You might have seen him sing on his Instagram page, support his students from the stands, or give out candy for a special accomplishment. But still, you might not be aware of the true legend that science teacher Saleh Jahangir truly is.
Jahangir was born in Mymensingh, Bangladesh in 1952. Jahangir’s mother wanted him to become a doctor and his father wanted him to become an engineer; luckily he fell in love with medical physics. He attended Dhaka University in Bangladesh and later researched medical physics for the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC).
In 1980 he received a scholarship from the Atomic Energy Agency and came to the United States for the first time. His research in the U.S. was highly useful to the agency, so his scholarship was extended and he spent two years in the U.S.
When he returned to Bangladesh he continued his work for the BAEC, and spent ten percent of his time teaching physics at Dhaka University. Jahnagir says he enjoyed being a teacher, but realized that wasn’t his primary occupation. During his 25 years as a researcher in medical physics, he reached the highest position possible (Chief Scientific Officer) and was offered the highest fellowship in the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. He accepted the fellowship, where he had to spend at least three months researching in the laboratory and write a paper that could be published. After six years there as a regular associate, he decided to immigrate to the United States in 2003 and become a teacher.
He enrolled at the University of Bridgeport to gain his master’s. For three years, he worked in retail for Macy’s and Saks Off Fifth to finance his education. Jahangir completed his master’s in education and teacher leadership in 2006. He began his goal of teaching the next generation of physicists at Stamford High School.
Jahangir focuses on having personal connections with his students, saying, “It doesn’t matter how scholarly you are; you need to have a personal connection with your students so they accept you.” This is the reason he congratulates the top students every quarter on his Instagram. He believes it creates healthy competition.
Jahangir also makes the classroom as light-hearted as he can. When it’s a student’s birthday he surprises them with a balloon and chocolate; after he re-collects the students’ attention, he begins his lecture. Jahangir says he makes an effort to have a personal connection with each one of his students. “Small moments create big impacts,” Jahangir said.
Multiple students described Jahangir as an enjoyable teacher to have. Junior Rachel Kelly says, “he brings a certain energy to the classroom that you don’t find very often outside of his class.” Junior Theoard Lien said, “it’s a very fun class, but we also cover a lot and he makes everything easy to understand.”
Other students remarked on his kindness. Junior Joshua Nicolas said, “as a teacher he was very practical, always having work for us to do, but he was also kind by always allowing us to make up for late work and checking with us on our grades.” Junior Kayla Harp said, “he’s nice and kind. He’s very understanding.”
Note: This article has been corrected to reflect the correct length of Jahangir’s fellowship.
