Saipan International School - MP, 96950

@SaipanGeckos

#sisgeckos

SAIPAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Advanced Placement(AP)Literature and Math:
I believe that good teachers are intentional teachers and good
students are intentional learners. Everything that we learn and do
has specific goals. For example, in my AP English Language and
Composition class, students will be given very specific composition
goals. In the first quarter students will be given handouts and
workshops to master "precis" writing,
in the second quarter
"connecting rhetoric to meaning" writing, in the third quarter
"synthesis" essays, etc. All the writing assignments will
b e
accompanied by model composition handouts and
classroom discussion. These pieces, when completed,
will help students to write meaningful and coherent
essays in May. Another thing that I try to do is to
prepare students for reality. Students are given
"real" AP questions every Thursday and Friday,
and we discuss the questions and answers right
after the test. The questions are extremely
difficult, but my students are not surprised by
the real AP test in May. Practice does not
Ingur Lee
Literature/
make perfect, but practice does make students
Math
ready.
The Lightning And The Lightning Bug
Article by Kye Tamm(G11)

People say you can tell a lot about a person from their favorite quote. Written on the board of Mr. Lee's
classroom is a quote from Mark Twain: The difference between the right word and the almost right word is
the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.

From this quote, one can assert that Mr. Lee is, most definitely, the kind of man who'd take teaching
and his students very earnestly. But he is also a student of his own, at heart, stating, I am a student
because I enjoy learning, and I am a teacher because I enjoy learning with others.

Mr. Lee is what some students may call a rare gem, for it is his engaging attitude and charming aura
that transform the classes he teaches into something intriguing and challenging. He has been teaching for
25 years now, both in MBA and in SIS, and, according to him, 10 years at SIS says something about all my
students. He thoroughly enjoys both the faculty and the students who fill his classroom with innovative
ideas and interesting views on distinct topics. The students have also been known to respond to his activities
with bright faces, for he teaches in a way that entices his students, submerging them in his activities and
stories. He often relates problems to real-life situations, which gives students, who are constantly
questioning the relevancy of school in general, a sense of accomplishment. Although his classes are indeed
challenging, Mr. Lee offers extra credit to improve a student's grade, given that they complete a particular
assignment. Most times the assignment relates to the course and helps the student improve the subject
matter, which, in turn, will help the student in future tests and quizzes.

For 10 years now, Mr. Lee has been teaching AP Statistics, AP Language and
Composition, and AP Literature to the juniors and seniors of SIS. He is believed to be one of
the first teachers on Saipan to adopt an AP curriculum. He stated, Marianas Baptist
Academy was the first school to adopt AP into her college-prep curriculum, and I was a part
of that decision since I taught at MBA at the time. To him, AP classes are more than
honors classes in that in order to have AP, the school needs to have a vertical curriculum
that extends to middle school classrooms, which SIS provides, and he states AP
classes are also valuable because they not only prepare students for college, but also
give them an impression of what college classes are like. To this he adds a cheeky,
and can also give them easy credits.

Recalling a memory of when I sat in his class, listening to one of his lectures, he
spoke to us of what being a good teacher meant to him. It is a common belief to think
students' test results are the key determinant to identifying a good teacher. But, to
Mr. Lee, it is how well his students do after they graduate from college, and step into
the terrible realities of the real world, that determines his ability. That, he states, is
when he rates his worth.