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It is 1978 and Leilani and her brothers are playing at their grandparents’ ranch. “If you can’t do it this way, then do it this way,” said the 7-year-old “teacher” as she instructed her younger brothers. The three children took turns playing “teacher” while the others played “students.” This was Leilani’s favorite play. But it wasn’t until 7 years later that she taught in an actual classroom. At the age of 14, she co-taught her first class every Saturday at a Catholic school for 2nd graders. At 18 she worked for the YMCA’s summer youth camp; 21, her first internship at a Montessori school which set off her career as an experienced educator. Leilani’s heart and passion grew as the years went by and is currently a certified teacher in the state of Washington for grades 6-12 in English Language Arts. Her continued growth in education lies in her heart and she is passionate about teaching students from grades preK-12.
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Hi, I’m Leilani. I’m a middle and high school teacher in literacy — i.e. English Language Arts in Literature. I’ve been a teacher for most of my life in grades preK-12 and have enjoyed every single minute of it! As an educator, everyday is a new learning experience for me as my growth in education is something I always learn from my students, colleagues, and the community. Being that I am an AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Fil-Am (Filipino American), my experience as an educator of color has inspired me to help empower my students to be a voice inside and outside of the classroom. I use books that are inspirational by authors who represent the underrepresented. I provide tools and skills that will enable student-growth-mindset in a world where there are challenges, and prepare them for what lies outside of classroom walls. All this is done through literacy. My hope is that we wake up to a better world than we did today. And I hope that my students will gain the confidence to advocate for themselves and be allies and supporters for those who need advocacy.
=Teaching is not just an art, it’s a daily learning experience.=
About Me
I am happily married — a newlywed! — to my childhood sweetheart and have three beautiful adult children. The youngest just graduated from HS/Running Start. I couldn’t be more proud of their success in life as they navigate their own adult-worlds. Besides reading books (the obvious), I love to write (can you tell?), cook, use my iphone for professional looking photos (because I love photography), garden, watch K-Drama, binge watch Netflix, and I side hustle as a reseller (because I gotta pay off those student loans — double Master’s — whew!!). On my bucket list, I’d wanna travel to: Disneyland (never been there!), the Philippines, Italy, Vietnam, and Thailand. I also want to visit the Holocaust site. Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, was the epitome of my fight for social justice and equity. After watching Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Elie Wiesel and cried over the victims of the Holocaust, my heart is dead-set on paying my respects to those who died at the hands of one of the most notorious and evil men on earth. I want to lay a bouquet of flowers inside the concentration camps where Mr. Wiesel and his family were: Buchenwald and Auschwitz, Germany.
I have one last thing on my bucket list. I always have this need for speed: I want to drive either a Lamborghini or Ferrari around a racetrack on my 70th or 75th birthday. Youth lives on…
AAPI Teacher 