Office Hours
Fall 2025
Mondays 11:00-12:00 P.M. SV252
Education:
M.A. California State University, Los Angeles
B.A. California State University, Long Beach
Life is a journey in which we are constantly interacting with our fellow brothers
and sisters. On this journey, we are all teachers as well as students. My specific
teaching philosophy is simple. The philosophy is embodied in an ancient proverb, which
states:
If you tell me, I will forget.
If you show me, I will remember.
If you involve me, I will understand.
Being involved in the learning process is crucial not only for learning the material
at hand but also to develop critical thinking skills, which are necessary to be truly
effective citizens in our complex world. I strongly believe that the essence of education
is to provide the tools for the liberation of the human being. This, of course, is
no easy task. However, regardless of the challenges we face as educators, we must
realize the fact that our students come to class with rich experiences and a vast
knowledge base from which they can draw and make connections. Moreover, it is imperative
that we connect lecture material with relevant current events and students' life experiences
to maximize student interest, involvement, and learning.
Through my nearly twenty years of experience as an educator, I have learned that there
are many factors that contribute to a student's success. Because of this, I have become
sensitive to the various factors both internal and external that may hinder a student
from reaching her/his full potential. With this understanding, I know that there is
no one magic solution for the myriad of students with whom we come into contact. Despite
the reality of there being no simple solution to the challenges our students face,
I firmly believe that self discipline and compassion are two crucial characteristics
that are needed in order to be successful as students and as human beings overall.
This part of my thinking comes from my personal experiences.
Self-discipline and compassion were important values in my upbringing. As a child,
my mother and father emphasized my samurai ancestry and expected me to follow bushido
-the way of the warrior. This involves to a great degree what is called bunbu -the
pen and the sword. In short, one must be both a scholar and a warrior. Furthermore,
I was taught that the skills that I develop must be used in the service of humankind.
I aspire to continue to practice "the way" until the day my journey in this life ends.
I also hope to inspire students to become more self disciplined and compassionate.
After all, self-discipline is what allows us to achieve anything of value. Moreover,
compassion ensures that what we do is for the good of humankind.
In summary, my teaching philosophy is based on involving students in the learning
process by respecting and incorporating the knowledge that they bring with them, while
also helping them to become aware of and challenge their assumptions. Furthermore,
while I continue to work to address the various factors that impact the educational
experience of students such as wealth and income inequality, it is my goal to also
work with students to increase their self discipline and compassion. As stated earlier,
the ultimate goal of education is to develop the knowledge and skills required to
improve our lives and the lives of others.
Richard T. Kamei
March 11, 2017
(All views expressed on this web page are the views of Professor Kamei and not Glendale
Community College)
