Teachers in Hawaii Connect with Stanford Scholars

Twenty-four high school educators comprise the inaugural cohort of Stanford/Freeman SEAS Hawaii Fellows.
Stanford Professor Kären Wigen gives a virtual seminar for Stanford SEAS Hawaii Stanford Professor Kären Wigen gives a virtual seminar for Stanford SEAS Hawaii

There’s a new professional development opportunity for Hawaii teachers.

Launched in November 2020, the Stanford/SPICE East Asia Seminars for Teachers in Hawaii (or “Stanford SEAS Hawaii”) is a nine-month fellowship program created to empower educators to reinvigorate their teaching of Asia. Stanford SEAS Hawaii is made possible through the generous support of the Freeman Foundation.

The inaugural cohort of Stanford/Freeman SEAS Hawaii Fellows comprises 24 teachers from 16 schools across Oahu, both public and private. By connecting them directly to content matter experts, curriculum writers, and teaching resources, the program aims to bolster how Asia is taught in Hawaii’s schools.

“We want to equip the Fellows with the knowledge and tools to teach about Asia confidently,” says Rylan Sekiguchi, Manager of Stanford SEAS Hawaii.

We want them to feel inspired and excited to teach their students about the region. To do that, we try to connect them with scholars who share their vast knowledge in captivating and thought-provoking ways.
Rylan Sekiguchi

Fellows have now met for two virtual seminars led by Stanford scholars. In the first, Kären Wigen, Frances & Charles Field Professor in History, presented a fascinating lecture on Tokugawa Japan and the enduring myths of the samurai, leveraging a mixture of rare maps, woodblock prints, and photographs to share core insights into early modern Japan. In the second seminar, Preetam Prakash, PhD student in History, presented an engaging lecture on late imperial China, leading the Fellows through a wide-ranging overview of the major characteristics and developments of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some of the Fellows have already incorporated their new learnings into lessons for students.

The Fellows will meet twice more with Stanford scholars before the school year ends—once in March, and once in May. Then, pending the continued loosening of COVID-19 restrictions on Oahu, they will meet in person in July for a final time.

“We are watching the situation in Honolulu closely—both the positivity rates and the City and County’s reopening plan,” says SPICE Event Coordinator Sabrina Ishimatsu, who co-coordinates Stanford SEAS Hawaii. “We are hoping for the best, of course, but also assessing the situation as realistically as possible.”


To be notified when the next application period opens, join SPICE’s email list or follow SPICE on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.


In addition to Stanford SEAS Hawaii, SPICE offers teacher PD opportunities virtually to teachers nationwide and locally in California to middle school teachers, high school teachers, and community college instructors. For more information on those programs, please visit the webpages below.