CyberFair 2000 Project
Main School
Carpinteria, California, USA

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Project Narrative Information Sources

Miss Kimberly Young

What is your full name?

My full name is Kimberly Kiyomi Young.

Were you named after anyone?

I was named after two different people. My first name, Kimberly, was selected because my Chinese grandfather's name is Kim, which is a common Chinese name. My middle name used to be Jane, after my Japanese grandmother. Her real name was Kiyomi and when she moved from Hawaii to the mainland, she started going by Jane because she thought it would be an easier name to remember. I asked her if I could change my middle name to her real name and she gave me her consent. When I was about 25 or so, I legally changed my name to Kimberly Kiyomi.

What are you parents' names?

My father's name is Richard Kim Young and my mother's name is Merle Tatsuko Yamashita-Young.

Tell me about your family.

My family is wonderful and they are a big part of my life. We all live in Santa Barbara and we get together often. My father is a dentist and my mother takes care of all the books for my dad's practice. I am the oldest of all my siblings. My brother, Trevor, works for an accounting firm and is in charge of all the computers. Heather, my sister-in-law, teaches first grade at Cleveland School in Santa Barbara. My youngest brother, Peter, works at a computer software company. My family is very close and we get together often for dinner. We love to play games together like Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble. As a family, we vacation together often. I love my family dearly and am so glad we all live so close to one another.

Could you describe your profession to me? What do you do at your job?

I am a fifth grade teacher at Main School. I love my job. I enjoy spending my day with students and helping them become better students. I hope my students become the type of people that enjoy learning for learning's sake. In other words, I hope they go on to learn about things because they are curious and want to know more about various topics or subjects.

As a teacher, it is my responsibility that my fifth graders learn and grow as students. I think one of the most important parts of my job is to get my students excited about learning. We do this in many different ways. We do a lot of reading, take fun field trips, dissect things in science, and talk about many different topics of interest. Fifth grade is fun!

What path did you take to become a leader?

I did not decide to become a teacher until I was almost finished with college. I studied business at the university I attended. I thought I was going to go out into the business world and sit at a desk all day computing numbers. After working a couple banking jobs during my summer breaks, I realized that that wasn't for me at the time. I wanted to do something that was challenging and also do something that would allow me to feel as though I was affecting the future. After I graduated from college I started taking classes and working in elementary schools. I went to Cal State Northridge and got my teaching credential. I substitute taught for a year in Carpinteria and then was hired to teach 3rd grade at Main School in 1993. Since then I have taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades.

Describe any changes that have taken place since you became a leader.

There have been many changes since I began teaching. When I first started teaching third grade there were 30+ students in all the classes. Now K-3rd has only 20 students in the classes. There have also been many changes in our curriculum. Teachers are expected to teach more and more every year. That remains a challenge for me, trying to fit everything into the school year! There is so much fun to have and so little time!

This page was written by Daniel D.
This page was edited by Daniel D.

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