Glenn Minami, who teaches communications technology and industrial education at Henry J. Kaiser High School in Honolulu, is the current recipient of the State of Hawaii's Department of Education Teacher-of-the-Year-Award. He has been particularly affected by the great number of former students who have taken this occasion to congratulate him and confirm that the honor is well-deserved. "My philosophy of education," he says, "is to treat my students as I would like to be treated if I were a student." Mr. Minami's classroom style is distinguished by his sense of humor and his desire to make difficult material accessible. "Students have always complimented me on making the abstract understandable," he says. Mr. Minami is presently developing a computer interactive video project at his school. This program is unlike other programs because it encourages on the spot decision-making, and students are expected to advance at their own pace and to resolve mistakes on their own. The program models itself on real work scenarios, and promotes independent completion of challenging tasks. Mr. Minami believes that the "rapid advancement of technology demands that the present generation be able to adapt quickly and to develop an awareness of the need for global cooperation."
1970 California State University - Fresno, B.A.
