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January 23, 2019In addition to French and Spanish, VASJ has added Mandarin to its foreign language offerings.
“Having a third language option provides another opportunity for our students to learn about a culture different from their own,” VASJ Principal David Csank says.
Mr. Zachary Ober is one of the new teachers VASJ welcomed at the start of this school year and is teaching Mandarin as well as U.S. History. Although he is new to VASJ, he has taught for many years already, including teaching in China where he lived from 2010 to 2017.
"We are pleased to have Mr. Zach Ober join the VASJ staff,” Csank says. “He brings with him an extensive background in Mandarin Chinese and we are very excited to be able to offer the language as an option for our students.”
A history major at Ohio University, Ober didn’t graduate planning to become a teacher. He was looking for work and found that there weren’t many well-paying jobs in the U.S., so he moved to China in search of opportunity.
“I became seriously interested in studying abroad after college,” Ober says.
After studying abroad for a year, he took a TEFL course which helped him with job placement and resulted in him getting a job teaching in China.
He first learned Chinese by reading textbooks and listening to podcasts. Eventually, he used apps on a computer to help.
“It’s [Chinese] much easier than most people would think,” Ober says. “It just takes a commitment of time and willingness to try.”
Ober loved everything about his time in China.
“I love the people, the culture, the food, I love all of it,” Ober says.
It was during his time in China that he discovered he had a passion for teaching.
“I found teaching both fun and interesting,” Ober says.
He also met his wife while teaching in China.
“We were working at a training school in Nanjing,” Ober says. “She was a part of the Chinese teaching staff.”
Though he loved his experience in China, Ober wanted his wife to experience life in America so the two recently moved back to the United States.
Ober was looking for a job teaching U.S. history and Mandarin when he saw the opening at VASJ.
“VASJ is a lovely school with lovely students,” he says.
His favorite part of teaching is both seeing students learn the subject and ranting about history.
“I hope my students discover an interest in Mandarin and Social Studies,” Ober says. “But I also want them to learn the tools they need to study it on their own.”
Principal Csank sees the Mandarin course offering as another opportunity for students at VASJ to learn and grow.
“Technology is creating an ever-shrinking world, and providing our students with the opportunity to learn about others will serve them well as they progress through life."
Ethan Graham is a sophomore at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School. He is involved in the school's Digital Media class as well as participating in bowling, Drama Club, Relay For Life, and BoyScouts. After High school, he wants to pursue a career in software design.