By Lauren Barbour
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After nearly four decades spent teaching, English teacher Darlene Fujimoto will be retiring at the end of the year. Despite her departure from the educational field, Fujimoto’s ties to academia will by no means be severed as she continues to embody the idea of a lifelong learner, a state of mind she has worked hard to impart on her students over the course of her career.
“There’s no specific reason like, ‘Oh, I have grandchildren now so I have to take care of them,’ or anything like that, although I do plan to do that,” said Fujimoto. “Sometimes you just know.”
Fujimoto’s retirement concludes 39 years spent not only as a teacher at MHS, Pearl City High School and Waianae High School but as a GT and AP coordinator, grade level adviser, National Honor Society adviser, teacher mentor, Mililani complex resource teacher and the Mililani site coordinator for Wahiawa Community School for Adults.
Although she’ll be out of the classroom, she intends to remain involved in the community. “I did promise to volunteer and help ASMHS. (Student Activities Coordinator Janet Ward-Riehle) is my former student and I love the ASMHS officers and I’ve always been involved in student government so I told her I can be whatever she wants me to do and help,” said Fujimoto. “And I’m going to volunteer at my granddaughter’s (school, Mililani Mauka).”
Between volunteer work, babysitting and her personal endeavors, Fujimoto will remain as active as she’s ever been. “I still have a brand new grandson that was just born six months ago so I’ll volunteer to do some extra babysitting,” she said. “Many of my closest friends are retired so I can spend time with them. I’m sure I’ll be busy enough. And I love TV so that’ll be my relaxation.”
One thing she looks forward to is the extra time she’ll be afforded to write and contribute to the writing circle she belongs to. “I don’t know if I’m going to start a blog. I could. I’ve had many ideas. That would be kind of fun. I feel compelled to write most of the time except I don’t have time,” Fujimoto said.
And she knows that even while not teaching others, she will continue educating herself. “I can watch all the TED Talks I’ve ever wanted to watch and I’m such a nerd that I hope I don’t lose my student side of me because I’m always taking notes and stuff. So I watch TV and I take notes just to keep learning,” explained Fujimoto.
However, there are still several things Fujimoto anticipates herself missing about being a teacher, such as the satisfaction of seeing her lessons being implemented by a student. “I think for most English teachers, the written word moves us, so to see student writing that’s really articulate and effective and applying all the best strategies, etc. is kind of sometimes breathtaking,” she shared. “One of the things I absolutely am going to miss about teaching (will be) reading that great essay where a student has learned what you taught or if they’re naturally talented writers or thinkers.”
Fujimoto will also miss her daily interactions with her students. “On a day to day basis I know the one thing I’m going to miss the most is the interaction with teenagers. And that’s going to be a real big void in my life because I’ve taught for so long and I’ve always been like a, not in recent years as much, but I was a class adviser, etc. Kids are funny and entertaining and they keep you kind of on your toes and teach you lots of things about the modern world and awareness,” Fujimoto said.
The different perspective teenagers provide her with is also the basis of one of the other lessons Fujimoto tries to teach them. “For us to always look at things from multiple lenses and that’s why one of the reasons I’m going to miss teenagers is they provide lenses from which I have no, I guess, I don’t have their perspective,” she said.
While Fujimoto hopes she is remembered for her humor, she will certainly be missed, by students and colleagues alike. “She is probably the best teacher I’ve ever had in all of my life. No, she’s really good and she’s not just a teacher,” said Junior Winifred Gallogly, “She’s really personable and relatable and a great person beyond her great teaching abilities.” English teacher Stephanie Grande-Misaki said, “(I appreciate) her character and how she’s always willing to share her knowledge and to learn from others as well. She’s always willing to learn and grow and she’s very reflective. She’s been a model for me.”
Fujimoto has also been recognized by the Hawaii State Teachers Association with their Teacher Excellence Award, which she received at a luncheon on May 2.
