Mr. Yohn, who?

Leah  Kurihara and Leandra Gimenez

Where to begin? If you don’t already know (and you’d have to be living under a rock not to) Mr.Yohn is currently a Leadership and 8th-grade American history teacher here at Stacey Middle School.

Beginning his teaching career as a substitute at different schools, Mr. Yohn also taught at a small Vietnamese school in Little Saigon. Eventually, he became a teacher at Stacey and has been for the past thirteen years. He describes his teaching style as alternative and different compared to what people learn in college. He says in five years he still sees himself at Stacey teaching American history.Although illegal, Mr. Yohn’s first job was on a cruise ship. He was twelve at the time and the owner had him jump in the water with no safety gear and clean the barnacles off the side of the boat. He said, “It was the greatest time in my life.”

Mr. Yohn said he never liked school very much, however if he had to pick his favorite subject it would be either science or history. His least favorite was math because he didn’t want to do it. He wanted to be a scientist and “all of those -ist words” but could never get through the lengthy textbooks until coffee shops started popping up giving him a place to study.

As far as school’s go, his is favorite college was Orange Coast College and his least favorite was California State University Long Beach. Interestingly, teaching wasn’t what Mr.Yohn had originally wanted to for a career. He wanted to be a movie director and go to film school, but his plans changed. If he wasn’t a teacher Mr. Yohn said he would be either a musician, the President of the United States, or a coffee roaster.

In Mr. Yohn’s free time, he says he coaches his son’s hockey, running, and soccer teams. If Mr. Yohn has “free, free time” he likes to go running in the hills, as well as reading history and philosophy books.

He enjoys playing all sports but his favorite is running. He tries to run when he can, however, his family comes first. Mr.Yohn still creates films for running events and sometimes weddings. He also creates films with his sons and gives them as gifts.

Mr. Yohn said that he is married to 3 women: black coffee, America, and his human wife. He also says he wants a black lab, however, his apartment doesn’t allow him.

One accomplishment that Mr.Yohn is proud of is that fact that he and the other teachers have been able to get the students more involved with school. Knowing he has helped make the campus be a little bit brighter is something he is proud of. He is also proud of the running team, the longest consecutive sport because it “contributed to the health and well-being of students.”

And the students thank you, Mr. Yohn.