Teacher of the Year Kelvin Chun. He exposes himself to a variety of media and instructional methodology by attending great amounts of workshops and higher education classes. He has completed two Associate in Science degrees, the Telecommunication and Information Resource Management certifical program, the Educational Technology Master's Program, and a host of other curriculum and technology workshops offered by the DOE.

Chun, a technology teacher at Nuuanu Elementary, sums up his teaching philosophy, "I am the 'guide on the side', training many student experts to train others." In his classroom, Chun takes on the role of facilitator to guide students toward their own discoveries.

http://www2.k12.hi.us/COMM/DOEPRESS.NSF/

Contact: Greg Knudsen

Date: September 24, 1999

Public Schools Honor Y2K District Teachers of the Year

The Board and Department of Education today honored its seven Year 2000 District Teachers of the Year. One of the District TOYs will be named State Teacher of the Year at the Board of Education meeting on October 7, and will represent Hawaii in the National Teacher of the Year program.

Hawaii's 2000 District Teachers of the Year are Kelvin Y.S. Chun (Honolulu District), Violet Chang (Central District), Adrian Galvez (Leeward District), Ella "Elly" Tepper (Windward District), Michael Springer (Hawaii District), Art Fillazar (Maui District), and DeWayne Kong (Kauai District).

Each District TOY received a $250 cash award from the Polynesian Cultural Center, the State program corporate sponsor for the 14th consecutive year.

The PCC will award an additional $1,000 to the State Teacher of the Year.

A new sponsor this year, Volkswagen Dealers Association of Hawaii, will award a one-year free lease of a Year 2000 VW Jetta to this year's State TOY.

Below are capsule descriptions of each District TOY:

-- KELVIN Y.S. CHUN - Honolulu District,

Nuuanu Elementary (595-3371), Grades K-6/Technology.

Kelvin Chun Honolulu, HI Technology

Kelvin has served as a math or technology teacher at the school, district, and state levels for more than 15 years. "I believe in the 'trainer of trainer' philosophy: once a student has attained a benchmark, other students can learn from this expert," he says. "I train students to be life-long learners. The knowledge that is attained by everyone is used to support classroom learning objectives."

-- VIOLET CHANG - Central District,

Moanalua Middle (626-7355), Grades 7-8/English, Leadership.

Violet has taught at the school and district level for more than 30 years. "I think the key factor in making learning full of wonder was experiencing the passion conveyed by professors and instructors who breathed life into the readings and made literature, drama, history come alive," she says. "I wished I had been 'turned on' earlier in my academic life, and I wanted to turn on others to the magic of language, thinking, experiencing, creating, and growing."

-- ADRIAN GALVEZ - Leeward District,

August Ahrens Elementary (675-0202), Grade 5.

Adrian decided to become a teacher while tutoring immigrant students with Operation Manong as a college student. After 22 years of teaching, he says of his students: "They all need to be nurtured. The key is not to rush them, but to be patient and understanding. Skills are developed through experiences, stimulation, and hard work."

-- ELLA "ELLY" TEPPER - Windward District,

Keolu Elementary (266-7818), Grades Preschool-6.

Elly, a classroom teacher for 29 years, was teaching on the mainland when she requested a brochure from Hawaii entitled "Come and Teach the Children of Paradise." "So I followed the rainbow and started my journey to becoming a real teacher," she says. "Since 1970 the Children of Paradise have been teaching me. I am a fascinated student of Hawaiian language, dance, chant, music, and thought."

-- MICHAEL SPRINGER - Hawaii District,

Waiakeawaena Elementary (959-5821), Grades K-5/Music.

Michael has shared his excitement as a music educator at the school and district levels for more than 18 years. "I became a music teacher because of excellent music teachers! The positive nurturing care of my music teachers in high school and college inspired me to strive to be like them," he says. "Their deep love for music and their need to share with others that profound experience that is music-making became my joy and lifelong ambition."

-- ART FILLAZAR - Maui District,

Lahainaluna High (662-4000), Secondary Grades/English.

Art has more than 25 years of teaching experience, and has been at Lahainaluna since 1984. "The greatest rewards in teaching are those special moments when I read notes and letters that I receive from students expressing their thanks for caring, for showing them the way, for picking them out of the crowd and encouraging them to do better, for knowing their name, and for asking them to get involved," he says.

-- DeWAYNE KONG - Kauai District,

Kauai High & Intermediate (274-3160), Grades

9-12/Business Education.

DeWayne didn't really intend to follow in his parents' footsteps and become a teacher more than 15 years ago. "Upon graduation, I went to work in the accounting field, I hated it," he says. "Due to continual parent support and my rationalization on not wasting my business degree, I ended up back in college and became a business teacher. Call it luck, faith, or destiny, teaching has become my love."