“I’m a mosaic of all my teachers” : An Interview with Mr. Shad Hickman
At 2:25, as I walk into Room 228 of our school, it is towards the end of a class period. A few students are finishing a quiz on rational functions, which was given to them at the beginning of the class. After they finish, they carefully put the quiz into the mailbox at the front of the room and quickly gather their belongings to prepare to leave. “Goodbye, have a great day,” they call out as they head out the room. Dressed in a tall colorful hat, Mr. Shad Hickman, the AP Pre-Calculus and Statistics teacher, cheerfully waves to them.
Class of 1989, Mr. Hickman attended Richwoods High School at the time when they had just won a state championship for football. “School spirit was on the upsurge, so it was a good time to be a knight.” Mr. Hickman himself was on the football team when Richwoods won the state championship again in 1989. At that time, Richwoods started to build its reputation as one of the top schools in the state with students’ average ACT score around 27.
Trying to navigate through different classes, Mr. Hickman admits that he didn’t do well in some classes such as Chemistry and English. Feeling unmotivated, Mr. Hickman decided that science was not for him. In English, he recalls reading books by such authors as Ray Bradbury, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Willa Cather. Mr. Joseph Maier was his English teacher during his sophomore year. (Later when Mr. Hickman came back to teach at Richwoods, he would coach track with Mr. Maier.) Similar to his experience with the chemistry class, he felt English was not for him either. Although he liked reading books assigned in the English class, he felt misunderstood by one of his English teachers. “Back then, teachers impact where you went,” Mr. Hickman says.
Although Mr. Hickman acknowledges that he didn’t excel in some classes, he says that he met some inspirational teachers who would influence his teaching to this day. The first teacher he recounts is Mr. Wayne Hammerton, his Algebra 2 teacher who also coached basketball. “He was a super, super good basketball coach,” Mr. Hickman remembers. Another teacher was Mr. Darrell Antoine, who taught biology during his freshman year. “He was a nature guy and every year we would go outside, and he would show us all the things in nature we could eat. He also cooked dandelion soup occasionally. It wasn’t bad, and it didn’t kill me,” he recalls.
However, one of the most influential teachers was his Spanish teacher during the freshman year, Mr. Orlando Hernandez. “He was a really happy Cuban refugee, who was one of the first men who got on a boat and came to the United States. He was very excited to be here, and his class was a ball of fun.” After a great year with Mr. Hernandez, Mr. Hickman met a man who would forever change his life: Mr. Joseph Diaz. “His class was really fun, and he was always joking. We learned a lot of Spanish that year.” When Mr. Diaz recommended for Mr. Hickman to take a fourth year of Spanish, he happily agreed, knowing that Mr. Diaz was to be his teacher. Mr. Diaz was a great influence on Mr. Hickman’s decision to become a teacher. Later when Mr. Hickman came back to visit Mr. Diaz as an adult, he bought
Mr. Diaz a gift as a token of gratitude. “I am a happy go lucky guy and joke around with kids, you know, that comes straight from either Joe Maier or from Joe Diaz. They were fun, and you didn’t want to miss their class.” It is no surprise that when it comes to teaching, Mr. Hickman tries to make a hard subject like math fun like what he experienced in those teachers’ classes.
After Mr. Hickman graduated from Richwoods, he went on to attend Monmouth College. He took many math classes because he liked math. At the same time, he started thinking about his career, and it dawned on him that he might as well apply for a teaching position. Hesitant at first, he was recommended to come back to Richwoods to “talk to some people you respect as a teacher.” Mr. Hickman then came back to talk to Mr. Hammerton. He gained some insights about pursuing personal passion after the meeting. Another person Mr. Hickman talked to was Ms. Marylee Bales, a social science teacher, who enjoyed taking students on a field trip to Washington D.C. “She was a big proponent of the national archives,” Mr. Hickman remembers fondly. Many of his former teachers, including Ms. Bales, were quite surprised that he decided to be a teacher.
Ultimately, all of these teachers inspired Mr. Hickman to follow in their paths. “When I just think of all those people in the past and how they have helped me, I realize that I’m a mosaic of them. Yes, I’m a mosaic of all those people, and I may not teach exactly like them, but they have filtered a lot of my mannerism and what I do because of their influence on me. When I also look back on my decision to become a teacher, I think I was in the right place at the right time. It’s easy for me to get in this room. Once I get in this building and I open that door, time files. I’m not counting how many days until I retire because I like see kids grow.” Speaking with enthusiasm, Mr. Hickman clearly shows his passion for teaching.
As a student who used to struggle in certain classes, Mr. Hickman can identify himself with those who find his class challenging. He knows that for some self-driven students, a teacher is like a facilitator, and it does not make a difference if “a robot is up there teaching.” However, Mr. Hickman feels that it is his responsibility to help those who are struggling. “I like seeing kids who are having a hard time get better by the end of the year.” He sees his teaching making a difference for students who have difficulty with learning math. After 25 years of teaching, Mr. Hickman seems to have discovered why this profession is rewarding and fulfilling for him.
Click, click, click. 3:35
Glancing at the big clock over the white board, I realize that this interview has lasted over an hour. Time does fly in Room 228. Knowing that Mr. Hickman has a lot of students’ tests to grade and homework to check, I hurriedly say thank you and pack my bag. Rushing out of the double doors, a cold autumn breeze brushes past my face. Listening to Mr. Hickman recollecting his past teachers, I start to think of the teachers who have taught me. Like Mr. Hickman, I still remember many of my teachers. Mrs. Peters, my second-grade teacher, who, although she had retired, came to congratulate us during our 8th grade graduation; Ms. Kellenberger, my fourth-grade teacher, always comes to hug me whenever I go back to visit my middle school. The list can go on and go, and I know that I am fortunate to have them as my teachers. At the time when Khan academy has launched Khanmigo, an AI-powered tutor, and the time when many teachers across the nation are leaving this profession, our Richwoods alumnus, Mr. Hickman, still believes in the impact a teacher like him can have on students and works hard to help those who have been in Room 228.
