Courtney Pham (288)

AP Physics 1 has a reputation for being one of Central’s more intimidating courses. Between stories of difficult tests, complicated equations, and the infamous AP exam, students entering the class should expect a strict, intense, and rigid environment. But this year, Central’s newest AP Physics 1 teacher, Mr. Tsay, is creating a classroom built around collaboration, curiosity, and perhaps, most importantly, a little less stress.

“I like to struggle through concepts with students,” Tsay said. For him, struggling is part of learning, and finding new ways to explain a concept is just as important as knowing the answer. Having experienced both being the fastest student to grasp a concept and being the one who fell behind, Tsay says he “understands both ends of the spectrum.”

His own academic journey was not always straightforward. Born and raised in Hoover, a suburb outside Birmingham, Alabama, Tsay was heavily involved in his high school community. He competed in math club, played jazz and marching band, and pursued the IB Diploma alongside AP exams. His 12-person IB cohort also gave him a close-knit community within his roughly 600-student high school. After being told he was “strong in math and science,” Tsay went on to study engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. However, college did not start as smoothly as high school had. Initially pursuing computer science, he struggled with the subject and even failed a course during his sophomore year before switching to electrical engineering. After college, Tsay worked as an electrical engineer at Southern Company, a utility company that funded his master’s degree at Drexel University. Although he gained valuable experience, he eventually realized that engineering was not the career he wanted. His path ultimately led him to teaching.

Mr. Tsay first encountered Central in 2015, when he came to the school for teacher inductions for Philadelphia School District educators. His first impression was that Central was “pretty cool” and he “admired from afar.” Central’s environment reminded him of his old high school. Now, years later, he has officially joined Central’s Physics Department. With seven years of experience teaching IB Physics, Tsay is familiar with much of the material his AP students will encounter this year. His goal is to work through the AP syllabus before shifting to practice exams as the May exam approaches.

For students, his teaching style has already made an impression. “His class actually feels very comfortable and chill, unlike how I expected an AP Physics class to feel,” said Shadae Poole (288). “He makes the environment very unstressful.”  Poole also appreciates that Tsay’s teaching “includes oral instructions as well as visual learning. Sometimes he even demonstrates physically to get his point across, which looks silly but is really helpful.”

Florrie Abdullah (288) similarly described Tsay’s classroom as “extremely welcoming.” Questions, she said, are encouraged even when they may seem obvious. “I’ve never felt dumb or had shame when I was lost,” Abdullah said.

Lingru Pan (288) entered the class expecting something much more intimidating. “I was expecting the class to immediately be extremely difficult and stressful,” Pan said, based on what she had heard from previous AP Physics students. “Mr. Tsay’s class has been pretty much the complete opposite of that so far.”

Part of that difference comes from Tsay’s willingness to slow down and make sure everyone is following along. Rather than relying entirely on a textbook, he creates his own worksheets with notes and explanations. “He starts with the basics and gives us a chance to understand the concepts before making things more complicated,” Pan said.

Outside the classroom, Tsay enjoys the New York Times crossword and Spelling Bee, cooking, photography, and woodworking. He also listens to jazz artists Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, while describing his overall musical taste as disco and “slightly chaotic.”

So while AP Physics may still be AP Physics, Central students have at least one thing they might not have expected: a teacher determined to make the notoriously intimidating subject feel a little more approachable.