Top Teachers
Saturday, December 5, 1998
Name: Edison Chong
Age: 50
Position: U.S. history teacher, Kaimuki High
Education: University of Hawaii
Pastimes: Volunteer work, community service
Edison Chong is passionate about the past. Getting excited
about historyWhen class starts, he's revved up and ready go -- spouting facts, figures and interesting tidbits to get his students warmed-up to the day's lesson. Chong said getting his kids excited is the key to their learning.
"I get excited sometimes," he said. "I try to bring that excitement to them."
This semester, Chong expressed his excitement through a critical-skills pilot program in his history class. Kaimuki officials, he said, hope to implement such a component in curricula schoolwide, and sophomores got the first taste. He and teachers from other departments had collaborated on lessons this summer, attended an international conference on critical thinking in California, and went to workshops in Hawaii to gain more ideas. "It turned out (to be) something that was pretty fantastic," he said.
Chong's students, who were studying the Reconstruction Period from 1865 to the 1900s, chose a topic, researched materials on the Internet and in the library, and wrote thesis statements that evolved into full-length papers.
Chong said he was pleased with the work students turned in, with some "quite outstanding." He added: "It went beyond expectations. The results were really really good."
Students can expect Chong to remain at Kaimuki, because it's projects like this that keep him excited about teaching. "It's just amazing," he said.
By Kimberly K. Fu, Star-Bulletin
