About Porter
Who? |
My name is Ethan Onipaa Porter, in case you did not read the large letters above. I am a dad, a husband, a waterman, a volunteer, a movie lover, and a general nerd.
|
What? |
For the past six years, I have been a high school teacher. I have taught many different subjects, but I currently teach 9th Grade in the Mid-Pacific Exploratory Program.
|
Why? |
During my elementary and middle school years, I was praised for my intelligence and grades. I occasionally had trouble with homework grades, but my test scores would make up for the missing work.
|
Things began to change as I moved through high school. I stopped understanding the purpose behind the things I was learning. I could complete the work, ace the tests, but never really understood why these things were important. Simultaneously, I was beginning to move out into the real world. I was realizing that I had very few practical skills. I could do advanced algebraic equations, but I could not change my car's oil. It was during this time I began studying Hawaiian History in depth; recoiling in horror at the blatant violence that had been perpetuated in my community by people who I identified with.
Everything came to a head in senior year. I was beginning my battle with depression; continually upset that my social experience in high school was not like my peers. I was already very unhappy and isolating myself. Then a bomb hit: I was rejected from my first choice university during the early admission process.
This was devastating. I had done everything that I had been told to do, and came up with nothing. It was a betrayal of everything I had been taught. It was all a lie: the worksheets, the tests, the grades, even the content. All the things we were doing were checkmarks to a better life, but no one was there to cash in our credits at the end. I would feel very similar after graduating college during the Great Recession.
But one thing had persisted through that time. A single life lesson from my favorite teacher, Joan Lewis, would mold my life: if you don't have a solution to the problem, then you don't get to complain.
I decided to become what I had needed. Someone to shine a light on the farce of our educational system and help others get through it. A teacher who teaches real life, not what is on a test. Most importantly, I became a high school teacher so nobody has the miserable time I had.
Everything came to a head in senior year. I was beginning my battle with depression; continually upset that my social experience in high school was not like my peers. I was already very unhappy and isolating myself. Then a bomb hit: I was rejected from my first choice university during the early admission process.
This was devastating. I had done everything that I had been told to do, and came up with nothing. It was a betrayal of everything I had been taught. It was all a lie: the worksheets, the tests, the grades, even the content. All the things we were doing were checkmarks to a better life, but no one was there to cash in our credits at the end. I would feel very similar after graduating college during the Great Recession.
But one thing had persisted through that time. A single life lesson from my favorite teacher, Joan Lewis, would mold my life: if you don't have a solution to the problem, then you don't get to complain.
I decided to become what I had needed. Someone to shine a light on the farce of our educational system and help others get through it. A teacher who teaches real life, not what is on a test. Most importantly, I became a high school teacher so nobody has the miserable time I had.
What do you mean "Weird"?
There are a lot of things I do differently than other teachers:
- I think school is awful; we should make it better.
- I want you to talk in class so we can learn from each other.
- I do not have class rules; we will write them together.
- I do not give tests; you will show your learning how you want to.
- I do not give worksheets because memorization is not learning.
- I do not believe in grades, although I have to give them.
- I want you to mess up, then do it better.
- I want you to play, because that is a great way to learn.
- I want you to question me and what I present to you.
- I don't want you to go straight to college, unless you really really want to.
- I don't have all the answers, but I have read a lot of books.
- I want you to teach me, because I want to make you better than me.
- I don't want you to grow up, but continue to see things with childlike wonder.
Teaching Philosophy
"Pass on what you have learned. Strength. Mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters." - Yoda, Star Wars XIII, The Last Jedi
The best way for students to learn any content is from a person they feel a personal relationship to. I do my best to form personal relationships with each of my students. I accomplish this by showing them my authentic, flawed self every day. Students and teacher often discuss the factors in our lives that are impacting our performance in the classroom. By modeling this healthy communication and relying on honesty, students feel they can also be honest.
Building a classroom of trust, familiarity, and connection is my highest priority. It is in this environment that students will try to stretch themselves, even at the risk of failing, since they know there is someone there to help them recover and rebuild.
We must stop thinking about producing learners for the next level, but rather focus on producing good humans. I do not focus heavily on reading and writing academic papers, but on design thinking, problem solving, and organizing.
Building a classroom of trust, familiarity, and connection is my highest priority. It is in this environment that students will try to stretch themselves, even at the risk of failing, since they know there is someone there to help them recover and rebuild.
We must stop thinking about producing learners for the next level, but rather focus on producing good humans. I do not focus heavily on reading and writing academic papers, but on design thinking, problem solving, and organizing.
Finally, the most important thing we can model for our students is taking pride in our home of Hawaii. Whether we are Kanaka Maoli or not, we must recognize the importance of our place in the world; its unique geography, history, and culture. I use Olelo Hawaii in our classroom, as well as Pidgin and English. Our content will look out at the world from a rooted Hawaiian identity. Events and conflicts will be analyzed from a Hawaiian value system. If we wish to produce well-rounded, fully functioning adults, we must actively work to increase their sense of self, and grow them in a community that values them.