BIS Teacher Won Honorary Title of District Excellent Teacher

Warm congratulations go out to Dr. Youngmin An who is an English/ELL teacher for MYP and a psychology teacher for DP Program of Boston International School on winning the honorary title of Excellent Teacher of the Year 2018-2019 in Wuxi XinWu District.

As a member of faculty team from Boston International School, Dr. Youngmin An has a strong educational background with Bachelor degrees in both Music and Psychology, a Master degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and Ph.D. in English Language and Literature. After her master’s degree, she completed graduate-level coursework for TESOL endorsement and received a certified teacher license from the state of OHIO. She also completed a Korean Language Teacher Training program and has a Korean Language teaching certificate. Before joining Boston International School, she has worked the past 19 years at different educational sectors in Korea, America, and China and previously has held numerous positions, including Department Head for College Exchange Program, Teacher Educator for Elementary English teachers, College Lecturer for Undergraduate and Graduate school, ELT Material development supervisor, Researcher, and Translator.

Dr. Youngmin An has been working at Boston International School for 18 months since January 2018 when it was still in the preparation stage of the project. As a member of the excellent faculty team at Boston, she joined BIS at the very beginning and has made a broad and deep contribution to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching in Boston. Currently, Dr. An has multiple roles in Boston and teaches MYP Individual and Society, English/ELL (English Language Learning), and DP psychology. In her daily teaching, Dr. An stresses the importance of teaching students based on their talent and develops effective learning plans according to the needs of each student. She follows up on the implementation of the plans and gives feedback to parents to support each student. She loves the students she works with and has been loved by her students too. Boston parents have also expressed their gratitude for her dedication and the impact that she has made on the students.

Additionally, Dr. Youngmin An has practiced the approaches that provide opportunities, influence, motivate, and inspire students to learn. She respects and supports the development of students as individuals. Dr. An believes that by challenging and engaging the minds of students, they will learn at a profound level; they will be successful in this 21st century, global world. Dr. An is a passionate and dedicated teacher with high expectations of her students. She continuously challenges them to do the best they possibly can and to aim to bring out the very best of their capabilities. Dr. Youngmin An has devoted herself to building a trusting relationship with her students and to understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and interests to guide them to success.

After all these years, she still remains passionate about learning and believes that teachers should become lifelong learners. Her favorite quotes attributed to Albert Einstein is the following: “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I do not know”. She believes that a good teacher is a good learner, and she loves learning outside of her comfort zone too. She has two unique certificates; Woodcraft Certification (Level 3) and Wine Sommelier Certificate (Level 2). Dr. Youngmin An has set an excellent example for her students by showing she is always a good role model.

Dr. An loves life in Wuxi and is willing to contribute more to international education in Wuxi. She has expressed her keen interest in continuous involvement of making Boston a world-class international school by upholding the values and beliefs of the educational mission from Boston. Dr. An will keep nurturing the curiosities and talents of her students to grow into internationally-minded learners in a diverse and inclusive community.