BENJAMIN LEE HICKS, PhD
benjamin lee hicks (they / them) is a visual artist, elementary school teacher, and teacher educator. In recent years, they have been a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Health and Society at University of Toronto, Scarborough, and a sessional lecturer for P/J/I Art Education in the Master of Teaching program at The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. They can currently be found in their preferred habitat: teaching Grade 4/5 in a Toronto District School Board (TDSB) classroom.
Prior to beginning graduate studies full time in 2015, benjamin taught Junior Kindergarten (JK) to Grade 6 classrooms in the Toronto District School Board for 8 years.
They received their PhD in Curriculum and Pedagogy from OISE / University of Toronto in June, 2022. Their dissertation is titled, To Do This Discussion Differently: Queering Teacher Professional Learning Through Comic Art and Graphic Stories.
VISUAL ART + OTHER STORIES
Visual communication and creative expression are integral to every aspect of benjamin’s professional practice. More personally; the careful articulation of ideas and emotions through image has helped to ease much of their own process for communicating in and with the world.
When benjamin was in art school, they were often told that paintings should never include text… Similarly, many academics think that “scholarly” writing should not be told through art or visual imagery… benjamin thinks that “shoulds” are frequently harmful and ridiculous.
benjamin believes that sharing our stories and being deeply, intentionally present with others when they offer to share theirs is one important means by which humans can enact greater care and compassion in the places/spaces we travel.
TEACHING + LEARNING
As a JK-6 teacher and teacher-educator, benjamin has written and designed curriculum materials on topics of sustainable community building, queering school space and arts-based activism. They are interested in how we might better support teachers to expect queerness and welcome all gender identities in their classrooms. benjamin is also passionate about centring the voices and experiences of trans and non-binary people navigating the school system as students, staff and caregivers. Their current academic work explores how visual storytelling and comic art can help to engage teachers more personally and continuously in professional learning (+ action) for social justice.