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Bronson Kahananui, Mr. K, is one of Kalāheo’s History teachers. He has always wanted to be a teacher, but with dreams come challenges. Mr. K was born in Oahu in 1993, but when he was ten years old he had to move from Waianae to Hilo with his mother, brother, and sister due to some family complications. Mr. K attended Waiakea Intermediate, and then Hilo Intermediate. When he first started at Hilo High, his mother got diagnosed with cancer.
Mr. K was going through a tough time between school and everything going on at home.
“My high school years were interesting. I wasn’t the model student. I was quite kolohe growing up. During my high school years, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. There was a lot of me acting out, but high school was a lot of fun. I was there primarily to see and hang out with my many friends. I didn’t care about my academics till I got into my upperclassmen years, and I realized how important it was for me to graduate.” When Mr. K reached his upperclassmen years he started to turn assignments in, and he started to pay attention in school.
He realized that he needed to graduate to be able to go to college and become a teacher. He always knew he wanted to be a teacher because teachers were one of the reasons that he made it through high school. “So many bad things happened to me and my teachers who were themselves inspired me. I wanted to be the teacher who didn’t do good in high school but still made it. I wanted to be the person in a sea of hundreds who could be seen and make it through everything. Being noticed by someone and being acknowledged can help you make it through anything. I wanted to be able to help people the way my teachers helped me.” Mr. K graduated with the Class of 2011 at Hilo High School.
Not being able to afford to go straight to a University after High School, Mr. K first attended Hilo Community College. He got his Associates degree in Liberal Arts. After Community College, he moved back to Oahu to attend the University of Hawai’i at Manoa with Financial Aid. Mr. K pursued getting a Secondary Education degree with a focus on European History. Mr. K’s mother tragically died when he was in college, but he continues to pursue his dream. This allowed him to become a History teacher.
Mr. K’s first job was working at a preschool that was a part of a church. He worked there for roughly two years. “I worked in the Special Education Department at McKinley High School. I worked with a lot of kids in wheelchairs and kids with mental issues. I worked at McKinley for a couple of years, and then I had to quit because I had to focus on school. I was in my last year of college at the time, and I needed to make sure that I was available for my student teaching. COVID also started which made school and everything else difficult. After that, I came to Kalāheo and this is my third year teaching at the school.”
Mr. K has taught United States History and World History. He is the E-Sports Club Advisor and the Dungeons and Dragons Club Advisor. Mr. K loves his job at Kalāheo. He even said, “This is the first school that I’ve taught at so I don’t have another reference to compare Kalāheo, but my time here has been great so far.” He is involved in Kalaheo, and hopes to continue pursuing his dream of teaching at the school. His advice to his students is to socialize with your friends, and do your work so that you can graduate.
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