<Begin Segment 46>

MM: What words of advice would you have for somebody who's considering entering academia?

RK: [Laughs] I think it's rewarding, but you're not gonna make money. I still remember, 'cause I had some loans to pay off when I completed my graduate work and I went to the bank and I was talking to my banker friend and I said to him, "You know, I've gotta be able to support the family and do this and that, what advice would you give me?" And he said to me, "Quit teaching." [Laughs] There may be better money elsewhere, but I think the satisfaction you get -- some people call it psychic income -- is tremendous, I think. Well, I believe education is our most positive pursuit as human beings in the broadest sense. Now I distinguish between school and education. Lot of what we get in school is not education. But, and education can take place in different places and in different ways, but I think education is so important to all of us as human beings and important to the society. So I think it's a good field to get into. It's very positive and I worry about some of my friends who are stevedores or carpenters, they have a limited life because it requires them to be physically fit and after fifty or sixty, it's not that easy. But, I guess as professors, the mouth doesn't get that tired. [Laughs]

MM: As long as the mouth works. [Laughs]

RK: Even if the brain, even if the brain slows down and you know enough of the tricks to... but any rate, positively, education is such a important part of everybody's... it enriches one's life, enriches the community, the society and it's so... I used to say education is, going to school is fun and I always got teased for that, but I still think it's the case. If we do education right, it should be our most enjoyable enterprise. So I think more people should go into teaching and I think, especially on the high school and elementary levels, we should pay our schoolteachers not only greater respect but also we should pay them more. We should compensate them more for what they do and contribute.

MM: Any words of advice that you would give someone who was considering entering academic administration? Which is different than simply teaching.

RK: Well, I think it's really, as I said, it's a people business. It's not a matter of organizational charts and deadlines, although deadlines are important. But you should respond to almost every request as soon as you can, but it's a people business, so I think you have to be aware of people's perspectives and different points of view and opinions. I think you should take your job seriously and I'm afraid that if you take it seriously, you're gonna have long hours. There's no such thing as overtime, maybe days overtime work. Take the job seriously, but don't take yourself seriously. Step back sometimes, especially after a hard day, look back and laugh at yourself. The world is never perfect, we're not perfect, we're gonna make mistakes, but the thing is not to harp on those and try to be positive.

MM: Looking back on your career, what would you like to be remembered for down the road in terms of your contributions to education, to academia, or simply to the community of people? What are the things that you want to be remembered for?

RK: Oh, I think that just that I tried my best; that I enjoyed what I was doing. I enjoyed what I did. And I'm grateful for a very good life.

MM: Well, on behalf of the Japanese American National Museum and the legacy project, thank you very much for your time that you've given us here today. And I look forward to coming to Hawaii and visiting you and then both of us can go to the beach.

RK: [Laughs]

MM: Then you can say that once again you've returned to the beach.

RK: I look forward to that. Well, thank you very much.

MM: Thank you.

RK: I hope that people find something worthwhile in what we've been talking about.

<End Segment 46> - Copyright © 2004 Japanese American National Museum. All Rights Reserved.