Elaine Kawamura Obituary

Mrs. Elaine Kawamura was my Cooperating Teacher at Roosevelt High School. I was a young, stupid, spoiled college kid who thought he knew everything about teaching. Well, Mrs. Kawamura popped that bubble and brought me down to earth real fast. I literally got scolded every day. But in the end, she saved my teaching career. There was a point in the first two weeks of student teaching when I was going to quit. I told Mrs. Kawamura that I didn´t want to teach because I was horrible at it. I got the scolding of a lifetime that afternoon. I remember her words that are still etched into my memory 30+ years later:

"You know Greg", Mrs. Kawamura said semi-yelling at me, "I only choose student teachers who I think have the qualities to become good teachers. I chose YOU because I see the potential in you. Don´t you DARE quit. You will go back to fix those lesson plans and come back tomorrow prepared to do a better job!" (there were other words in that quote that I cannot repeat)

I went back to UH with a ton of humility but with motivation to be a better educator. After the attitude correction beat down Mrs. Kawamura gave me, and realizing that preparation was 90% of teaching, things became better for me. That semester, I had so much fun teaching and growing along with the two classes of ELL kids and one gen-ed 10th-grade class. Mrs. Kawamura was there to guide me along, and I believe I took that first step of the teacher she knew I could be.

I spent the majority of my professional career at Waialua High School educating the wonderful young men and women of the North Shore of O´ahu. I coached football and track, served as class adviser and yearbook adviser, and helped grade-level classes with homecoming and graduation. Another one of my colleagues joined me at the Language Arts Department of WHS, and she, too, was a student teacher of Mrs. Kawamura. I would not be at this point in my career if it weren´t for her. Looking back, I tried to live up to Ms. Kawamura´s standards and expectations of what a teacher should be. I´m sure there is a generation of teachers who have learned from her and become successful educators. Thanks to her, I`m in a profession where I can purchase a home and raise a family. It is a 30+ year debt I can never repay - except to do the best job I can for the kids of Waialua and Haleiwa.

I knew a person many years ago named Elaine Kawamura but I am not sure if this is the same person. Would someone be so kind to email me so I can find out if this is an old friend of mine? I would greatly appreciate it. [email protected]