Students enjoy Mr. Yang’s innovative approach
to teaching Math.
to recreate the world-renowned subway system in Dubai. Not
only did students enjoy the project, but they also scored high
marks, and passed the IB assessment. Keystone students
have also got a taste of the Yang-style of teaching. In a grade
7 assignment, Mr. Yang asked his students to calculate the
area of the oval dome on the ceiling of the Keystone dance
studio. The students came up with four different methods and
produced very close results. It was a process in which they
experienced setbacks, acquired new knowledge, and learnt
the value of teamwork. These are all essential to any learning
process. As Albert Einstein once said: “A person who never
made a mistake never tried anything new.”
Calculating at Every Intersection of Life
Mr. Yang enjoys creating interesting new real-life Math
problems so much so that he once went to Nepal, and lived in
a house on a mountain for three days to come up with exciting
questions for his students in Dubai. But he is also someone
who understands that Math is not for everyone, and that not
everyone enjoys the quest for answers to his exciting Math
puzzles. “We all have our distinctive talents. For instance, I
have not learned to swim even with the best instructors. So
Math does not have to be a student’s whole life. All they have to
do is be positive, and enjoy the fun part of learning… For me, I
have loved this subject since primary school, and have known
that I would be a Math teacher. As a young boy, I would wait for
a monthly magazine that had a Math puzzle and was so happy
to solve it.” But he also always feels happy when parents tell
him about their children’s growing love or reducing aversion
for his subject. Recently, a parent of a grade 7 student told
Mr. Yang that before her child came to Keystone, she disliked
Math, but now she is happy to tell her parents that she must
complete her Math assignments.
Mr. Yang brings his passion for Math and the joy of learning it
to his students. But he believes that the utility of any subject
is up to every student – they must figure out what each subject
is useful for, and how they want to use that knowledge. This
approach to Math is also Mr. Yang’s approach to life, and
learning in life. Math and life are connected in many ways
for him. He remembers, “While we were in Tibet to raise
funds for school dormitories there, I felt I touched upon
a dimension of Math. Through interactions with the local
community, our lives had intersected, and ‘intersection’
is a mathematical concept. Or take the concept of gains
and losses, or balance. I was led to reflect on these when
I realized that the local community, despite their struggles
with poverty, possessed a thirst for knowledge and optimism
for life that we could only aspire to. To me it was inspiring
to