After finding her passion for teaching kids with special needs as a summer-camp leader for Champaign-Urbana Special Recreation six years ago, Alexandra Wells decided to stay in her hometown after college. The former Unit 4 student is in her second year as a functional-life-skills teacher at Jefferson Middle School, where she loves taking her students out into the community where she grew up.
I find my work important because ... the skills that I teach my students prepare them to be more independent in high school and beyond!
I became a teacher because ... I was a summer-camp leader for Champaign-Urbana Special Recreation and realized I loved working with kids with disabilities. After the summer of 2017, I decided to pursue a career in special education.
My favorite/most unique lesson that I teach is ... community-based instruction. I have the opportunity to take my students out into the community to practice various functional life skills, such as grocery shopping, paying for items, ordering at a restaurant, accessing public transportation and more.
My most fulfilling moments on the job are when ... the unexpected happens and my team and I are able to think on our feet to come up with an appropriate solution.
I keep students engaged by ... providing them with small re-inforcers. This includes high fives, fist bumps, little snacks, compliments, words of encouragement and more. Knowing the student helps me provide them with the most meaningful re-inforcer.
Something else I’m passionate about is ... downtime and relaxation. Being a teacher takes a lot of energy. Making sure you have time to relax helps you maintain a healthy work-life balance ... I hope.
My favorite teacher and subject to study in school was ... my seventh-grade science teacher at Edison Middle School, Mr. Kuppler. He always created fun and engaging experiments that I still remember to this day!
If I weren’t a teacher, I would be ... a movie critic. In my downtime, I love watching movies and raving (or ranting) about them.
— ANTHONY ZILIS