New teacher takes up psychology and government

Room H01, a secluded room by the office, houses one of Saratoga’s newest faculty additions. Hana Chen is taking over psychology from the previous teacher Laressa Mead, who is now a counselor at Redwood Middle School, and will also be one of the teachers teaching government this year.

“It’s definitely a little nerve wracking to be in a new place,” Chen said, “but so far Saratoga has been one of the most enjoyable schools to work at.” 

Not only is this a new school for her to adjust to, Chen will also be teaching psychology for the first time.

“[Teaching psychology and government] is about the same,” Chen. “They each present interesting challenges to work with.”

According to Chen, psychology students will learn about human behavior and mental process. Psychology will be taught with a mix of lecturing broken up by in-class simulations and experiments.

Government will cover how the American government functions, who is in power, constitutional issues like civil rights and how political events affects both the past and the present.

“I like to teach using as much interaction as possible.  Classes are most fun and engaging when both students and teachers are talking,” Chen said.

Previously, Chen taught at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton, N.Y., for four years. More recently she taught at Leadership High School in San Jose for three years before transferring to Saratoga.

“I came to Saratoga partially because of location,” Chen said. “It’s close to where I live, and it has a reputation for being a really hardworking community that strives for excellence.”

Junior Rachel Menard is taking Chen’s psychology class and she appreciates Chen’s teaching style.

“I find that Chen’s approach to teaching is engaging, and the way she splits class time between notes and experimental activities is good for retention,” Menard said. “I feel very positive about the year to come. I think that we will learn a lot and have fun in the process.”

Chen said, “Saratoga’s a wonderful place to be, and so far everyone’s really happy to be here each day. That makes coming to work really easy.”