Teachers build the future, shaping tomorrow’s leaders one by one. Or, as the historian Henry Brooks Adams once said, “Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops.”

That’s never as true as in elementary education classrooms, where teachers can inspire and captivate young minds, where they can foster creativity and imagination and innovation. Where they can instill an early love for learning—and help each child recognize their special genius.

After all, just think of the big influence your favorite elementary school teacher had on you.

At Chaminade, we truly believe that teachers change the world—and so our elementary education undergraduate program is designed to prepare students for that very big task. That’s why we keep our class sizes small, allowing for individualized attention from faculty and a strong peer-to-peer network — all aimed at maximizing feedback to hone your teaching skills.

We also strongly value experiential learning, which is why students spend hours in real classrooms—observing and participating—before ever starting their semester as a student-teacher. Service-learning—learning in the service of others—is also a key part of our program and we’ve partnered with a nearby school to ensure we’re helping in ways that are needed.

Graduates of our program are licensed to teach kindergarten through sixth grade. But more importantly, they’re ready to teach—to lead a classroom, to employ best teaching practices to help all types of students learn, and to engage young people in the joy of education.

Experiential Learning

Service-learning projects throughout the university are for our students to use what they have learned in the classroom to help others (and also get class credit). In the case of the elementary education program, service-learning is an opportunity for Chaminade students to assist struggling students in nearby elementary schools, especially at Palolo Elementary School which has a high population of students from immigrant families.

Elementary Education (B.S.)