Teachers
Page 11
Colonel Rankin: 20 yrs.
Colonel Richard Rankin had taught at West Point before coming to `Iolani. Still, he said, he had to adjust to the intensity of this school. “I remember working all day long and I’d get home and ask my family to be quiet because I’d continue to study, not so much the content but how to get it across. I remember it being very challenging.” During his 20 years at `Iolani, Col. Rankin has been honored as National Economics Teacher of the Year and has taken many `Iolani economics teams to New York, where they competed in and won national championships. “It’s been a thrill. The kids have worked really hard,” Col. Rankin said. People have often asked me how do we do this. You know, there are a lot of good teachers and a lot of good students across the country. How do we win the National Championships? Hard work. And I like to watch our students work hard and have those kinds of successes because hard work pays off.” In his retirement, Col. Rankin plans to fish, golf and play tennis. He is also going to work with the Wounded Warriors program. “I feel a special place in my heart for those guys and gals who sacrifice,” he said. “I enjoy working for them and with them.”
Chris Strawn: 33 yrs.
His booming voice can be heard echoing through much of Nangaku, but he’s more likely to be reenacting a battle scene than yelling at his students. Mr. Chris Strawn makes a dead language come alive. For the last 33 years, he has served at `Iolani, teaching Latin and SAT prep classes. He has also taught in the English Department and served as Department Head of Language. In his first year his roster was filled with future `Iolani all-stars. “I remember it vividly. Mrs. Kimura was in my Latin class, the Monacos were 7th graders and it was a wonderful year,” he said. “I caught every disease that the students had and I didn’t miss a day of school because I wanted to be here so much.” Before accepting a full-time teaching position at `Iolani in 1981, Mr. Strawn taught summer school here and at Punahou. He also taught at the University of Hawaii and the University of Colorado. He also had a career in the music business and has great rock and roll stories to tell. He has great stories to tell about `Iolani, too, but says his first day is still the best day, “... because I felt like my feet weren’t touching the ground.” Mr. Strawn will continue as director of `Iolani’s SAT prep program, his booming voice continuing to echo through the minds of nervous juniors facing the scary Scantrons.
Ann Yoneshige: 41 yrs.
The Castle Building and Nangaku hadn’t been built yet. The lower gym wasn’t air-conditioned. `Iolani was an all-boys school, and many of those boys were rambunctious. Ms. Ann Yoneshige had just graduated from college when she started as a math teacher here in 1973. She taught five classes a day, and each class had at least 25 students. “So it was pretty rough but I think faculty here was always supportive and they all told me ‘the first year’s going to be rough but the second year should be better’. And that’s why I stayed,” she said. When the school went co-ed, another female counselor was needed, so Yoneshige went back to school for a year to prepare for that job. She served as a counselor for seven years, and then went back to teaching math before becoming Director of Special Programs and eventually Dean of Upper School, the position she has held for the last two years. “I have so many wonderful memories” Ms. Yoneshige said of her 40 years at `Iolani. Even after all that time, the first day of each school year is still magical to her. “When I see all the students come on campus that is definitely the most exciting day of the year for me. Everyone is back on campus and it’s a new start. There’s a lot of energy. “ Ms. Yoneshige says she has family and personal things to attend to in her retirement, but also hopes to volunteer in her community. Her parting words of encouragement to her `Iolani family: “I would say take care of each other. I think all the years I’ve been here what’s kept us together as a community is that people care about each other.”
JoAnn Stepien: 16 yrs.
Imua `Iolani
Gail Tuthill: 20 yrs.
Chemistry teacher Gail Tuthill retired at the beginning of this year after 34 years of teaching. Her fifteen years of experience at an all-girls school didn’t prepare her for the academic rigor of what would become nineteen years of ‘Iolani life, and she had a rough transition during her first years. “The fast pace of the ‘Iolani chemistry courses, their breadth and their depth are formidable. I spent my first few years getting my understanding of chemistry and my teaching skills up to speed.” She says she is grateful for the opportunities ‘Iolani provided her for pro-fessional development , something that allowed her “to see that elements of fun and magic com-pounded to make teaching a difficult subject more enjoyable for me and, I hope, for my students too.”
Paola Williams: 14 yrs.
Mrs. Paola Williams came to `Iolani in 1998. She teaches History of the Ancient World and World Geography 7 and says she enjoys watching students grow. “Especially at graduation, I just felt really happy and good. I don’t think I cried, but it was just overall a really good feeling. And when they came back, you know, after they graduate, that was good.” In her retirement, she plans to visit her grandchild on the Mainland, but has no plans to move away from Hawaii. “I’ve lived here for 41 years, and this is home,” she said. She also plans to catch up on reading. “I guess I want to read a book from cover to cover without feeling guilty because I have papers to grade, too.”
Larry Teske: 34 yrs.
Mr. Larry Teske laughed as he recalled his favorite part of teaching: “Watching kids get mad at the stupid worksheet.” For those who have never had Mr. Teske as their teacher, “the stupid worksheets” usually pose a question in the beginning, and students must discover the answer by doing math and filling in blanks. For example: Joke: Why are radioactive cats special? Answer: They have 18 half-lives. Joke: Why did the sports announcer say “Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!”? Answer: He was reading the Olympic symbol. Mr. Teske also enjoys the reaction of his algebra honors students when they are made to sing the quadratic formula to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel.” This happens at least once a day during their chapter unit on quadratic equations. Now that Mr. Teske is retiring after 34 years of teaching, he plans to go fishing and bike riding. He said that the least likable part of teaching is grading and writing comments on the students’ report cards. The best part? Everything else.
Theresa Falk: 23 yrs.
Though she’s not retiring, Mrs. Theresa Falk’s departure is like the end of an era. She was a member of the class of ‘86, lives in an apartment next to campus and has taught English here for 23 years. Her students know that she expects excellence, but that she is one of the kindest souls they’ll ever meet. However, she feels she has received even more than she has given. “My favorite memory is the cards that I got from the kids when I lost my son,” she said. “I was giving them some kind of lesson, and they gave me this huge box, and I opened the box, and this was in May. It was Mother’s Day cards... From all of them. Every single student that I had. So for me, that’s very indicative of how my teaching career has been. I may give, but my students, they give back, and they don’t even know it. You know, those box of Mother’s Day cards got me through the year, and they don’t even know it.” Mrs. Falk, her husband and their two children are moving to Seattle this summer. “I’m going to be teaching 6th and 8th grade at Lake Washington Girls Middle School. It’s an all girls school. And their goal is to empower young women through public speaking,” she said. “It’s my dream next school.”
Although she works as the Lower School Assistant Dean, Mrs. JoAnn Stepien’s influence on the students all the way to Upper School is easily seen. She helped to start the robotics program, expanded the summer school program, and most importantly, inspired many kids to persevere. In Lower School she brought in aquaponics, started an ocean studies class, and also started the Green Club and the Peace Institute. Mrs. Stepien began her ‘Iolani career 11 years ago and will be retiring at the end of this school year. However, she will still come to school as a substitute teacher, and volunteer at the ‘Iolani Fair. While on a field trip with students at the San Jose Science and Technology museum, they took a wrong turn and ended up at a robotics Mars Rover mission competition instead. This led to the first Lego League at `Iolani School. During her retirement, Mrs. Stepien looks forward to following her love of photography (to take pictures of all the sunrises and sunsets) standup paddleboarding, and sewing, as well as helping NOAA with monk seal rescues and caring for her 5th grandchild arriving in September. Complementing the lessons learned from her experiences, Mrs. Stepien believes in following your heart and dreams. “Live, smile, and enjoy each day - it’s a gift.”