Meet Jingsheng Yang, Mandarin Chinese teacher, at Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies.
For the past five years, she has worked to inspire students to become critical thinkers and lifelong learners who make a positive impact on the world. This dedicated teacher recently answered the following questions, ranging from a memorable student, to the strengths of the school in which she enjoys teaching.
What is your favorite aspect of your job?
I love to make learning fun for my students, and to see their faces light up when they are enjoying learning. I want to make a difference for them, and to be the one teacher they remember.
Share your thoughts regarding Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies’ greatest strength.
I can’t say enough positive things about Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies. Every successful organization starts with a great school leader. Mr. Robert Crispin is a strong community builder, with visionary leadership. He is wonderful at reading the needs of his community. Our curriculum and our teachers are top notch, and our students work hard to achieve their goals. Most importantly, we have strong support from our parents.
Tell us about your most memorable student.
I have had numerous outstanding students at Mesa Academy. However, one that left a lasting impression was a fifth-grade student. We were preparing a celebration to honor the Chinese Moon Festival. The student came to me for help with selecting a Chinese song she could sing at the event.
I showed her several songs with varying difficulty levels. I thought she would choose something easy because she was so young. To my surprise, she chose a difficult song, Prelude to the Water, which the poet Su Shi wrote about 1,000 years ago, in 1076, on the night of the Moon Festival.
I thought the poem would be too hard for her to understand at her age. The Pinyin pronunciation and the Chinese characters increased its difficulty level. But she surprised me by choosing this difficult song. Enthusiastically, she came to my classroom every day to practice. I have never met a more determined student. Her stage performance of the song was a success.
Reveal the best advice you ever received, and who gave it to you.
“Go forward, and don’t look back,” from my principal, Mr. Crispin.
What is one thing people don’t know about you?
I can hear low-frequency sound. My doctor tested me, and I can hear outside our normal hearing range. My friends tease me that I have supernatural power.
For more information about Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies, located at 6919 E. Brown Road, call (480) 308-7400.