<Begin Segment 28>

ME: I'm looking at your resume and I see... the honors and awards go on and on and on, and I was going to ask you, have you always felt so loved and accepted? And the answer... would, I would assume, be no, from what you just told me.

AK: Well, it was at the beginning, it was hard. They were, they're... it's a community that's very highly-educated, and very education-oriented. And I think they were very concerned that here comes this stranger with a different ethnicity coming to teach their kids. And one parent said, "Our children have had privileges all along, are you going to be able to meet their standards? Can you teach kids that are so highly motivated and qualified?"

ME: Aki, are there any of the -- we can't touch on all of them, because there are so many. But are there any high points that you want to tell us about, as far as being an educator?

AK: Well, one of the most exciting things was being on President Carter's advisory board for the education of disadvantaged children. I was able to visit and see the really, really poor schools down South. And what the Chapter One was doing for them. And unfortunately that Chapter One program was wiped out when Reagan took office. But it was really interesting and a very eye-opening experience. This, when people complain about poor schools, when you go to some of those areas where the funding is so low, and the facilities and the resources are so low, you realize how lucky you are being up in the Northwest here. But the most exciting part is to work with children. I really enjoy that.

<End Segment 28> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.