March 2021
For the past two years at Leilehua, I have been teaching the AP biology class. At the high school level, aside from the SAT and ACT, the AP exams may be the most widely taken and studied for standardized tests. From when I was taking those classes to today, the teachers are still teaching to the test. To be fair, it is not the teachers’ fault that this has become the norm. This is so because that is the goal of the class, to pass the AP exams. But I feel we do a disservice to these college-bound kids because they forget everything once the exam is over with. My personal philosophy on education is that we, as educators, must create a positive student-centered classroom environment that will make learning meaningful and cultivate our students into good, THINKING human beings. Throughout my education, the teachers that I remember and the ones that had a positive impact on me all facilitated this type of classroom environment. In all of their classes I felt comfortable in; not only with the teacher, but also with my classmates. Being able to create this type of positive student-centered environment can facilitate and enhance the ability for deeper learning. Needless to say, in these classes I feel that I learned more and retained more from those classes.
Aladdin Roque-Dangaran
Vice-President