Some students are fine with their teachers, some hate their teachers and some students love their teachers. Todd Hecker almost always falls into the category of being loved. Hecker placed 6th in the nationwide America’s Favorite Teacher competition, earning thousands of votes from current and former students, among others.
The teachers sign themselves up for the competition, and Hecker was inspired to do it by a former student who signed up for it themself. He felt awkward putting himself in the competition, but eventually his campaign picked up speed.
“It wasn’t like somebody nominated me or anything. I signed up and then posted a couple things on Facebook, but I didn’t tell anybody here,” Hecker said. “Once I made it to the quarterfinals, that was when I mentioned it to Ms. Paravano, and people at school found out about it.”
The prize for 6th place is a cash sum of $25,000 to be used however Hecker wants. He currently plans to put the money towards getting a new car, likely a Volkswagen Golf.
“I’ve been teaching for a long time; this is my 29th year,” Hecker said. “I have a lot of history, and a lot of people on Facebook know me. I think for the most part people find me approachable, and I think students like me.”
Students that have taken Hecker’s honors or AP physics classes tend to appreciate his different style of teaching, where he posts video lectures and saves class time for questions and working. Emilia Koper ’26, an AP physics student, found this strategy to be very effective.
“I found that it really works for me… he’ll ask which [questions] you struggle on, and he’ll go through them,” Koper said. “He just has so many resources for students.”
Honors physics student Drew Brown ’27 agrees with Koper on multiple levels. Brown finds that he likes Hecker’s energetic and typically happy mood.
“The way he teaches is very unique. He engages the whole class, and the way his classroom is set up, we’re all close to him, even in a big room,” Brown said. “Anybody who is considering taking honors physics: take it. He is a great teacher, and you will not regret it.”
As Hecker enters his 30th year of teaching, he looks forward to continuing to teach his classes. Koper also encourages students who might want to take one of these in the future to do it if they can.
“I think of all the teachers that I’ve had, he has been one of the most impactful educators I’ve had,” Koper said. “He’s very compassionate, he’s very kind, he’s understanding and he’s just a very helpful teacher. He’s just wonderful.”
