Two years ago, Academy High welcomed our math teacher Mr. Yang Song into the community. Mr. Song grew up in Shanghai, China and moved here ten years ago to attend the University of Illinois for undergraduate and graduate studies. He graduated with a major in mathematics and a minor in art history. Since high school, he enjoyed the history of art, and once in college he decided to pursue it further as a minor.
Besides math and art, Mr. Song is also interested in aviation. He especially enjoys reading about the subject because it incorporates aspects of physics and math. In graduate school, he first started to read about airplanes and eventually wanted to learn to fly one. Recently he has been taking flying lessons and likes the idea of becoming a pilot because of his appreciation for travelling. While he would never want to become a commercial pilot, he would love to fly himself to all the places he wants to visit.
Mr. Song’s initial goal was to pursue math research after graduate school. Teaching wasn’t on his radar at the time, but he was introduced to it while working as a teaching assistant. Once he started instructing, research for math became less appealing and he began to look for more teaching opportunities. He found Academy High through a job posting, and was interested in the position because he would be able to build his own curriculum at Academy High. The more he taught high schoolers, the more he was interested in making it a part of his everyday life. He plans on staying at Academy High for the foreseeable future.
The pandemic hit during his first year of teaching at Academy High. While it has not affected his personal life much, he has been put to the challenge when it comes to transitioning into a hybrid learning model, because it is difficult to accommodate for both sets of students. Pandemics are not new to him though, as he went through a similar experience when he was in the seventh grade during the SARS virus breakout. He can clearly remember the smell of the subway when it was sprayed with a mix of vinegar and other chemicals to kill the germs.
Fun Facts about Mr. Song
Favorite Foods:
He doesn’t have a favorite food, but he really likes eating Chinese food -noodles in particular.
Favorite Color:
blue
Favorite Author:
三毛 (Sanmao) is a writer and translator from Taiwan. She wrote a couple of autobiographies about her life experiences and travelling. Mr. Song particularly likes her writing style.
Superpower of Choice:
To make the day longer so he would have more time to do the things that he wants.
Dinner Date with Someone Important:
His grandparents, because he doesn’t get to see them very often.
#1 Life Recommendation:
One of the things that Mr. Song recommends that people try to eat exotic food. Try new things and get out of your comfort zone!
We are so glad to have Mr. Song as a teacher. He has definitely made an impact on our education and I have learned so much from him!