A new school year brings fresh faces, fresh energy, and fresh perspectives. This fall, students are meeting one of these new faces in the science wing, as Tenafly welcomes one of its latest additions to its teaching staff: chemistry teacher Mr. Guyyee Shum (’98).
When he attended THS in the late ’90s, Shum, although noting that he “definitely didn’t get straight A’s all the time,” enjoyed science classes very much, and college confirmed that. He went to Rutgers University, where he studied biochemistry. “The full major was called molecular biology and biochemistry,” he said. There, he worked in a lab and did a great deal of research. After earning his undergraduate degree, he went to graduate school to study to become a teacher. Through that, he earned his teaching license as well as a master’s degree in science education. He began teaching at the Beacon School in Manhattan in New York City in 2003. And now, he is at Tenafly for his first year.
But what inspired Shum to become a science teacher specifically? For one, he definitely liked the subject, and as mentioned before, he studied biochemistry, which includes biology, physics, and chemistry. “I think it’s an important subject, but then just in terms of being a teacher, I think I liked connecting with people,” he said. In labs, he felt very bored, having to sit around and do a lot of waiting. Even worse, there weren’t many people around, and most of them were much older. Shum prefers working with high school students who are “a little more curious and they perhaps can be inspired to study science themselves.”
So far for him, the first few days in Tenafly have been pretty confusing, trying to understand the schedule, what room is where, and who’s who. Reminiscing on his experience at the Beacon School, he said, “After working for 20 years in one place, you get used to everything. You know exactly where the pencils are and you know the corner where the kids hide out. You know everything.” At this school, however, he definitely feels completely new and is still finding his way. “But as you know, I did go to this high school, so I’m looking forward to reconnecting with the community, and some old teachers are still here,” he said.
As a caring and enthusiastic science teacher, he wants students to feel comfortable in the classroom, but also to enjoy learning science. “Some kids, they’ll say things like, ‘Oh, I hate science. I’m not good at chemistry,’” he said. “I hope to break that misconception and show that any kid, if they work hard at it, can learn it.” Also, he likes having interaction and curiosity from his students. He hopes in the future, his students will pursue more advanced chemistry classes like AP Chemistry or Organic Chemistry.
Shum also takes pride in knowing his students. “My first goal is always to learn everyone’s names,” he said. He likes to know everything about his students, like their personality, interests, goals, and more. “When you do that, you can help them learn better, maybe in their style, because I think each kid kind of has their own style.”
Shum definitely will try to make his classes fun. He noted that his old school was very project-based instead of test-based. He says he will try to “draw from that experience and integrate some of that into this school.”
Outside of teaching, Mr. Shum enjoys Astrophotography, which is taking photos of the stars and night sky. He goes out on clear nights and observes the stars. “Again, just with the idea of being curious,” he said. “Astrophotography would be more like physics or like Earth science. But I’ve taught that before also, and I think students should be curious about everything around them, not just one subject, and learn different kinds of sciences.”
Lastly, as a funny chemistry teacher, you have to know what his favorite element is on the periodic table. “Sodium,” he said. “Because it’s ‘so-dium’ cool, and ‘so-dium’ awesome.”
