CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Retired teacher Pete Gerum posed with his inventory of educational toys he's amassed over 30 years of teaching. Gerum sells the toys out of his house over the Internet. People interested in purchasing the toys can reach him by e-mailing him at peteg96744@yahoo.com.

A retiring educator is selling
a career's worth of supplies

Some folks refer to Pete Gerum as the "crazed eccentric Howard Hughes of teaching." He just describes himself as an "incorrigible pack rat." Gerum has collected enough games, gizmos and gadgets to fill about three classrooms during his 30-year teaching span.

"I think I have tried about every educational gadget out there, and I still have about every one of them," he said. "I love teaching, and part of teaching is finding tools to help children learn."

As Gerum is retiring this year from Ho'ala School in Wahiawa, he is looking for good homes for his precious collectibles, including games, puzzles, workbooks, software, science and physical education equipment, and manipulatives for children in kindergarten to grade 12.

Interested buyers often spend hours looking through it all. "I've had people come between the hours of noon and midnight," he said, noting that one person stayed for four hours.

Gerum admitted it is hard to let go of some items, many of which were purchased off eBay and are hard to find anywhere else. "Some have a lot of emotional attachment, but the real joy comes from watching kids play with them," he said.

"Children are curious creatures. All a good teacher has to do is to engage that curiosity. That engagement is better done with gadgets, games, puzzles and the inquiry process than with more traditional means."

No gadget teaches children in a stand-alone capacity. Children who watch "Sesame Street" with a parent or sibling learn much more than those who watch alone.

The same goes with computers and technology, he said. "If it is used as a diversion, little learning accrues. If it is a part of an interactive process with someone by their side, then those cranial synapses start cracking."

Gerum has his definite favorites: Microworlds, a computer program; Black Box, a puzzle that teaches angles and reflection; Kadon Enterprises for puzzles in general.

"Kids like puzzles because of their inherent challenges and the personal reward that comes from solving them," he said.

GERUM began his teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse on the North Shore. Before he took the job, he was retired from military service and was a stay-at-home dad with a 2-year-old son. But after just a month, he became determined to find something more to do -- for himself and his son.

"Rainbow School was starting up in Kahuku in the early '70s, and I volunteered myself, provided my faithful companion was hired, too," he laughed. "The school grew, and I was teaching grades one to six in an actual storybook, one-room little red schoolhouse. I learned a lot more than the kids ... and it was great going to school every morning with my son in tow."

Gerum has definitely seen much change, especially in terms of technology.

His most prized childhood possession was an RCA Victrola. "Since then I've seen tape cartridges evolve to CDs and DVDs. I've seen Xerox copiers and the first computers. Our kids today don't appreciate the grandiose sweep of technology."

Keiki-O-Haleiwa, where Gerum was director, was one of the first Oahu preschools to have an Apple computer.

"Technology is not the Holy Grail of education, but it is a powerful tool if used in ways to stimulate thinking and productivity. Without a doubt the Internet is the closest thing we have to perfecting education in the way it brings people and information together."

Among the many valued times in his teaching career, Gerum cites his 15 years teaching sixth grade together with Kerry Kamisato at Kamehameha Schools. "When two teachers connect and work cooperatively and learn from each other, you not only challenge students, but one another. Everyone benefits and learning truly comes alive."

He added, "Every teacher has the joy of helping a child succeed. If every teacher can be one more rung on the ladder for a child, than we can take comfort in that. We leave them with something to take with them on their long road ahead."

Gerum also believes in teaching with a sense of humor. "Humor has been proven to enhance creativity because good humor relies on associations and connections we make in life. Why not laugh while you learn?

"I do hope that all this stuff goes to teachers who like to add some fun to their classroom."