Mr. Yin
Mr. Yin has been an active teacher in both Poudre and Thompson Valley Public Schools since obtaining Colorado Licensure for Mathematics and Music Education. He is originally from the Washington D.C. area where he earned a B.S. in Computer Science at the University of Maryland. He moved to Fort Collins to obtain an M.S. in Computer Science from Colorado State University. Mr. Yin’s computer science career included work for the U.S. Air Force, Computer Sciences Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Corporation and Agilent Technologies.
A resident of Colorado since 1992, Mr. Yin left engineering in 2005 to pursue his passion for education. Already active in the area as a tutor, violinist and music coach, Mr. Yin’s public school career encompassed three years as a 7th & 8th grade mathematics teacher, two years as an orchestra director, two years directing an elementary school violin program, and a year substituting in both Fort Collins and Loveland. Since 2013, Mr. Yin has been focused on bringing the beauty, elegance and challenge of mathematics to his students through educational innovations made possible by Ridgeview.
At Ridgeview, Mr. Yin has taught 6th Grade Math, Pre-Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, Algebra 3, and Pre-Calculus in addition to participating in several Ridgeview talent shows and musicals. Outside of teaching, Mr. Yin is interested in classical chamber music, board game design, calligraphy, and history.
Q & A
What kind of reading do you most enjoy doing?
I generally enjoy reading non-fiction: things like history or science where I can transport myself to different places or times and not only wonder what must have happened, but know that it actually did.
What are the small essentials that make life more comfortable?
Since my back and neck are troublesome, I have to be careful about how I sleep, the type of shoes I wear, how long I use a computer, how I carry heavy things, so on and so forth.
What are your favorite snacks?
Finding snacks that work for my health is tough - I have to keep trying new things because if I don’t, I get frustrated with health food and 5 pounds of chocolate magically disappears. They don’t call me Mr. Diet Coke for nothing!
What do you do to unwind?
I do a lot of what is usually called “Bleisure” - that is, going to restaurants or other public places to settle down and do work. When I’m too tired to continue, I’ll usually come home to relax to some brainless TV or sports before going to bed. I’ll occasionally schedule in any of my zillion hobbies when I can - dancing, board games, music, so on and so forth.
How could a parent volunteer help you most?
The school clubs I’ve worked with are deeply dependent on the incredible help of our parent volunteers. For my actual classes, however, I don’t really have any ongoing need for assistance, although unpredictably sporadic one-time tasks do pop up from time to time.