STAFF


"I've arrived at this outermost edge of my life by my own actions. Where I am is thoroughly unacceptable.
Therefore, I must stop doing what I've been doing."  -Alice Koller, An Unknown Woman, 1982


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            


 

  • Teacher
  • Mission Statement
  • Help
  • Tech Support
Ron Fujihara, M.A. Educational Technology

I have been teaching with Long Beach School for Adults for over 18 years and have always been with our ESL program ever since I began as a teacher's aide. Our ESL program is one of the best in the state and I'm proud and happy to be associated with this program. I have a masters degree in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University and I'm very interested in how we can use technology as a tool to help improve student learning in ESL. I have presented my Online class at CATESOL and volunteered my services at many of the conferences. I have also done some presentations here at LBSA. I have been trained by CASAS and other organizations, including LBSA and other teachers. I have received two Promising Practices from CASAS, one of which is for the Online Class I created. I was involved with OTAN as a tech advisor and still maintain contact with them. I consider myself to be an excellent teacher and I really enjoy what I'm doing. Being creative and flexible are just some of my passions. I feel really fortunate to have such excellent students come through our school who come to improve their life.

I was born in Pasadena, California and went to John Muir High School in Pasadena. I have traveled and lived in Thailand, Europe (Germany, France, Italy, England, Switzerland) and different parts of the United States with the military. I would like to learn and see more of our beautiful states. I enjoy traveling and learning new facts about other countries from our students. I recently visited Madrid, Spain and the costal cities of Portugal. My most recent trip was taking the train to the Grand Canyon. I have worked with troubled teens in a group home setting as a supervisor and as a houseparent, both here in California and in Florida. At one time, I was a restaurant manager for Burger King.

My hobbies and activities include swimming, scuba diving, snow skiing, reading, technology, education, coin collecting, Harmony Kingdom, attending cultural events and musicals, watching good movies, photography, video, music, and meeting new people. I am getting better at building web pages so I started a small business (WebUp) that will enable others to have personal, family, or a small business web site.

I recently joined the committe for the Cherry Blossom Festival, which my sister produces in Los Angeles, CA. I am also supporting her with her other ventures such as Sake Institute of America, Sake Only Store, WOW! Productions, White Satin Wedding Show, and other profit and non-profit organizations she is involved with. I also created and maintain my high school (John Muir) alumni web page. Every year I attend E Hula Mau, which is held in Long Beach, CA. My wife and I worked as volunteers at the beginning, but now we just attend. It's a hula competition like the one Hawaii has every year, Merrie Monarch.

 

 
"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind.
To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse.
To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better.
To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."
~King Whitney Jr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


My Professional Mission Statement:

Teach with the purpose of encouragement, conviction, sharing, patience, integrity, interest, and life long learning.

Remember what's important in the classroom is excitement, learning, sharing, helping, and students.

Revere admirable characteristics in others, such as giving, organized, creative, dependable, moral, enthusiastic and attempt to implement similar characteristics in my own life and teaching.

Recognize my strengths and develop talents as a teacher who is imaginative, insightful, generous, a communicator, a facilitator of learning, optimistic, and a visionary.

Humble myself by acknowledging that I can be reactive, compulsive, and fearful and by constantly striving to transform weaknesses into strengths.

Envision myself becoming a teacher who other teachers think is enthusiastic, proactive, caring, dependable, responsible, fun, daring, and knowledgeable.

 


Help

Help is all around us, all we need to do is ask. One of the biggest problems, and sometimes the hardest thing to learn, is to ask for help. I encourage students to always ask for help when they are having problems understanding what they are learning. Learning cannot continue unless the questions are asked and answered. It is not a weakness to ask a question, but rather a strength. It becomes a weakness when we don't ask the questions to our problems. This part of learning is an essential part of learning, if not one of the most important. To continue on the path of learning, the learner will encounter new informaiton that is not always understandable. Learning to ask questions will help the learner move along and to reach their goals.

 

Do you need help with your computer? Do you have a virus problem?

If you have a big problem with your home computer, please contact Jose Hernandez. He was a former student and does this kind of work. He can help you fix your problem. Please see the information below.