By April Clark Honaker
Mason Hixon has been teaching science and at Choudrant High School since 2010. He started teaching there shortly after earning his bachelor’s degree in biology education for Grades 6-12 at Louisiana Tech University.
Although he’s taught everything from physical science to ACT Prep and coached multiple sports, Hixon currently teaches biology I and environmental science and is the head cross country coach.
Hixon grew up in Hilly, Louisiana. His mom was a teacher at Cypress Springs Elementary, and he attended Cedar Creek School where his interest in teaching was first sparked through tutoring.
When he was 17, one of the teachers at Cedar Creek introduced Hixon to tutoring and that got him interested in teaching, and he never wavered. “Probably, I was a weirdo because I knew what I wanted to do right out the gate,” Hixon said.
His favorite thing about teaching is getting to see people grow and figure out things. “The most rewarding thing in the short term is seeing someone figure something out and begin to succeed where they were struggling,” he said. In the long term, the most rewarding thing for Hixon is to see former students out in the world working and being successful.
Coaching has changed the way Hixon approaches the students. “Since I started coaching, it’s been a lot about relationships,” he said. “Connections with the kids really took off. It really becomes a lot more personal.”
According to Hixon, the key to establishing positive relationships with the students is remembering that everyone has something going on in their life. Everyone has a bad day sometimes and gets frustrated sometimes.
“If you approach them like you’re not judging them and keep a positive attitude,” he said, “sometimes they can’t help but reflect that back, but at the same time, you can’t expect everyone to reflect it back. It’s not their job to be happy.” If someone is more difficult to reach, he said you have to listen and figure out why they’re acting the way they’re acting.
Hixon said the expression that you can catch more flies with honey definitely applies. “If you treat folks right, you’ll get a lot back from them,” he said.
Spending more time with students allows Hixon to foster deeper relationships with them, and he gets that when he’s coaching. In fact, Hixon said there are times during the year when he finds himself spending more time with his runners than with his wife. “That alone gives you more depth of relationship,” he said. “They recognize that you’re invested in them. They know you’re there putting time in to do something for them. It shows them you care about them.”
