Name: Erin Medeiros
School: Kanuikapono Public Charter School
Subject: English / Language Arts
Grade: 9th
Island: Kauai
“Really, I think that the most important mind shifts take place when humans are communicating with one another (sometimes in person, sometimes through a text).”
Erin’s calling to teach goes back to her own love of learning and belief that this love is what makes for “both a tolerable and outrageously vivid life.” She views teaching as a deeply creative profession and wishes more people understood the enormous potential offered by a such a career, beyond the core mission of educating young people. She encourages her students to develop their attention, to observe and question life. She likes to get them to slow down and notice what they’re thinking and learning. In addition, Erin leads trips to National Tropical Botanical Garden sites with AVID (advancement via individual determination) students to restore native forests and habitats. She also runs her school’s Shakespeare Competition and prepares students for the Poetry Out Loud competition. She believes that networks and human connections are vital to a healthy teaching career, which is one of the things that attracted her to the fellowship. She has a B.A. in History from Lewis & Clark College, and an Masters in Education from University of Oregon.