A new teacher entered a third grade classroom at North Star Academy this year with the goal to educate young third graders into knowledgeable scholars prepared to accomplish any task. Mr. Nguyen, a new member of the North Star staff, is not very well known by the students in grades 4-8, but he is already beloved by his 3rd grade students. He loves teaching and says his favorite part of the job is “…watching students grow.”

His full name is  John Nguyen (pronounced JON WIN).  Mr. Nguyen has years of experience with teaching. Some of his earlier educational experiences were teaching at Garfield Middle School for fifteen years, teaching in South Korea for three years, and teaching seventh grade math and science at Garfield University until he came here at NSA. While he has experience teaching  all subjects his favorite subjects are mathematics and science

Although Mr. Nguyen has only been here less than three months, he has already created some memories and  has favorite activities has a generally positive attitude about our school and community. “I was nervous because I didn’t know many people, but everyone seems nice…’ he said about his his experience with the NSA staff and students. 

Soon after he arrived at school Mr. Nguyen used his interest in pokemon to help inspire students by starting a pokemon club for the elementary grades. In fact, many kids attending this club say that it’s exciting and extremely entertaining. Vivian Berghold declares that,  “It is quite fun honestly and I would go again.” Even from only two grades, the club became very popular and the few days that the club had come together were “crazy” because the classroom was packed with eager students waiting to have fun with Mr. Ngyuen. 

In addition to all the events Mr. Nguyen also has an interesting life outside of teaching. Some of his hobbies include playing the guitar, pokemon, listening to K-pop music, playing video games, etc. His passion for cooking and his home cooked meals reflect his love for the kitchen and his culture. For example, one of his favorite meals is Korean style pork belly with wild grain rice. Mr. Havey said, “It was the best pork belly I have ever eaten.” For lunch he brings some of his home-made cooked food to share with some of his colleagues. 

What is it like being Mr. Nguyen’s student?  His preferred teaching method is to do a lot of hands-on activities, big experiments, and teamwork assignments. This technique is great for the younger children who might not have the same attention span as older children. 

“We were writing about brains”, said Mathew in third grade when asked about some of favorite experiences in Mr. Nguyen’s class. 

Mr. Nguen said his early experiences with teachers as a child dramatically affected the way he teaches today. He said growing up Asian-American some teachers weren’t as supportive, thus he made sure that all his students felt treated fairly. Mr. Nguyen is an amazing teacher with a unique teaching style which incorporates his past to shape the future of his students.