Mark Lau, for the longest time, wanted to be a teacher because he had a lot of family members who worked in education. “My grandparents were professors and my mom was a teacher and a principal,” he noted.
Mr. Lau grew up in a poor neighborhood in Sacramento, and eventually moved to San Francisco and ran a few tech companies. But he’s always wanted to teach; he had the right environment, and has always liked science. That’s why he became a teacher.
When he was looking for a job there were many options, but Mission High School was the perfect place. He had already been coaching volleyball there for six years, and his children were enrolled there. Now he teaches a Science class in room 242.
Even though Mr. Lau is a science teacher, math was his favorite subject in school because his teacher always asked straightforward questions. His teacher would frequently say, “Math doesn’t lie.”
Mr. Lau also has a certain way of teaching; he doesn’t treat students like regular students. Instead, he builds relationships and treats them like the individuals they are. When asked why he seemed to treat students like adults, he said “I feel like I wasn’t a good student, and responded better to teachers who treated me maturely. I think there’s a lot of different teaching styles at Mission that can be effective.”
Mr. Lau enjoys teaching because he learns everyone’s stories, some of which are incredibly unique.
When asked what advice he had for students, Mr Lau said, “Keep as many doors open as you can, don’t close them early. Make sure you have opportunities. Also, college has the best parties. I almost closed some doors early from being a bad student, so don’t do the same.”
Mr Lau wants what’s best for his students, and implores them to go to college so they “don’t miss out on any opportunities.”
