Teacher Feature | Introducing Alan W-S.
At Pacific Preparatory, we are so lucky to work with the most thoughtful and inspiring instructors, all who bring lessons to life with engaging connections to student interests and their community. This month, we are excited to introduce Alan!
Meet Alan (he/him)! Alan immediately puts students at ease with his warm and encouraging approach. A Yale University graduate, he holds a bachelor’s degree in American Studies. For a decade, Alan worked at Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco as the Public Purpose Program Director. In this role, he mentored students while coordinating their volunteer experiences and teaching a class on giving called the Philanthropy Initiative. In all classes, Alan loves to empower his students, helping them go from "I don't know" to "I can totally do this!" His teaching philosophy centers around every child being able to succeed given the proper tools and a bit of patience. With Pacific Preparatory, he teaches K-12 students in math and English, executive functioning skills, and all levels of Spanish. When Alan isn't teaching, he can be found reading fiction, blogging, traveling, and watching sports.
What’s your favorite subject to teach and why?
I love teaching English, specifically literature, because of the ways that stories can transport you to a new place while also providing fresh perspectives on our present reality. I especially love reading YA fiction with my students since many YA authors do such a great job of capturing the complex struggle of being an adolescent in a world run by adults.
What are your top 3 book recommendations in your subject area?
Here are my current top 3 YA recommendations:
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay - a student actually recommended this book to me, and wow, what a riveting story of unspeakable family secrets and how politics can deeply affect individual lives.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - the movie renditions were pretty good, but nothing beats the intensity of the first book. "I volunteer!"
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah - while not a YA novel, this coming of age story will have you laughing and cringing throughout as Trevor Noah details the absurdity of living in a segregated world where his very existence was a crime; it was illegal for his Black mother and white father to have a child together. This was another student-recommended read!
What is your favorite activity to do outside of teaching?
Outside of teaching, you can probably find me reading. I love reading good novels, and I like to stay caught up on national and sports news. I also follow a few blogs on Substack and occasionally write one of my own (chesterwess.substack.com/).
What brought you to teaching with Pacific Preparatory?
After working for a decade as a high school administrator and teacher in the Bay Area, my wife and I decided to say goodbye to California and around the same time began preparing for a new addition to our family. On top of these transitions, I felt the itch to find a slower professional pace. I still wanted to work with youth but in a different capacity and preferably from home so that I could spend time with my family. I had heard of Tutor Corps from my time working in the Bay, so I looked them up, applied, and was hired! Over time, I transitioned from exclusively tutoring with Tutor Corps to also teaching with Pacific Preparatory. Teaching has been a lot of fun thus far, and one of the best parts is that I can instruct classes in between chasing around my toddler!
Alan, we and your students are so lucky to have you on our team!