GILROY
– When Ron Kinoshita started teaching science in Gilroy, there
were no such things as PowerPoint lesson plans and cheap
programmable calculators. There weren’t even any VCRs, just
hand-cranked dittos supplemented in-class lectures.
Now, after spending nearly four decades educating Gilroy youth,
mentoring new teachers and becoming a well-respected fixture of the
Gilroy High School science department, Ron Kinoshita is calling it
quits.
GILROY – When Ron Kinoshita started teaching science in Gilroy, there were no such things as PowerPoint lesson plans and cheap programmable calculators. There weren’t even any VCRs, just hand-cranked dittos supplemented in-class lectures.
Now, after spending nearly four decades educating Gilroy youth, mentoring new teachers and becoming a well-respected fixture of the Gilroy High School science department, Ron Kinoshita is calling it quits.
To give Kinoshita’s 38-year tenure in Gilroy a little more perspective, Gilroy Unified School District didn’t even exist until his first year at the high school, 12 years after starting his career with Jordan Elementary School.
“This is like an impossible dream come true,” Kinoshita said. “I feel like a professional baseball player who just won the MVP. I’m playing a kid’s game and getting paid for a job that I love.”
Kinoshita, 61, may feel like he’s played a kid’s game for almost 40 years, but a clear trend in his career has been to take on more responsibility and expand his skills as he goes along.
Initially hired as a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher in 1965, the son of Hawaii pineapple farmworkers and strawberry field sharecroppers taught six years at Jordan before moving on to El Roble Elementary School. He describes his six years at El Roble as “an incredible time.”
“I finally got my act together as a teacher, and I had a mentor (in Principal Frank Ginelli) who really listened,” Kinoshita said. “My first couple years teaching, the kids ate me alive.”
After six years at El Roble, Kinoshita landed a job at Gilroy High, which was at the time separate from the Gilroy school district.
“That’s what my training was in, secondary science education. So I figured I should make the move,” Kinoshita said.
Kinoshita not only made the move to high school science, he tried his hand teaching several subjects in the discipline, from biology and earth science to anatomy and physiology. The longtime Gilroy resident, who still walks to school almost every dry morning, did not stop with his efforts in the classroom. He took on leadership roles, too, such as science department head – an office he still holds.
“Ron has the ability to work with a very diverse student population and really connect with each of his students so they are engaged and excited about science as a subject,” Superintendent Edwin Diaz said. “Ron is probably one of the most respected educators in Gilroy Unified not only by students, but by parents, administrators and fellow educators.”
Diaz’s comments came at a December school board meeting where Kinoshita was recognized for being named the Educator of the Year by the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation.
Kinoshita didn’t stop taking on new roles in this, his last, year as a teacher. For the first time in his career, Kinoshita took on the duty of Advanced Placement biology teacher.
AP subjects are the most rigorous high school courses. Students who pass a year-end standardized exam can earn college course credit at some universities.
“I’ve been in the classroom 38 years, and I think I might be having my best year ever,” Kinoshita said. “It’s a wonderful crop of students, and there has been a lot of collaboration and support between all the science teachers.”
Second year GHS science teacher Jeff Manker credits Kinoshita with making the collaboration and support a reality.
“Ron has worked really hard to make sure we are a department. We make decisions together, we have lunches together and take time to get to know one another,” Manker said. “It’s a really good situation, and it’s all Ron’s doing.”
Manker recalls his first day on the GHS campus, during an interview for the teaching position he now holds.
“Ron took me around every part of the school and introduced me to so many people. He was a great ambassador for the school,” Manker said.
During Manker’s first year of teaching, Kinoshita was no different in his level of support, Manker said.
“When you come into a new workplace, sometimes the new guy kind of gets ignored. Ron never did that. He included me in everything that happened,” Manker said. “I’m not looking forward to next year without him. He will really be missed.”
GHS Principal Bob Bravo may miss him more than anyone. Kinoshita is retiring on the heels of longtime English teacher Suzanne Fowler’s retirement at the winter break. And two other longtime GHS educators – math teacher Pat Gomez and librarian Carole Smith – have talked about retiring at the end of this year, Kinoshita said.
How do you replace teachers like Kinoshita?
“You can’t,” Bravo said. “You have to find new young teachers who care about their job and let them develop into leaders like Ron.”
The void left by Kinoshita in the 2003-04 school year could close, at least partially, in 2004-05. Kinoshita said he is considering taking advantage of a district policy that allows teachers who have taken a full year off to come back to work at a reduced salary while still receiving retirement benefits.
As for next year, however, Kinoshita is 100 percent positive he’ll be spending part of it traveling in Alaska with his wife Rosie, who owns and operates Rosie’s Busy Bees, a pre-school in Gilroy.
Kinoshita’s dedication to work is mirrored by his dedication to his wife. Like his tenure with GUSD, Kinoshita’s marriage is in its 38th year.
