After
moving to Irvine, California
from Saigon, Vietnam at the start of the fifth
grade, I started to learn not only English but American culture. The transition was difficult not only because
of adaptation to the culture and language barrier, but also because my home-school
experience left me unprepared for the public education system of America. Throughout my middle and high school periods,
I learnt to develop the motivation to excel at academics as well as piano. The value of efficiency became integrated in
my daily life. This extra effort allowed
me to begin teaching piano as well as privately tutoring elementary-aged children
as a junior in high school. Having
had teaching experience from an early age, I began to work at various tutoring
centers. Meanwhile, I became fascinated
with physics and quantum mechanics in particular. Moreover, I was on the basketball team, where
I learnt discipline and work ethic. I
also joined student government which helped foster my leadership and interpersonal
skills.
When
I moved to La Jolla, I started to teach myself
how to surf. Surfing is a sport with
one of the steepest learning curves. In
the winter of my second year at UC San Diego, I started teaching physics labs
covering most elementary concepts from mechanics to optics from January 2002-December
2003. This consisted of demonstrating
the equipment, grading, and answering questions. After graduating Magna Cum Laude with a B.S.
in Physics in June of 2004, I moved to Honolulu
to pursue a Master of Science in Physics.
Here, I currently teach and have taught mechanics labs for both levels
of undergraduate students. I work under
my supervisor (as well as my research advisor) Dr. Fred Harris. Each semester I teach two labs averaging 20
students. I have taught both Fall and
Spring semesters, as well as both summer sessions (August 2004 to current).
The duties here are quite similar to those at UCSD, except I am solely
responsible for the entire class, whereas I had the assistance of another
TA at UCSD. This past summer I taught mechanics labs that
had a group of high school students who were participating in the Outreach
program.
I
became interested in public education after hearing of the tremendous shortage
in math and science teachers prevalent in America,
particularly in Hawaii. I feel that secondary education is one of the
main factors in influencing the future generations of society. Not only do I wish to be a part of the science
teacher community, I yearn to bring about positive change and improve the
structure and systematic workings of public education. One of my main goals is to innovate and create
an environment where critical thinking is valued over the ability to memorize
and regurgitate information. Having
been through rigorous physics background both at the undergraduate and graduate
level, I am prepared to bring in-depth instruction to a level accessible by
high school students. Only through
learning to think will the youth of tomorrow succeed and make wise decisions
to make not only Hawaii
but the world a better place to live in.