Mary Shook-Starsinic has taught at all kinds of schools, such as elementary, middle and high schools. She’s also taught on the mainland and loved teaching at the schools she’s taught at before.
“I’ve taught at Farrington. I’ve taught at Waipahu High School and Waipahu Middle School, Waikiki Elementary, and several schools in the Bay Area in California,” Shook said.
Shook just started teaching at McKinley High School. She has found a passion for teaching here at McKinley and loves teaching here.
“Teaching McKinley students is going great so far,” Shook said. “I feel lucky. It’s fun. It’s challenging. And I really look forward to it.”
She teaches all kinds of subjects like sociology, global studies, and economics to seniors right now. She’s going to teach psychology and American Problems next semester.
Shook chose to teach at McKinley because she’s taught at other schools and she lives near the school so it encouraged her even more to come and teach at McKinley.
“It’s close to where I live, and I wouldn’t change it. I love it here,” Shook said.
She’s taught for ten years and has multiple goals for teaching at this school. She loves trying new things and tries to make them as interesting as possible for students.
“I want to empower my students so that they feel confident and prepared for life,” Shook said. “I like being creative, making lessons that I feel will be interesting but also teaching critical thinking.”
Shook likes interacting with people and getting to know them. Being a teacher has helped her learn more about her students and coworkers and has also given her goals. She finds teaching as one of her favorite things.
“I get to do something new every day and it allows me to interact with people and I’m an extrovert,” Shook said. “I like getting to know my students and I like getting to know my coworkers.”
