I’ve known that I wanted to be a teacher since middle school. Growing up in Taiwan, I went to an international private school, which allowed me to receive an amazing education, one that ultimately put me on the path towards the dream to become a teacher.  Both in high school and college, I was taught by some amazing teachers who not only fed me with knowledge about the world, but also taught me how to then use that knowledge, to be analytical, to inquire about the world.  Over time I realized that in conjunction with my service-minded lifestyle, that the best way to help people would be to provide them with an education.  I wanted to be an educator because I wanted to help people reach a position where they could also decide what vocation they wanted to have.

“Jack of all trades master of none, but often better than master of one.”

I love that saying because it truly describes my life and my passions.  I know a great deal of things, I have a great deal of skills, but to call myself a master of anything would be wrong and untrue.  Some of my knowledge and skills come from classroom studies, but the majority comes from my own pursuit of my interests.  I would describe myself as an avid reader and if there was a way to look at my library checkout history, you would see that there were chunks of time where my reading was wholly thematic.  From WWII novels, to conspiracy theories, to stories from the Cultural Revolution.    I’ve known that I’ve wanted to be an educator since middle school, and most of my experience has led me to achieving that goal.

In this current day and age, where information is so readily available, I believe the teaching of social studies becomes extremely important.  As a teacher, part of my philosophy is focusing on skills and strategies as opposed to strictly content.  With so much information out there, students need to learn the skills to analyze and discern what is useful and what is irrelevant.  My goal is to help students learn skills that will enable the pursuit of lifelong curiosities and to forward each students’ journey in education.

Other information about me can be found on my personal blog: http://www.yehheardithere.com