Alexiss Hickman

Tell us why you became a teacher

I didn’t have a great time in school; no one was really jumping at the chance to work with the work with the poor, stinky kid. But, as they tend to do, an English teacher came into my life and taught me how to use reading and writing as an escape. I wanted to do that for others.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable teaching experience was an “aha” moment when I was teaching Romeo and Juliet. A student had been struggling with working in class and understanding the text, when we started acting it out and suddenly, it clicked. I watched it happen and this kid that had been a behaviour issue and riddled with academic apathy started to participate!!!

What would you do with the $25,000?

My school doesn’t have curriculum for ELA, and I would put the money towards buying a really good curriculum. If there’s any left over, I have a class hygiene closet that I would fill.