(Editor’s note: The Augusta Press will feature each of the five finalists for Richmond County’s Teacher of the Year. The winner will be announced at an Oct. 6 banquet.)
Shikara Willis has wanted to teach since she was a little girl playing school with her siblings. For her, it was always meant to be.
“It really feels like one of those things that has just been embedded since the beginning,” said Willis, an Augusta native who teaches fifth grade English and language arts at C.T Walker Traditional Magnet School.
She strives to be an approachable, relatable and even sometimes comical teacher to her students.
“It starts from the heart,” she said. “I think it’s those attributes that draw my students in. Through teaching, I try to ensure that I am being culturally responsive.”
Willis, who has been an educator for 19 years, has earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Paine College, a master’s in reading and literacy from Walden University and an education specialist in Advanced Studies from Augusta University.
She tries to leave all biases at the door because she wants each student to feel valued within her class.
“I want my students to feel valued, included and safe to take risks,” she said.
She also said she believes in teaching students to have responsibility for their own education.
“In class, I serve more as a facilitator to promote self-learning and help my students to grow through critical thinking – so they learn to depend on themselves rather than looking to me for all of the answers,” she said.
Willis said knowing oneself, especially in the classroom, is important for many different reasons.
“I think it helps them to understand that there is something in them, that they’re capable of discovery. They’re capable of inquiry. They’re capable of finding out information on their own as long as they have that drive and motivation to dig deep to pull that information out,” she said. “If we can create self-learners now at an early age than, as they go through high school and college, they’re more aware of what they’re capable of and how to pull those things out of themselves.”
To lead by example of furthering one’s education Willis has received a gifted endorsement and completed the Governor’s School Leadership Academy Teacher Leader program, she is also currently pursuing other teacher endorsements.
However, she believes the most important thing a teacher can achieve is creating a positive learning environment for students.
“For me the most important thing that I try to implement in the classroom is a family environment, full of children with a ‘don’t quit’ attitude,” she said. “I remind my students that, during the week, they spend more of their awake hours with me and their classmates than they do with their family. So, I encourage them to support one another and build one another up, and we don’t let our family members quit on themselves or give up.”
Willis said having a supportive, loving environment where students help each other prevents them from ‘so easily throwing in the towel’ when it comes to their education.
As an educator, Willis said she hopes the confidence she helps instill within her students endures through the years.
“I believe that if you’re confident in yourself there’s nothing that you can’t accomplish, nothing that you cannot overcome,” she said. “So, through me helping them to develop their confidence, I feel like they’ll be able to handle whatever comes their way. I want my students to be able to see themselves as strong.”
As a product of the Richmond County School System, Willis said she wanted to teach in Augusta to make a difference within her hometown.
“It gives me an opportunity to give back to a community and a school system that gave so much to me,” she said. “So, the vision of Richmond County is to give an equitable education for all students and to prepare them for life beyond the classroom.”
Growing up, Willis said Eleanor Lambert, who taught her at Bungalow Road Elementary School, had an enormous impact on her education and views of the school system.
“She was absolutely phenomenal. She started out as my thir-grade teacher, but she became like a second mother,” she said. “At the beginning of the year there was this light, this spark that I had, but that light slowly began to dim because of family issues and circumstances way beyond my control. She noticed that … she decided to give me that extra love and support that I needed.”
Inspired by her past teacher’s dedication and care, Willis strives to be at least half as impactful to her students as Lambert was to her.
Besides attending student games and shows, Willis also volunteers with an organization, Brown Girls Code, that introduces students to cyber security and coding. She believes participating in the program helps her make a positive change within the education field.
“It really tries to diversify the technology field so that it’s open to girls who look like me, and helping them gain that interest,” she said.
Willis said she academically challenges her students to jumpstart their growth and challenge their limits.
“I push my students outside of their comfort zone because I believe that, when they are pushed beyond what they think they are capable of, is when they discover what I have already known the entire time,” she said. “They can do way more than they give themselves credit for. I believe it’s my duty to leave the world in a much better place than what I found it.”
For her students who are more challenging within the classroom, Willis said she tries to give them a little more of herself.
“What I’ve learned is the ones who give the most pushback are those who really need the most love and attention. They’re pushing back for a reason and oftentimes the reason has nothing to do with the teacher, but it’s circumstances at home,” she said. “So, actually loving them through that pushback and letting them know that each day is a brand new day … It’s letting them discover that I truly care because then they’re willing to do the work.”
Willis also believes students need to be supported outside of the classroom to know that she is their cheerleader and always wants her students to know she ‘has their back.’
“I need them to know that I’m not just here for nine months, I’m here for as long as you will allow me to be a part of your life. You can call on me and I will be there, and I think our kids need to know that,” she said. “Our kids need to know that there is someone outside of mom or dad who will truly be there, and not judge but just support.”
The winner of Richmond County’s Teacher of the Year award will be announced on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center located downtown.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
