I attended Alpha Math and Science as a junior in high school. I am writing this review years later…read morebecause I still think about this experience, and I believe students and parents deserve to know how damaging a teacher's behavior can be toward young people.
The instructor for this class was Mr. Hsu, and the program repeatedly encouraged students to come in early for additional help. At the time, I was 16 years old and under extreme stress. I had a calculus test the following day and was already overwhelmed. Because the class emphasized coming in early for support, I did exactly that.
A TA was helping me before class started. She was kind and supportive. I sat at the front of the classroom with the TA seated next to me. When class officially began, I stopped working independently and began taking notes. The TA stayed seated next to me and would occasionally tap my shoulder to quietly point something out. I responded respectfully and quietly. I was not disruptive or distracting.
About thirty minutes later, the TA left.
Immediately after she walked out, Mr. Hsu began screaming at me at the top of his lungs in front of the entire class. As a 16 year old student, being yelled at by a grown adult was terrifying. I had been in his class for over a year and had always been quiet, attentive, and respectful.
He continued yelling at me in both English and Chinese. I do not speak or understand Chinese well, which made the situation even more confusing and frightening. When I could not understand what he was saying, he became angrier. He accused me of being disrespectful for talking, even though I had only been responding quietly to the TA earlier.
At one point, he accused me of intentionally tripping the TA as she left, claiming I did it on purpose. In reality, her foot had simply caught on a loose backpack string. This accusation was shocking and completely false.
I began crying uncontrollably in front of the entire class. Mr. Hsu did not stop yelling. Staff members entered the classroom and stood there watching, which I had seen happen during other incidents when he yelled at students. It became clear this behavior was not uncommon.
Eventually, he stormed out of the classroom. The learning environment was completely destroyed.
After the break, his wife, Ms. Helen, came in to teach the second half of the class. While I was still crying and visibly shaken, she told me that if I needed extra help, I should come in early. That statement broke me, because I had come in early and had followed exactly what the program instructed students to do.
I was exhausted, scared, and speechless. I left immediately and never returned to Alpha Math and Science.
After I left, friends who stayed in the class later told me that Mr. Hsu would frequently mention me during lessons. He asked them to tell me that he would offer me free classes if I came back. There was no apology, no acknowledgment of his behavior, and no accountability. Just an offer of free classes, as if that erased what had happened.
I did not need his class then, and I do not need it now.
Today, I am in college at UC Berkeley with a job lined up. I have learned from many professors, including award winning ones, who are demanding and disciplined without being cruel or humiliating. Looking back, I now understand how damaging a teacher with poor emotional control can be to a young student's confidence and well being.
These classes are expensive, and in my experience, they were not worth the emotional toll. There are better resources available. No test score or program is worth feeling unsafe, scared, or belittled in a learning environment.
