Ms. Vivian Yeh opens her door at 7:32 AM sharp every morning, ready to teach her students about the wondrous world of literature. From enigmatic passages, multiple choice questions that test students’ patience, to intense short stories that turn on the waterworks, AP English Literature and Composition is a notoriously difficult, and yet simultaneously rewarding class that seniors can take if they are ready for the task.
“As a teacher, I don’t care what students come to my class with, because if you want to rise to the challenge, I’ll do what I can to help lift you to it,” Yeh said. “For some students, that might mean starting from the ground up. For others it might be going from the 10th story trying to reach the 12th. It just depends on whether or not the students want to meet me there and put in the effort.”
Although Yeh has always loved English, she hadn’t always wanted to be a teacher. She had been preparing to become a lawyer during her time in college, and it wasn’t until her very last year that she realized she was following a path she ultimately didn’t want.
“While I was filling out the applications, I realized there was no authenticity to what I was writing,” Yeh said. “I was writing what was expected of me and not what was true for me.”
However, reflecting back on her own journey through education, Yeh had already been a part of multiple teaching programs, from shadowing a teacher to teaching violin. Without even noticing, she had already provided guidance to multiple different students from diverse communities.
“That first year of teaching hit me hard,” Yeh said. “But I found that I loved it. It wasn’t just that I liked it, I loved it. And ten years later here I am.”
Yeh is famously known to be a positive and hardworking teacher by her students. Her effort and passion for both English and teaching are apparent in her classroom, motivating her students to try their best, even if the coursework is difficult.
“My favorite thing about Ms. Yeh has to be how passionate she is about her job,” Leah Ines (11), former English 10 Honors student said. “You can clearly tell she loves what she does and it made me as a student feel more motivated to actually learn. Her constant energy is contagious.”
Even off the clock, Yeh provides writing conferences to her students every Tuesday or Thursday in hopes of providing as much guidance as possible. Although essays and timed writes are often one of the most dreaded tasks amongst students, with the right advice, the burden can become lighter.
“If I could describe her in one word, it would be generous. She pours so much time and effort into each and every one of her students,” Katelyn Chang (12), former AP Literature and current Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) 13 student said. “I’m in an additional class she volunteered to create nearly from scratch, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Other than her love for English, Ms. Yeh also enjoys dabbling in a multitude of activities ranging from bullet journaling, crocheting, nails, all the way to collecting and building intricate Lego sets. Even as her usual hobbies come and go, her love for reading has always stayed true since she was young.
“To me, these are real stories of people who have done real things. Sometimes great, sometimes atrocious,” Yeh said. “At the end of the day, though, what fueled them to do it is what makes us human. I love literature because it emulates life.”
