For Carlmont math teacher Ryan Chun, driving his students to explore math while building connections and getting to know students both in and outside of class is a top priority.
Chun believes in an understanding teaching style that emphasizes guidance and step-by-step learning. He has also had lots of influence from many who teach and have taught at Carlmont. Chun’s classroom, with whiteboards covered in student-drawn art, is very popular both during and outside of class, with current and past students hanging out to socialize with him
“My favorite part of teaching would be meeting new people. I really like hearing about other people’s passions. It’s really interesting to see what people love to do,” Chun said. “One of my students really likes planes. We’ll talk about flying planes during lunch, and I’ll just find myself learning more about things I would never otherwise do.”
Chun acquaints himself with his students during class, making jokes and telling students about himself, while still teaching math to his students.
“He’s a nice teacher. He’s really supportive and if you’re confused with questions, he would actually explain it to you. He is very patient about it,” said Larissa Mi, a junior in Chun’s fifth-period Precalculus Honors class. “When we’re doing work, he jokes and has small chit-chats. It’s a nice environment.”
In addition to socializing with students in class, Chun’s classroom at lunch is a place where all students are able to seek math assistance.
“I go to his room sometimes during lunch when I’m confused. It’s nice to have as a resource that’s able to be there for you, just in case,” said Iris Campbell, a student clerk for Chun’s second-period Precalculus Honors class.
At the beginning of the school year, Campbell was not a clerk, but after dropping a class, she chose to help out in Chun’s class.
“He cares about his students. He’ll ask you questions about your life, besides just at school, which I think is nice,” Campbell said. “I think being a clerk is a fun thing to do, I like having an extra period of my day to just relax.”
Like Campbell, Chun’s students use the lunch period and time before class to eat lunch, hang out, and even draw on the whiteboards.
“If I get to class early and he’s there, I’ll be drawing on the whiteboards, mostly because it’s right after lunch so I get to do that, and he’s okay with it,” Mi said.
Along with getting to know his current students, Chun maintains connections with his previous students. They come back year after year during lunch to hang out around the classroom.
“I think that out of all my teachers, I was closest with Mr. Chun because he lets me joke around with him and write on the whiteboards,” said Kaitlyn Figueredo, a senior who had Chun for Algebra II/Trigonometry as a sophomore. “He also lets me talk about K-pop.”
As a student at Carlmont who graduated in 2010, Chun as a student was very similar to his current self.
“He was an engaged learner and a good team player,” said Rebecca Pearlman, an AP statistics teacher who taught Chun. “He was a fabulous student of mine in AP Statistics. He always had this awesome, awesomely calm demeanor and kindness about him. Group work always went super smoothly.”
As time passes, it can seem as though life can become dull and very surface-level, but Chun emphazies that things can happen to students behind the scenes, and it is important to recognize and be understanding of that.
“A lot of people are going through things in life, and sometimes it’s hard to see that without knowing,” Chun said. “I think giving people grace and having an understanding that they might not be in a good place is something I’ve been working on.”
