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Retired teachers and students gather at tables to talk story

A group of 15 retired educators from Hawaiʻi Island recently visited the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo to share with UH Hilo’s teacher candidates their teaching experiences and the wisdom gained from years of service to the profession. The group of retirees is from the Hawaiʻi Island Retired Teachers Association, a group with a long history of support for the UH Hilo School of Education.

“There was a total of 519 years of experience in the room that day!” says Michele Ebersole, chair and associate professor of education.

Seven teacher candidates in the UH Hilo master of arts in teaching program shared with the retired teachers their reasons for wanting to become teachers, and the retired teachers in turn shared “pearls of wisdom” with them in a small group “talk story” session.

Colorful sashes sewn by the retirees and used by the candidates at commencement hung in the venue where the group met. For years, the sashes were funded through a poinsettia plant sale the association holds in late November. They donate the proceeds to the teacher candidates in UH Hilo’s School of Education. Candidate cohorts selected a design from Sig Zane and the retired teachers used the money from the plant sale to purchase the material. They donated their time to sew the sashes.

“They did that for about 14 years and now sew lanyards, lei, and baggies with school supplies which are presented to candidates when they complete the first year of the program,” explains Ebersole.

From UH Hilo Stories

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