IR: How do you feel about seeing old students?

Lena: You feel a sense of pride, and you feel responsible in a way for what they have become. You feel a part of them. What's funny is former students will come up to me and say, "Hi Mrs. Kanemori! Do you remember me?" and sometimes I don't! It must be my age. (laugh) I really feel that teachers leave a really big impression on all the students' lives. It's very rewarding to be a teacher and to be
remembered.

IR: What grade did you begin teaching first? What subjects?

Lena: I taught second and third grades for 10 years, 5th and 6th for another 10 years, taught AGT, student council and a JPO advisor for another seven years

IR: Tell me what your average day is like.

Lena: I wake up at 5:10 - 5:15. I get dressed... do my thing. I check my E-mail, sometimes I get carried away. Then I drive to school.
IR: When did you begin teaching?

Lena: I graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1968, went for a semester more to get my 5th year teaching certificate and started teaching at Enchanted Lake Elementary School in January of 1969.

IR: Were things always good at Enchanted Lake?

Lena: For the large
majority of the time it
was great! The school
always had a dedicated and close knit faculty. People who visited our school would always say, "I've never been to school where teachers are heard laughing and smiling so much." I believe the principal determines the climate of the school, and we presently have an outstanding principal who is able to collaborate with
teachers and simply
love children.

IR: What do you like
best about your job
there?

Lena: I think it would be the rewards that you get from seeing the students' successes and accomplishments.
I have seven classes a day, 3 AGT classes and 4 computer classes. It's really a hectic schedule. 40 minute classes, one after another. I get home about 5:00 or 5:30.

IR: Does school work end at school or do you bring some stuff home?

Lena: Well, whatever is done in the computer lab needs to be taken care there. I can't take it home. (laugh) But all my AGT work needs to be tended at home. I can't do that in school. I spend a lot of time planning my classes. I usually go to bed around11:00 or 11:30. Sometimes it gets really tiring!		 IR: What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment?

Lena: Through all of my years of teaching, the thing I found most rewarding is the
Endangered Species of Hawaii website that I have published on the web that features my students' research. I found that I have trans-formed from simply being a classroom teacher into a global teacher. I believe my teaching now extends to educators and students all over the world!