On a fall day at the steps of the Hickman’s East entrance, Dr. Lara Lehman sat, just having purchased a drink from the nearby vending machine.
While this is her first full year at Hickman, it isn’t to say that she is new to the school; Lehman was a student of Hickman and taught part time at Hickman previously.
Lehman currently teaches language arts at Hickman; she also has taught a variety of subjects at a variety of schools at a variety of different grade levels.
Some of the places Lehman has taught at are Harrisburg High School, gifted education at Field Elementary and the University of Missouri.
Leia Brooks, who previously worked with Lehman on the Missouri Writing project, had many kind things about Lehman.
“People are excited to be writing and studying American literature, and that’s all you can ask for in a teacher,” Brooks stated.
Lehman got her start teaching during her own education, at her graduate school Northwestern.
“I taught a class called the analysis of performance of literature,” Lehman stated.
Lehman’s return to Hickman showed her some changes, but some things remained the same.
She described her first impression of Hickman, “I just thought it was so huge. Oh my gosh, it seems so overwhelming and it still seems like to me today.”
One somewhat recent distraction from school is phones, which prove to be an issue for teachers, including Lehman.
“It was a rough six weeks; the phones are a nightmare,” Lehman explained.
Lehman said that if she enforces her policies well, “by this time of the year, things get really enjoyable, which is where it’s at right now for me which is nice.
Lehman teaches using her own writing and research.
“I also teach American literature, and we’re going to read the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, which is about the Salem witch trials. So like I’m bringing in my photo album of my research trip to Salem,” Lehman said.