“I Touch the Future. I Teach.”

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with students at the University of Hawai`i. I started off with this quote by Christa McAuliffe: "I touch the future. I teach." These words have been my "why?' the reason I stayed in education for 45 years - to positively impact my students for their futures. None of the university students knew who Christa was so I shared that she was selected from over 11,000 applicants from around our nation to be the first "Teacher in Space" back in 1985. All of us who were teachers at that time were excited that one of our own would be on the Challenger space shuttle, sharing lessons from space. But 1 minute 13 seconds after blastoff, the Challenger exploded. Christa and the rest of the crew did not survive, but her words live on and are just as meaningful today as they were when she spoke them nearly 40 years ago. 

These students are taking a College of Education course, but they are unsure about whether they want to  teach. They had read my book, Leading with Aloha: From the Pineapple Fields to the Principal’s Office, and Professor Scott Robinson asked them to write questions they had for me on a Jamboard..

I was pleased to see two questions about teaching. How can future teachers become better prepared? and What advice would you give someone who is going into teaching with little experience leading an elementary classroom? In our conversation with students in the class, it was evident that they were considering going into teaching, but they also had other interests. Could I convince them to give teaching a try? 

I shared this Instagram post from a former Teach for America teacher at our school. (Read the blog here.) Unlike many other TFA teachers, Kat stayed for five years, and in that time, we learned as much from her as she learned from us. She moved on and as she shares, her teaching experience was invaluable in preparing her for her new career as an entrepreneur and business owner. 

There are many Kat's out there who started teaching and then pivoted to other careers. Recently, our College of Education Alumni Association honored Glenn Furuya as our 2024 Distinguished Alumnus. Glenn received his BEd and MEd from the University of Hawai`i and taught special education in Hilo. While teaching, he discovered a passion for developing leaders which led to the founding of Leadership Works. In that role, Glenn has impacted thousands of people, not just in Hawai`i, but in other countries as well. And he, like Kat and so many others, started as a teacher. 

I told these University of Hawai`i students that they would grow and gain invaluable skills if they chose to spend a few years teaching. In today's world, there are so many options for them, but teaching for a few years could give them the confidence and the leadership skills to venture into another professional opportunity if they choose to do so. 

I believe very strongly in developing teachers to be the best they can be for their students. We want teachers to be creative, to use their own strengths and interests to engage their students, to try new ideas in their classrooms, and to work together as a team to learn with and from each other. I believe that students should be active learners, to discover their strengths and their interests, to learn and to work with others as part of a team, and to create their own learning opportunities with guidance from a caring adult. 

Recently, the Hawai`i Department of Education shared this article about two of their youngest-ever teachers. I was excited when I read it because last year, Skye was one of the student teachers I supervised at the University of Hawai`i West O`ahu. (I had no idea back then that she was only 19 years old.) When I texted Skye after reading the article, she shared that it's been challenging but that it's a learning process and she loves her students. And I’m sure her students love her, too.

We need our young people to become teachers. Too often, we discourage them by telling them all the negatives - not enough pay, disengaged students, difficult parents, etc. - but there are so many positives, too many to share. These young people can be the best role models and coaches for our students; let's support and encourage them. Don't our kids deserve that? 

And if you or your child is considering going into teaching, remember Christa McAuliffe's words: I touch the future. I teach.