A Singaporean of Chinese and Malay descent, Johari spends his time off traveling the world. During Fremont's recent winter break, he went back home to Singapore to visit his family, and he's been known to sneak off to Egypt or Mexico whenever his classroom empties of students.

Of course, his wanderlust has nothing to do with escaping a job that he loves. Teaching is what lured him to Sunnyvale, where he pursues his calling in front of classes of geometry and algebra students. This passion is one of the reasons Johari was named Fremont's Teacher of the Year by his students and fellow staffers for the school year ending in 2003. The other reason is his penchant for innovation, using filmmaking and exotic concepts to teach mathematics and a combination of Singapore and U.S. culture to engage his students.

"The Singapore education system is based on the British model, and I wanted something different," he says, his accent echoing those roots. After earning a certificate in mechanical engineering and working as a university research assistant, Johari, 40, felt the itch to pursue mathematics in the United States. He chose Santa Clara University for its prestigious program and graduated from there with a bachelor's degree.

"I fell in love with the valley," he says. "It's a model for its celebration of diversity." Johari moved on to Stanford University for his master's in education with a mathematics concentration. Through its program, he did a student-teaching stint at Fremont. "Stanford's picked Fremont as one of three schools for professional development," he says.

He returned to Singapore, where he wrote for newspapers and hosted a radio show, but while tutoring youngsters there for high school exams, he longed to teach again. He returned to this area in 2001, and the experience he's had teaching in two different societies has fine-tuned his own style.

"In Singapore, everyone is expected to excel. The emphasis is on the skill," Johari says. "Here, it's on the passions. You learn for understanding." He melds the two mindsets into something that appeals to his diverse students. First and foremost is making sure his pupils know he expects a lot of them. "They see that you're sincere, and that manifests itself," he says. "It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."

On the flip side is taking what can be a very confusing subject and making it interesting to teenagers. "I have to work to engage and motivate the kids," he says. "It helps to be excited about what you're teaching." He does that by bringing in math concepts from all over the world, such as using Mayan pyramids to teach the idea of slope.

His students have completed their own presentations on cross-cultural math using Microsoft PowerPoint, just one of the ways they use technology. Last year, one assignment was called "Honey, I Blew Up the Object," in which students produced scaled-up versions of things like pencils and matchbooks. They then wrote scripts revolving around their objects and filmed them using Apple's iMovie. Johari held a premiere for parents and members of the tech industry. "Posters are passé," he explains. "This unleashes their creativity and imagination."

In addition, these kinds of projects force his students to work together and think critically. "Will they ever see a pentagonal prism again?" he asks. "Probably not, but they will have to work in groups. At the end of the day, you want to prepare them to be successful for life." He's helping Fremont with implementing ideas of "authentic assessment," which involves projects like his as well as portfolios and journals as true evaluations of students' work.

While he's a hit in the classroom, Johari's outreach doesn't stop there. He's often found in the library tutoring students after school, and he advises two clubs—the Aperture Photography Club, and the Culinary Club, which he founded. "What better way to connect to another culture than through food?" he says.

He connects to other cultures in myriad ways, photography and food just two of his many interests. In addition to his trips and the many pictures he takes, he collects art ranging from Burmese lacquerware to Cambodian weaving. He received $1000 from the Kiwanis Club for his award, which he promptly spent on art books for his collection. "If you pour your money into your head, no one can take that away," he reasons.

His rich life sometimes confuses his students, who are amazed that he doesn't own a television even though he does occasionally throw out a term like homies in class. He's planning his next trip for Tokyo and Shanghai, but as always, he's going alone so he can blend in. "I don't want to be a tourist," he says. "I want to go off the beaten path."