43. The Epic Journey of Lory Peroff, So Far

At the end of this episode Waikiki Elementary School educator, Lory Peroff read the following excerpt from a poem: The people I love the best, Jump into work head first, I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, Who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, Who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, Who do what has to be done, again and again. (Marge Percy “To Be of Use”) In so many ways, Percy’s stanza captures what Lory thinks, what she feels and how she approaches each day with her family, her faculty colleagues and her student learners. On several occasions Lory has described herself as “doing things I didn’t know I couldn’t do.” Amen, Lory! Lory’s journey, in this episode, starts with the Pease Corps in Uzbekistan, moves to Tonga, then to Boston and ultimately to Hawaiʻi. Along the way her focus is relentlessly on kids. She has taught 4th and 5th grade in Honolulu and in Taiwan. Her undergraduate degree, from the University of Colorado, is in the arts and psychology. She has a masters in elementary education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she earned a 4.0 GPA. While at the University of Colorado she did an exchange program in Ghana, West Africa. Lory has lived and worked on multiple continents. Her worldview is expansive and she has great range. Lory is an advocate for teachers as writers, and has written extensively on life and learning for Honolulu Civil Beat, Medium, Education Week and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She is a distance swimmer and runner, and loves to travel. Most of all, Lory is hugely respected in public, private and charter school circles in Hawaii. Her voice is clear and strong. She is #publicschoolproud and a leading light for whole child instruction. (Post production and original theme music provided by Daniel Gilad at DG Creations. To learn more about Daniel’s work, or if you are interested in hiring him for your next music gig, email him at dgcreations808@gmail.com or navigate to his Facebook page.)

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