“Education is our passport to the future”

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Continuing Samoa News’ features of the territory’s teachers to celebrate National Teacher Awareness Week, Mikaela Saelua comes into focus.

Ms. Saelua hails from the village of Leone and has returned to her alumni to give back to the roaring Lions. She returned home about 6 years ago after living most of her life in Los Angeles, California, while also furthering her education.

Saelua graduated from UCLA where she received a Bachelors in Political Science and her Masters in Curriculum Studies is from UH Manoa.

When Saelua returned home, she began her teaching career at Tafuna High School for a year before transferring to teach at her alumni, where she graduated in 2009 as valedictorian. Currently, she is teaching English at Leone High school.

Saelua is one of the teachers who responded to questions from Samoa News via email.

What’s it like to be a teacher in this day and age, at Leone High school?

“Being a teacher is hectic and rewarding”, Saelua said. “We wear so many hats so our daily lives include not only instruction and lessons, but also meetings to plan school events, fundraisers for student projects, accreditation reports, islandwide competitions, and the list goes on.

“It’s rewarding in that we see our students grow, and know we are making an impact in their lives.”

How satisfactory has it been educating this new generation of students?

“I love being a teacher because of the impact I get to make in the lives of my students,” Saelua stated. “I especially love teaching here at Leone High school because I am a product of it, and so I’m happy to give back, in anyway I can.”

What are the challenges she faces in her profession, what has she come to expect, and what are the best parts of it?

“The hardest challenge in being a teacher is the time spent juggling the various responsibilities we have, and of course, our own money being spent on things for the school and classroom,” Saelua pointed out.

“But, there are great things about being a teacher, one of them is the fact that the work environment is very different from working in an office all day.

“As a teacher, we get to create our lessons which gives us the ability to make lessons that are not only building skills but are also fun for students, and it’s rewarding to see the kids learn and grow, while also having a good time.”

What would be her recommendations for improvements and steps that DOE can take to better the conditions in this profession?

“DOE can work on giving teachers more professional development opportunities locally and abroad, and ensure that those teachers give back that information to the teachers who were not able to attend.

“Summer is a great time to send teachers to conferences so they can learn and grow in the profession.”

Once again, Samoa News wishes all of the territory’s teachers a happy National Teachers Awareness Week.