Reuben Bellisario

Connect Tell us why you became a teacher

Growing up, I was a struggling learner with attention challenges who was lucky enough to have a mother that was patient. As I worked through my obstacles, I developed into an average student in middle and high school but I lacked confidence. In college, I discovered the passion for learning and helping others, working as a tutor. I got a unique opportunity to work in a middle school as a non-licensed professional, tutoring at-risk students, leading me to earn my SPED license a few years later.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

My most memorable experience recently happened this school year. I’ve been working with a student since his freshman year and over the course of the last three years, he has struggled with feelings of "inadequacy and self doubt", leading to lower academic performance. However, I got him to open-up early in his senior year about his feelings and in the course of just a few months, he has become an advocate for people with disabilities. He plans on pursuing a career as a social worker.

What would you do with the $25,000?

Beyond teaching, my passion is collecting bobbleheads, which are fun, engaging, and make great teaching tools. For over 10 years, I've been actively collecting bobbleheads, putting them on display in my classroom. I would like to develop a line of classroom bobbleheads that teachers could use, both as displays items and tactile tools, durable enough to withstand the rigors of a classroom. It's a great opportunity to create teaching tools, across the curriculum, to benefit student learning.