Fort Bend ISD announced its new district-wide secondary teacher of the year 2023 honoree, Dulles High School teacher James Riddick.
His exemplary performance will now advance him to the Regional Teacher of Year competition, with the opportunity to advance to the Texas Teacher of the Year program.
At just 30-years-old he made an impact on his students as a passionate geometry teacher and athletics coach. His journey as an educator began nine years ago and has spent the last five as a teacher for Fort Bend ISD.
He is a proud father and husband and shares that same compassion for his family with fellow educators and students.
Riddick says he hopes to motivate other aspiring Black educators to keep working hard and stay true to themselves on this career path.
The Defender spoke to Riddick to talk about this latest achievement and his experience as an educator.
Defender: How does it feel to be honored by FBISD?
Riddick: It’s a blessing. When I was chosen as the teacher of the year for my school, I don’t think I would have ever anticipated how far it would actually go. I was just honored and truly blessed to be even nominated. I can’t even put it into words.
Defender: Tell our audience a little bit about yourself.
Riddick: I come from a military family, so my dad was in the Army for years and I moved around quite a bit growing up. Settled down in Miami, Florida which is where I called home. I had my first teaching assignment there. I left Miami and went to Virginia which is where my parents lived at the time. And then my then fiancé, now wife, we moved to Texas five years ago and we’ve taught in Fort Bend ISD ever since.
Defender: What inspired you to become an educator?
Riddick: It was a conversation that I had with my dad back in high school. Originally, I was supposed to go to the Naval Academy after high school. I think that this was part of his dream as well as mine, but it turned out that I didn’t feel like it was the right fit for me. I chose to pursue a different direction rather than joining the military like he did. He made me promise that no matter what I do in life that I wouldn’t forget to give back and serve. If I wasn’t going to do it in the military, I needed to find another way to do it. After college, I decided to become a teacher. I figured that would be a way to check that box off and fulfill that promise I made to him. At first, it was going to be a two-year commitment with Teach for America, and nine years later I’m still doing it.
Defender: What does you dad think of your achievement now?
Riddick: He is super proud of me. He was one of the first people I called after I found out the news. He’s been my number one supporter, and my mom too. They are happy about how far I’ve come and all the work I’ve put in to get to this point.
Defender: Geometry is a difficult subject for most students. How do you help students grasp the concepts?
Riddick: Growing up, math was my thing. I went to college and decided to become a journalist. I didn’t have to take any math courses, but I figured that teaching math was something that was at my core. Math teaches you certain life skills that maybe you don’t see in other subjects. I think geometry in particular has a way of challenging those people who consider themselves be math people. When I was in school, geometry was my least favorite math course. When I became a teacher, I was supposed to teach algebra. They switched like a week before and said ‘Hey, just kidding, you’re going to teach geometry,’ and I was like ‘absolutely not.’ But here I am six years later teaching this subject. I like the age group I’m working with mostly 9th and 10th graders, and I like helping them get over the fear of the subject.
Defender: Being a teacher is more than standing in front of kids and teaching a subject. What do you think it takes to truly thrive as an educator, but make an impact in the lives of the students?
Riddick: It’s all about building relationships with the students. I just turned 30 this past year. I’ll be 31 in September. I’m still in the younger spectrum, so to speak. Being a young Black man just gives me a little bit more of a connection with my students than maybe some teachers have, right off the bat. I’m fairly youthful and I still play sports, so it’s easier for me to connect with my students. I like to understand what’s important to my students; what things they like to do outside of school, if they have a job, take care of siblings, or whatever motivates them. A lot of students ask why they need to know geometry. Honestly, I don’t have an answer for them, but I know they will eventually be in a situation where they will learn material they have never seen before and will have to think outside of the box to find solutions.
Defender: What is one of the more memorable moments you’ve had as an educator?
Riddick: I remember one of my students who I taught her sophomore and junior year when we were online [during the pandemic]. That was a hard time for a lot of students. I got to know her when we were teaching through Microsoft Teams. She always asked for help. She came to my tutorials I was able to connect with her and understand what was going on in her life. During her junior year, she was my in my Algebra 2 class, and now this year she is no longer in my class, but she’ll be graduating in May. She wrote her college essay about me and the impact that I had on her life and how isolated she felt during COVID, and I just being that person that cared enough to check in on her and make sure she stayed up on her homework so she wasn’t falling behind in class. That meant the world to her.
Defender: Representation of Black male teachers matters in education. What are some lessons you’ve learned in your career that you’d want to share with other aspiring Black male educators?
Riddick: Just be yourself. A lot of times we have this conceptualization that we have to try and fit into what schools or the profession and the world wants us to be. Students appreciate the authenticity. They recognize that you might be into the same things they like and that gives you a leg up to some educators that feel like they can’t be more than just a teacher. Other students and teachers will learn to appreciate that in the long run. That’s what most important.
