Top Teachers
Saturday, July 12, 1997
Name: Susan Takayama
Age: 48
Position: Elementary teacher, Kapunahala School
Education: UH-Manoa
Pastimes: Reading, animals, bowling
Textbooks are out -- and magnets, chicken legs and perfume are in for Susan Takayama's science classes. Teaching how to learn
"One never knows what to expect when visiting her class," said former Kapunahala Vice Principal Valerie Okihara. "I will never forget entering her class and seeing her boiling chicken legs for students ... to see how tendons work."
Takayama was one of Hawaii's 1996 presidential award winners for excellence in science teaching -- the nation's highest commendation for K-12 teachers. She is praised for giving students hands-on experience in science -- all while having a good time.
Her classes have measured how much of a banana is edible (67 percent), figured if height affects lung size and tested paper airplane designs. They've even made their own perfume to test on classmates. For each project, students develop a hypothesis, conduct experiments, write letters to the experts and analyze results. Every lesson is tied in to other skills, such as literacy, art and working with others.
"I'm not giving them facts to memorize but teaching them how to do things to get knowledge," Takayama said. "The biggest thing is to tie it into the real world and then themselves -- that's how we learn. And it's important they don't lose that sense of wonder."
Wrote students Gilbert Farm and Candace Yockman: "We think she's a 'super dee duper' teacher."
Alice Keesing, Special to the Star-Bulletin
