After four years of being a FLEX student, a degree from the University of Michigan and a life abroad in Korea, Michael Wicker is back to help teach Anthropology year for the FLEX program.
Wicker attended Seaholm High School from 1998 to 2002 as a FLEX student.
“Michael always expressed an interest to teach and speak in class,” Robin Moten, Wicker’s former FLEX teacher said.
Wicker’s experiences from the time he was a student in FLEX to his return as a teacher have prepared him accordingly for the FLEX program’s Anthropology year.
“After attending [University of Michigan], I lived in [South] Korea for one school year,” Wicker said. “I taught at a Korean school in Seoul.”
Wicker gained valuable experiences during his eight months in South Korea.
“I think here at Seaholm we study [foreign cultures] very academically, when very few of us have actually lived in [another country],” Wicker said. “Living in any foreign place, especially [South] Korea, is very unique. I was able to teach and learn a lot from that entire experience.”
For Wicker, the jump from learning to teaching is a big one that comes with some major advantages.
“I think I prefer being able to teach more than being one of the students,” Wicker said. “As a student you can somewhat shape understanding in a seminar, but as a teacher you can actually shape the way that a student learns.”
Being a teacher in FLEX was always something that Wicker wanted to do, but the idea of being able to teach in such a program is “like growing up wanting to play professional basketball,” according to Wicker.
“I think it’s tough to rise up to the position of a FLEX teacher,” Nick Resnick, a junior in FLEX, said. “But I think he is doing a great job. I think the fact that Mr. Wicker was a student in FLEX will definitely come in handy for teaching.”
Colleagues said Wicker is clearly filling the unofficial requirements for flex teachers.
“[Wicker] clearly has had many experiences ever since he was a FLEX student,” Peter Shaheen, a FLEX language arts department teacher said. “He has learned a lot more. But he has also seen all four years of FLEX, so he is one of us. He was a good student back then and, in FLEX, that makes a terrific teacher.”
Wicker had high praises for the FLEX program.
“FLEX really does change the way you learn,” Wicker said. “The nature of FLEX both personally and professionally prepared me for college and for life.”
