Top Teachers
Saturday, December 26, 1998
Name: Lily Cabinatan
Age: 48
Position: Peer Education Program coordinator, Nanakuli High and Intermediate
Education: M.A., University of Hawaii
Pastimes: Swimming, biking, sewing
"Givers gain, takers lose." Personal gains are a given
Words to live by, according to Lillian Cabinatan's students.
Cabinatan coordinates Nanakuli High and Intermediate School's Peer Education Program -- which to her is about community-service projects and educating students on making good choices.
"I really try to impress upon the kids that if you do good, you'll get good, and givers gain," she said.
Through skits, books, lectures, workshops and projects, Cabinatan's students learn how to be peer educators/mediators who identify and deal with the issues in a conflict and teach others about them. Cabinatan said their various backgrounds allow them to reach a wider range of students. "We don't just take the 'good' kids," she said.
Since the program's inception four years ago, about 80 students have been trained. And since a national mediation competition began two years ago, Nanakuli students have won twice.
"She has worked hard to get the Peer Education Program started here at NHIS," said Lapreal Burgess, student activity coordinator. "She brings love and commitment to make our school a better place to learn."
Cabinatan's goal is to become a school administrator and help parents become more active in their child's life. She received her master's degree in educational administration from the University of Hawaii this past Sunday.
Kimberly K. Fu, Star-Bulletin
