Winona Z. Oato
Hawaii Teacher of the Year
Kailua High School, Kailua, HI
Grades 9 through 12, AP Calculus, Honors Geometry, Algebra I

My teaching philosophy
As a beginning teacher, I thought that my role was to teach the subject as long as it satisfied my job description. This was a short-lived belief, as I became more involved with students as individuals with unique personalities. The student's achievement was, and still is, affected by the home, community and school environments. To be the effective teacher and help students achieve, I must teach to the whole child, factoring in their socioeconomic background, their friends in school and their academic strengths. I must continue to renew and assess my pedagogical knowledge and practices to make math relevant to each student.

My philosophy in action
Class does not start with "Get out your homework and correct your answers". Instead, it commences with the mention of an athletic or scholastic event, a news event that relates to the material being studied, or a congratulatory note about a student or team. Each class is a sounding board for the current school bulletin notice and the commentary of the consequences of attendance now and for future jobs. To motivate students to improve in their academic achievement, I talk about post high school education; their place in class, school, and the family; acceptable social behavior; good study habits, listening and note taking skills as the foundation for academic learning; and integrity and belief in themselves. Class concludes with praise for behavior and studies well done and a friendly good-bye.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
Enabling Advanced Placement Calculus students throughout the years to earn college credits through the AP Mathematics Exam.

The most critical issues facing educators today
A major issue that is seldom addressed from a classroom teacher's perspective, but can be seen as an underlying cause and simultaneous solution to the teacher shortage is teacher training.

Ways to resolve this issue
To improve schooling for all, teacher education must improve because the human-teach contact impacts the child land the community's future. Teacher training is the key, and the professional development school is a movement to support. The professional development school (PDS) has four basic goals: improvement of student learning, preparation of pre-service teachers, professional development of educators, and research of and inquiry into improving pedagogy.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
Teaching allows me to inspire and motivate others to strive toward their goals; it allows me to instill a love of learning that will continue after students leave my class; it allows me to show perseverance in spite of the obstacles teens encounter; and it allows me to help students see the consequences of their decisions and actions. A machine cannot do this. It takes a human, a teacher of individuals, one who truly believes that he or she makes a difference in the development of the child of adult he or she touches.

One lesson every student should learn
We teach the understanding of a conceptual framework so that students can think and problem solve. We teach student to make decisions based on sound reasoning and fact, and to be cognizant of the consequences. We teach students to be a contributing citizen of a larger community.

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