Teruko “Teddy” Kubotsu

Japan made a surprise bomb attack on the US naval yard in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The US Congress quickly declared war on Japan. President Franklin Roosevelt enacted an executive order to round up all Americans with Japanese ancestry for interior security purposes. This order included deaf students.

Our former librarian and teacher at CSDR was one of those unfortunate forced residents. Her name is Teruko Kubotsu. Among colleagues and friends, Teruko was better known as Teddy. All students, including myself, tapped “K” on the chin for her as Miss Kubotsu.

When the war broke out with Japan, Teddy, a middle school girl from the CSD at Berkeley, was pulled out and placed at a military camp with her family for three years, from 1942 to 1945. Teddy was only deaf at the holding camp and felt lonesome. She used her free time to read and had a tutor who took an interest in her education. She spent time polishing her English with daily drills.

After the two nuclear bombings in Japan with incredible destruction, the Japanese King stopped the military aggression and surrendered unconditionally in September 1945. The Japanese Americans were then released. Teddy went back to Berkeley and resumed her studies there. She found herself better academically than her same-age friends due to her constant reading and studying for three years to use up all the free time on her hands in the forced camp. This was a blessing in disguise.

I remember visiting CSD Berkeley for a basketball game in 1974. I saw a senior picture of Miss Kubotsu on the wall in the cafeteria. She looked young and pretty. Upon graduating from Berkeley in 1949, she went to Gallaudet for five years, majoring in education and library science.

With hiring at full speed at CSDR from 1953 to 1958 and adding 100 students admitted every year, Teddy was hired to replace the first deaf CSDR librarian, Florence Schornstein. As the first Asian employee at CSDR, Teddy arrived in 1955 and worked in the library for the next 14 years. Richard Ramborger, ‘64, added that when a high school teacher was absent, Teddy took over the class. The library closed for the day. It was in those days when we didn't have a fund set up specifically for sub teachers. He also said she was sensitive about physical touching from her Japanese cultural values on touching. In 1969, she requested a lateral transfer from the library to the classroom. Helen Johnson Peterson took over the library and worked there for 32 years.

In my first year in 1970 at CSDR, I was pulled out from PE every Wednesday for one period with Miss Kubotsu for fingerspelling. Two other new boys were also with me to focus on reading finger spelling. We all preferred PE but had to attend the FS class with her for one semester. We remember one incident when she looked at me and fingerspelled the whole sentence, “Why did you use the middle finger at me?” We threesome understood her the first time. I quickly denied the accusation. I had no courage to disrespect teachers. My friend, John Carpenter, ‘76, came to my defense and said he had not seen me doing improperly. Teddy fingerspelled “ok” and moved on. At the end of the semester, we three boys agreed that the FS class helped improve our speed reading skills.

Most, if not all, of Teddy’s teaching years were in the JrHS at CSDR. She finally retired in 1989 because she didn't want to spend another year disciplining her students every day. Her request for “easy to manage” classes was denied, which sealed her decision to leave the profession with 34 years of service and enjoy her retirement.

In 1988, President Reagan and Congress jointly issued a formal apology to those of Japanese ancestry who were forced into camps as internees. Each internee obtained a check for $20,000 each for reparations payment for a grave injustice in time of war hysteria and racial prejudice. It is believed Teddy has received a proper payment for her citizen rights being violated in the 1940s.

In 1997, Teddy succumbed to emphysema and died from decades of cigarette smoking. We remember her for her short height, but she was “tall” with her quick and firm signing. Miss Teddy Kubotsu goes down in CSDR’s history as the first Asian employee and teacher, set in 1955. Dr. Brill was ahead of his time in hiring employees of diverse backgrounds.

Kevin Struxness, ‘76, MA

Editor, CSDR Old Times

27 November 2024