Tavi Bingham

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher because my own children struggled to learn to read. They had great teachers who helped them develop the skills they needed to read but more importantly the love for reading. I wanted to pay it forward and help other students gain the skills they need to read. I also wanted to show them how exciting reading can be when they read about what they are passionate about.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I teach first grade and I had a student who came into my class not knowing all the letter names and sounds. I worked with her one on one, in small groups and in whole group. As the year progressed she went from not knowing all the sounds to sounding out every letter in every word to reading many words by site. She went from being very frustrated with reading to being very excited to read a new book and loving reading.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would like to visit the places we study in first grade-Machu Picchu in Peru, the pyramids in Egypt, and the Mayan, Inca, and Aztec ruins in Mexico, Central and South America.