Due to the loss of one of its teachers, FC was in need of a new math instructor. Although the school year was already in motion, David Lee stepped in to fill the gap in the math department, teaching various algebra classes with great enthusiasm for the chance to work in a Christian environment.
Spirituality prominent in educator’s surroundings
When he heard about the job opportunity from a friend at his church, Lee jumped at the chance to fill the position, coming out of retirement.
Since his son is starting as a freshman at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Lee decided to start working again to gain a bit of extra money, he says.
According to Lee, working at a Christian school for the first time has brought on new excitements of its own. Being able to freely talk about God whenever he chooses was a great motivation for Lee to take up the position.
“I’ve always taught at a public school and God is a huge part of my life, so I wanted to express this in my teaching,” Lee said. “It’s such a great opportunity to be able to help kids in their walks with God.”
Lee was anxious to see the differences between a private school and a public school environment. Although he knew there would be obvious variances, the amount of involvement faith had surprised him. Lee appreciates those aspects of faith encompassed in the school, and hopes it helps him in his own walk with God, he says.
“I enjoy the atmosphere here at Fresno Christian,” Lee said. “I love the ability to pray and talk about Jesus whenever I choose during class. I wanted to have more of Jesus in my life and working at FC presented a great opportunity for this to happen.”
Senior Brahamjit Randhawa is pleased to finally have a permanent teacher for math. As the year began, the position was temporarily filled by a substitute teacher who showed online videos made by math teacher Mike Fenton. Randhawa enjoys Lee and feels that the new teacher will fit in very well at FC.
“He seemed kind of nervous at first but as the year’s gone on he got more confident,” Randhawa said. “I think he’ll adjust very well in his transition from a public school environment to private school one. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the changes.”
Lee hopes to teach his math classes in such a way that is understandable to all his students by explaining the subject’s concepts thoroughly.
Jonathon Agao, 14′, notices the different teaching style Lee presents, and appreciates the extra time he spends on each problem.
“He’s very thorough,” Agao said. “So if a student doesn’t understand the material he’ll spend more time on the subject, which is great for the students.”
Enthusiasm for math kindles teaching interest
Lee knew from a very young age that he wanted to become a teacher, as he always had a passion for teaching others.
“As a young child — about the age of ten — I knew becoming a teacher was my calling,” Lee said. “I would play school with my brothers and sisters; I was always the teacher assigning them a ton of homework.”
Although he was certain that he wanted to teach, Lee faced difficulties in selecting a particular subject to instruct. Until college, Lee did not know that he wanted to teach math.
“I’ve always had an interest in teaching but which subject I wanted to teach was still a little murky,” Lee said. “I was thinking about Biology, foreign language and history, but I finally decided on math because my mind has always steered toward numbers. It was something I felt comfortable with.”
Lee attended Fresno City College, but later transfered to California State University, Fresno. Although he changed his major a couple of times, he ended college with a major in Biology and a minor in math. He worked his way through college as a janitor, working weekends and during vacations because his family was unable to help him through it. This experience helped Lee figure out what true determination really means, he says.
Lemoore Union High School was where Lee held his first teaching job in Biology in 1974. He held a couple more teaching jobs, but settled on Buchanan High School when he was offered to fill a spot. There Lee started as a math teacher, a job he continued for 19 years. While he had roots and ties at the school, he finds more importance in future challenges.
“Since I started teaching at Buchanan from the start I got to help in forming the traditions of the school,” Lee said. “I also got to help organize some of the programs. I don’t regret leaving Buchanan, I have a lot of teaching friends there but life always brings new challenges and I need to face them head on.”
For more teacher profiles, read Sept. 2 article, Former student steps into FC teaching position (VIDEO) or the Sept. 7 article, Unconventional upbringing influences eccentric educator (VIDEO).
For more features, read the Sept. 28 article, Fire By Night prioritizes spiritual maturity, cohesion.
