Mr. Adam Lang instructs Honors and Standard Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and AP Biology. In the next couple of years, he hopes to add a Zoology class. His favorite animal is the Mantis Shrimp, “a beautiful animal which punches its prey with the force of an actual bullet and sees colors that we can’t even imagine.” For him, the most exciting thing about the human body is its incredible complexity— especially the fact that if the DNA from each cell in a human body was lined up end-to-end, it would stretch to the sun and back about 450 times!
Grace: Why and how did you first start teaching at TPS?
Mr. Lang: In 2021 I moved from Jackson, TN, to Kansas City, KS to be closer to family. I had taught at a Christian classical school, and I wanted to do something similar when my good friend Josh Edgren encouraged me to apply at TPS. He had taken classes through TPS in high school and had started working at TPS the previous year. Josh and I were college roommates, best men in each other’s weddings, and we worked together in Jackson for several years, so, when he told me he thought it would be a good fit, I knew I wanted to learn more. After learning about TPS and what goes on here, I wanted to be a part of it, and the rest is history!
Grace: What is your favorite science experiment?
Mr. Lang: Well, I’m afraid I never quite grew out of a love for explosions. So, in chemistry, thermite reactions, the barking dog experiment, whoosh bottles, and the like are always fun. Flame tests and playing with colored fire or making fireworks is fun too. In the life sciences, I’m most interested in studying animal behavior and consciousness, especially in corvids. I’ve started the qualification process to be a licensed falconer, and may also try to get licensed for ravens as well.
Grace: Why do you enjoy teaching biology?
Mr. Lang: I find it interesting, it’s something I’m good at, etc. But I love teaching biology because I love teaching about this world God has given us. We are embodied creatures, living in a physical world, and, despite the fall, it is a work of art that tells us about the Creator. If you are not in awe of God as you study creation, if you are not moved to worship when you study biology, then you’re not paying attention. To be bored in this world is to be boring, and I love helping students awake to the beauty and mystery of our world.
Grace: What is your favorite Bible verse and why?
Mr. Lang: 2 Timothy 2:20-21. At multiple points in my life this verse has been a timely reminder that I play a role in my own usefulness to the Lord. I am saved by Christ through grace by faith, but if I want to be of service to the Lord I need to choose to remove the things from my life that hamper my faith. Often, it is a great encouragement to see that God has promised that when we set aside our sin, we are ready for good work, and the Lord is faithful not just to save us, but to give us purpose and usefulness in the advance of His kingdom.
Grace: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Mr. Lang: I changed my mind a few times. As a child, probably a Jedi knight. Later, I wanted to be a doctor, and potentially do medical missions. Now, I aspire to pastor, but teaching at TPS will probably be a part of that for a long time to come.
Grace: What are some things that you’re looking forward to doing in the summer?
Mr. Lang: I’m hoping to make some real progress in writing a novel, and I’ll be starting a garden at my new house! I have a number of more pressing things to work on, but I am looking forward to both of these.
Grace: What is one memorable experience that happened in one of your classes this year?
Mr. Lang: Hmm… Well I certainly did not plot the overthrow of TPS admin with one of my standard chemistry sections, nope, no way, I don’t know why you would even ask me about that. On a completely unrelated note, hello section 1. Dawn approaches, break the chains!
Grace: Actually, I’d like to know more about your plot to overthrow the TPS admin, but I understand that you’d want to keep that secret. However, should you choose to reveal more details, I’m sure the readers of clay would be highly entertained.
Mr. Lang: IF there were such a plot, it would still be a current plot, not yet come to fruition, and I wouldn’t want to endanger it by giving too many details. For now, let’s just say that by May 10th, you won’t find any of my students still stuck in any TPS classes.
Grace: What do you hope your students remember most about you as a teacher?
Mr. Lang: My hope is that students will remember how I made their subjects come to life and helped them to be interested in their subjects. They can forget about me, but I hope they will remember the amazement and awe they experienced in studying God’s creation, and that they will carry it through and cultivate that worshipful attitude for the rest of their lives.
Grace: What is something you tried in your classroom this year for the first time? How did it go?
Mr. Lang: This year, in AP Biology, the students did research projects and presentations on a specific aspect of current evolutionary theory and its competitors that they found interesting. Students researched and presented information concerning abiogenesis, human evolutionary theory, baraminology, ghost lineages, etc. and then had an opportunity to ask each other questions about these things. I think it went very well!
Grace: As the school year draws to a close, what is one word of encouragement that you’d like to give the readers of this article?
Mr. Lang: You guys are almost there! Finish strong! Your teachers feel it too, but labor precedes rest. Rest proceeding labor is just unfulfilling laziness. Finishing well is hard, but it is a very important skill in life, so practice it now! Don’t go on break until you’re done, finish out all your work and finish well, and you’ll be truly done with the grade you deserve that much sooner! Rest is all the sweeter for the labor that proceeds it, and so summer will be all the sweeter for finishing well!