Min Larson, Lick-Wilmerding High School’s new Chinese language teacher, brings a new and interesting perspective to the school. “I was born and raised in Xi’an,” she said. “It’s a very historical city, the capital city of 13 Chinese dynasties. It has tons of history, and I love history.”
So far, her experience at LWHS has been very positive. “I really like the diversity of the school and also the mission of ‘a private school with a public purpose,’ as it really speaks to me lately. I’ve been living in San Francisco for a few years now. I’ve seen the inequities going around here and I’m really glad to have a school in my neighborhood devoted to the public.”
Larson, who is also fluent in Korean, has been teaching Chinese for more than a decade after attending graduate school in Beijing studying literature and applied linguistics. She started teaching college level classes at Princeton University in Beijing before deciding to work with high schoolers. “I really like working with this age group.”
Larson’s Oakland-born husband wanted to return to the Bay Area, so she left her job at an East Coast boarding school for San Francisco. She previously taught at The Nueva School for six years, until an opening at LWHS caught her eye. “I actually live in this neighborhood. I pass by Lick all the time.” She heard from her colleagues at other schools that Lick was a great school. She feels “honored to be here,” Larson said.
Going forward, Larson said she is looking forward to meeting more of her community and getting to know her students better. “I finally learned everybody’s names in my classes and now want to know more about who they are. I look forward to having deeper conversations with everybody and to learn more about who they are and let them know who I am,” she said.
