Book Overview

the less absorbed we are in worrying about what others think of us, the more attention we can focus on our environment, and, therefore, the more likely we are to see opportunities. Despite his full schedule, Yong seems relaxed whatever the situation. This is rooted, in part, in his wealth of experiences. Across his life, he has faced many adversities, and yet, he has not only survived but also thrived. † Openness: Being open to new experiences or embracing a sense of adventure means that when opportunities do arise, lucky people tend to seize them. Research suggests that openness is moderately associated with intelligence and creativity.29 Because Yong remains open to novel experiences, he embraces and thrives on an unconventional life of adventure and innovation.

The story of our lives is a complex fabric of many factors. As Lewontin observes, not only do our genes and environment intertwine, but chance also plays a major part in how that fabric is woven. 30 This is clear in Yong’s life in the unique environmental factors that shaped his experiences, the chance encounters and events that presented unforeseen opportunities, and the inherent qualities and predispositions that allowed him to capitalize on them.

In this book, we strive to understand Yong’s success by exploring the complex interplay of genes, environment, and chance. Each chapter examines a period of Yong’s life through this lens, containing a brief vignette from that time, relevant historical factors, events that characterized that period of his life, and reflections on the implications for education.

In chapter 1, readers meet the boy from Sichuan Province: fiveyear-old Yong tagging along behind his father, the primary influence in his early life. Adults in Yong’s rural village are concerned with feeding, clothing, and sheltering their families, which leaves Yong free of social expectations. As Yong uses his free time to devise entrepreneurial ventures around the village, he capitalizes on unlikely assets—his curiosity, rebellious nature, and penchant for rule-breaking—to follow his instincts toward what would become a scholarly life.

Chapter 2 describes how Yong teaches himself to read and enters school amid the upheaval of China’s Cultural Revolution. Educational reforms after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 allow Yong unprecedented access to school in rural China, as well as teachers who recognize his intellectual interests and gifts. Believing education to be primarily the means to a career, the Chinese have long valued diligent and compliant students. Relentlessly curious, questioning, and innovative, Yong is an outlier. This supports him as he masters the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in school and pass the extremely stringent university entrance exam—not once but twice. His facility with languages earns him entry into SFLI at a time when English-language teachers were in high demand.

Chapter 3 follows Yong during his time at SFLI, where he indulges his wide range of academic interests in the library and at a local bookstore. He also cultivates friendships with foreign faculty, opening opportunities to improve his English and learn more about the world beyond China. His academic success impresses his professors, who ask him to accompany a visiting scholar from Beijing. From the visiting scholar, Yong learns about the potential of desktop computers to run data analysis software. Asked to join an international team conducting research on English-language learners, Yong sees an opportunity to develop a program to analyze the survey data.

He teaches himself statistics and programming to create the first data analysis program for PCs in China.

In chapter 4, Yong joins a team of faculty who have been drafted to teach English in a remote city in Sichuan Province. Designated as the deputy team leader, Yong learns valuable leadership lessons and tests his group management abilities. One of his fellow volunteers, Xi, catches his eye, and they begin dating. During a visit back to SFLI, Yong’s roommate convinces him to travel to the newly created special economic zone (SEZ) on Hainan Island. There, Yong and a partner create a successful translation business. Despite his success in Hainan, Yong finds himself missing the scholarly life and returns to SFLI to resume teaching and publishing.

Chapter 5 chronicles how communist leader Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms open China to Western culture and, in the late 1980s, spark debate on college campuses around the country. Eager to join the conversation, Yong opens his apartment as a salon where faculty and students gather and discuss the future of the country. As the tragic events of June 4, 1989, unfold in Tiananmen Square, the momentum Yong and others had felt building dies abruptly, leaving him despondent and aware that he needs to seek opportunities elsewhere. A visit from a U.S. professor to SFLI results in a friendship that, in turn, leads to an invitation to spend time at Linfield College, now Linfield University, in Oregon.

In chapter 6, Yong embarks on his first trip to the United States, an experience that expands his view of the world, education, and emerging technologies. During his time at Linfield, Yong teaches, makes friends, explores the emerging World Wide Web, and realizes that becoming a college professor will allow him to pursue the life he wants for himself and his family, which now includes a son, Yechen, in addition to his wife, Xi. Yong decides to pursue a graduate degree and gains admittance to the doctoral program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His prior work in developing

statistical software lands him a teaching assistantship and a job in the computer lab and gains him credits toward his degree. He develops more software, including a platform to enable faculty to create their own websites and a program to organize message boards. Yong completes his master’s degree in one year, welcomes his young family to the United States, and leaves an unsatisfactory job at Willamette University in Oregon for a more promising opportunity.

Chapter 7 begins with Yong and his family making a home at Hamilton College in New York, where Yong is part of a collaborative project between Hamilton College and Colgate University that enables students to take courses offered by both institutions. His successes earn him a tenure-track position at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan, where he works on a project to increase student engagement via online learning. He also creates an online submission platform for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting. Success in these projects as well as his outstanding publications record and award-winning teaching earn him the title of University Distinguished Professor.

In chapter 8, we attempt to explain the central ideas and themes that run through Yong’s prolific scholarly output. Over his career, he has engaged several of the seminal questions in education, such as, What kind of educational model best serves students? What are the consequences of schooling as a mechanism of state control? What are the pernicious effects of high-stakes assessment? How does personalized education benefit students? How can technology best serve education? How can promoting global thinking help us solve the world’s most pressing problems?

The epilogue provides a brief overview of Bill’s life and how he came to collaborate with Yong on this book. He describes the events that have shaped a worldview that is remarkably similar to Yong’s.