Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL HomeTV campaign pitches a career in teaching

TV campaign pitches a career in teaching

By Sean Ibara

WAIMALU (KHNL) - You may have seen them running on T.V. They're public service announcements aimed to help recruit teachers to Hawaii classrooms.

It is widely known that teachers play an important role in a child's development. But lesser known is how humbling it can be to be an educator.

Just ask Kris Sato. Several months ago, she and a few other teachers were hand-picked, as ambassadors to share their love of teaching with others.

"It was just the most incredible experience I had", said Sato.

Thanks in part to a grant from the U.S Department of Education, UH Manoa's College of Education had the opportunity to produce and design the three public service announcements.

Professor Curtis Ho was one of many on a team who helped design the spots.

Ho said "the concept behind the PSA's was well we only have 30 seconds to tell a story, so tell it in a clear way, simple way that people can relate to. A lot of color, you can't go wrong with having young kids on the screen.

But for Sato, being a so-called "actress" wasn't the easiest.

"I thought it would be, you know, I wanted to rehearse something to say for it but really it was talking story about why I became a teacher", said Sato.

And for this 5-year veteran at Waimalu Elementary, that story was already being written at a very early age.

"I love what I do. I always wanted to teach you know and I think any teacher can tell you that teaching is a calling", remarked Sato.

So with Saturday's graduation ceremonies set to produce a new generation of teachers, Sato tells Hawaii's future educators: "believe in yourself and let that come across when you teach. You know it already, it's all up here, it's all up here, so just let it come across when you teach."