By Staff Writer Heather Gan
Japanese Teacher Yumi Konishi decided to become a teacher due to her interest in becoming a liaison between Japan and the rest of the world and received her master’s degree in Japanese from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She started teaching at MSJ as a substitute teacher for Japanese classes in spring of 2013 before teaching Japanese 3 from 2013 to 2015. Konishi currently teaches AP Japanese. During her time as a teacher, Konishi observed that the foreign language curriculum became more communication-oriented and fun. Although she has many good memories of her time at MSJ, her favorite memory is the field trip for AP Japanese students to San Francisco Zen Center in order to experience “The Way of Tea”, a practice and art that developed in the 15th and 16th centuries in close conjunction with Zen. Konishi feels that the most rewarding part about teaching is when students enjoy learning and when graduates come back to visit. Although she will be leaving her teaching position at MSJ due to family circumstances, Konishi wishes her students to keep smiling, stay happy, and be their best selves.
Special Education Teacher Ronalyn Lumain decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps in becoming a teacher and earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Special Education. She taught as a kindergarten teacher in the Philippines before coming to teach special education at MSJ. With ten years of teaching experience, Lumain has seen many changes in education, such as constant revision of curriculum and increased implementation of technology in classrooms. During her time as a teacher at MSJ, she enjoyed experiencing various activities with her students and seeing how supportive parents are to her students. Lumain believes that the most rewarding part about being a teacher was observing her students progress inside and outside of the classroom and improve their independent skills to be functional in the community. Although she decided to leave MSJ due to family priorities, Lumain will continue teaching in another school district.When asked to give a word of advice to her students, Lumain said, “The ladder of success is a matter of mind setting and perseverance. Everyone possesses something to make it to the top.”
Math Teacher Mehebub Karmali declined to be interviewed. He taught a variety of math classes throughout his years at MSJ and will be dearly missed.
Photos Courtesy Costanoan Yearbook
