Annie Yon Teaches Identity Through Literature

Annie Yon, a powerhouse English teacher at Fair Lawn High, is being honored as a finalist for the Princeton Prize and winner of the Amazing Teacher Award—proof that her classroom transforms lives. A Korean American teen who found refuge in Jane Eyre, she now uses literature as a mirror for her students’ identities, turning tough texts into conversations about belonging and purpose. Despite being accepted into a Ph.D. program, she chose teaching after realizing how deeply she could connect with students—and earned her master’s from Columbia Teachers College. Her dynamic classroom brings Hughes’ “Harlem” to life, sparking real talk about dreams and deferred futures. Outside the classroom, she coaches boys’ golf, channeling her own experience as the lone girl on her high school team—and the early mornings with her dad—into a coaching style rooted in grit and heart. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/42ababc715c72932