Eddie Woo is a secondary school maths teacher in Sydney who has built an international following over the past nine years thanks to his mathematics lessons posted on YouTube.
He has gone onto publish two books and even hosted 'Teenage Boss' on the ABC, which gave teens control of their family's financial decisions for a month.
In 2018, he delivered a titled "Mathematics is the sense you never knew you had", and he was named as the Australian of the Year Local Hero in that year also.
He was recently appointed to the Australian Multicultural Council, telling SBS Chinese it is a “massive honour and privilege”, but also “a big responsibility”.
“When I was born and growing up in Australia, trying to understand my own or true identity was a big question that I know I had trouble answering.
"So now I was someone who has come through that experience knowing there are many people who are growing up right now and don't know what the relationship between Australia and all of the different cultures is. Being able to answer those questions and provide that perspective, I view it as my responsibility to do that.”
The 12-member council provides advice to the Australian government on multicultural affairs, integration, and social cohesion.
Eddie Woo has been appointed to the Australian Multicultural Council Source: Sam Venn Photography
Mr Woo hopes to provide a valuable and accurate perspective of the different standpoints and the different priorities and values of all communities within Australia, but particularly the “second generation” who is facing unique challenges of cultural identity.
The 2020-21 Federal Budget allocated $62.8 million to support Australia’s social cohesion and ensure the values and institutions that unite us as Australians remain strong.
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Alex Hawke said Mr Woo will bring valuable experience to the council, which includes leaders from a range of business and civil society backgrounds.
“Mr Woo was selected for the Australian Multicultural Council on the basis of his expertise, leadership and demonstrated commitment to social cohesion and multicultural Australia, and As citizens, we share a commitment to Australia and its people, and our shared values of freedom, respect, fairness and equality of opportunity. Mr Woo has exemplified these values in his actions,” Mr Hawke said.
From regular maths teacher to YouTube star
Mr Woo's YouTube channel has gone from strength to strength since its launch in 2012 and now has 1.17 million subscribers.
It was a video in that first year for a student who was sick which garnered millions of views, and numerous comments.
“When a follower delivered a message saying they’ve decided to become a teacher because they have watched my video, that’s very profound. That is not a light decision," he said.
"That's a very major decision about what kind of person you are and what you want your future to be like.”
He said it's disappointing that there were some people in Western society that don't hold teachers in the highest regard, noting that even his own family did not want him to become a teacher.
“It's not easy to make that change happen in a culture. As you well know one of the big differences between Western and Eastern society and culture is that Western society tends not to value educators very much. We have fairly low status in society.”
Therefore, Mr Woo believes it's important to show people that education is something that should be valued to the highest degree.
“To know that there are people out there who have changed life direction because of the videos they’ve watched is quite amazing and I feel very honoured to have that impact on them.”
'My mum wanted me to be a lawyer'
Mr Woo's parents are Chinese and migrated to Australia from Malaysia during the 1970s.
Like typical Asian parents, he said, they wanted their son to become a lawyer.
He said his mum saw that language and communication were skills he was good at during his formative years.
“When I was growing up, mathematics was not really my strong point. In many ways, it still isn't because my natural kind of inclination is to humanities, English, history and drama. Those are the subjects I studied a lot of.”
His mum, therefore, encouraged him to enter debating and public speaking contests at school and hoped it would propel him into a career in law.
However, he chose to study Education in Secondary Mathematics and Information Technology at the University of Sydney.
“[My success] is actually a bit bittersweet for me as my mother died when I was about 18 and so she did not get to see what I've become and all that kind of thing.
"At that time, I do not think she even fully came to accept that, but I feel grateful to her because even though they [parents] believed it was a mistake, they still let me make that choice, and make my own mistakes. I’m grateful they still gave me that opportunity."
As an educator, Mr Woo has seen that every child is unique and it’s a good thing to explore different opportunities, affirming that this is also one of the best things about the Australian education system.
“The Australian education system provides such broad opportunities for children to pursue different things and see which one, or collection of ideas, will resonate with them.
"It will help them flourish and it will give them the skills to serve a community. I want to be a model for them, what a good positive attitude to learning looks like.”
'The beauty of maths'
During the widely-circulated Tedx Talk, Mr Woo shared his passion for mathematics, declaring that it is a "sense, just like sight and touch" and one we can all embrace.
Using examples of geometry, he encouraged listeners to seek out patterns around us.
Mr Woo's older brother was the first person who gave him a perspective that mathematics is not just about calculations and formulas, but a way to understand the patterns and relationships in our world.
“It's very important for mathematicians to understand that making mistakes is actually a very important part of the learning process," he said.
"There is a great educational researcher named Dylan William. He says if you are studying something and you're making errors that can actually be a good sign because mistakes are an indication that the work you're doing is hard enough to make you learn.”
Mr Woo hopes to be a model for continual learning for children.
“We know that the world is a rapidly changing place, and you know continual learning well beyond your formal education is really important. It is a huge indicator of successful people in life, whether they are good continuing lifelong learners or not.
"So, I want to show my children that I read at home. I am a person who likes to engage with new ideas.”
