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Saturday, April 18, 1998Name: Grace Ing
Age: 62
Position: Ahuimanu Elementary School gifted and talented teacher
Education: UH-Manoa
Pastimes: Reading, cooking
Details have bothered Grace Ing for 38 years. Stoking the fires of learning
"I like to look at the whole picture," said the Ahuimanu Elementary School teacher. "Details throw me -- sometimes we get bogged down with details and we miss what's important."
What's important to Ing is her students, whom she leaves when she retires in June. "I'm going to miss the kids," she said. "I'm going to miss my friends and working with the students."
But what Ing said she'll miss most is seeing the fires of motivation burning in each child's eyes.
For almost 40 years she tried to keep those fires lit by making learning more relevant to students, introducing current events with a local angle that engaged their interest. Such interest makes students more willing to learn, which is the key to their success, Ing said, adding that teachers must use innovation to make learning more memorable.
"It's so important for teachers to look to the future, to be aware of what's happening. ... Just the basics in the four walls of the classroom aren't going to keep the students interested," she said.
School Principal Anne Marie Duca said Ing's hard work engaged students' hearts as well as their minds, and her presence will be sorely missed at the school. "It's going to be hard to find someone with the same level of commitment and dedication that she has," Duca said.
"She has done so much for so many."
Kimberly K. Fu, Star-Bulletin
