Kate Kim
Crimson Chronicle Reporter
Many individuals are familiar with Jane Shen as the Mandarin/Korean teacher, but only some are aware that she’s taking the next step in a new role as an administrator for the school. Beyond her current position, Shen has a unique background that involves being born in the northeastern part of China as the fourth generation of her family.
Hailing from a Korean family, Shen attended a Korean school for three and a half years during her childhood before transferring to a Chinese school for the remainder of her education. Despite not initially being fluent in both languages, her journey led her to become stronger as a person, especially as she ventured into the workforce.
Shen said she started teaching Chinese because there was so much trade with China. There was a demand to learn Chinese for learning the language to increase trade with China, particularly in the fashion district. Also, she started her school in Koreatown after being contacted by different churches to teach students.
During the whole process when she had her own school for 14 years, Shen’s son entered LAUSD for kindergarten. She wanted the same schedule, so she pursued the public school credential. Then, the previous Mandarin teacher at Hollywood High left so Shen stepped in to fill that position. She started teaching Chinese at Hollywood High in 2015 and started teaching Korean in 2019.
She explained that she speaks Korean with her son because of family reasons and she’s trying to encourage him to learn Chinese.
Shen said she believes that students should be the center of the school, and how they should get proper education. As a teacher herself, she wants to keep training new teachers to focus on students and to encourage students.
“Your future is not decided but you are you and you are responsible for your future,” she said. “Students learn in many different ways so the most important skill is time management and money management.”