Walking down the English hallway, one might hear the familiar hum of lo-fi beats. The music leading to Alexandra Okechi’s room, carefully decorated to feel like a magical fairyland, and to create an inviting and comfortable environment for students.
Okechi is a new AP English Language and AP English Literature teacher at CVHS. In her short time here at Carnegie, she has already established herself as an impactful and dynamic teacher. Her teaching philosophy has developed over her 10 years of working at many different schools within the YES Prep charter school system and at the Energy Institute High School. Her teaching today reflects the project-based teaching styles of the charter schools she worked at. Okechi brings this unique perspective to CVHS, focusing on relating lessons to students’ real lives and encouraging critical thinking about the world around them.
“I want to bring topics that are relevant to the things that students care about, whether that be environmental issues, power dichotomy, power imbalances, or universal archetypes” Okechi says.
Another aspect of Okechi’s teaching style is her passion for highlighting diverse voices in literature.
“The key thing with my course is I want students from all backgrounds to see themselves reflected in literature and poetry,” Okechi said.
Okechi emphasized that representative voices helps readers find those connections to the world through literature.
“Storytelling is one of the most powerful and universal things that we have,” she reflected.
Okechi’s love of teaching is based not only on helping students make connections, but also on the joy of hearing the connections students begin to make on their own.
“It just shocks me how profound and insightful students are, even without them realizing it,” she said.
Okechi didn’t always know she wanted to pursue a career in English. As a student at Trinity University she knew she wanted to study within the field of humanities. She originally pursued a degree in anthropology, a subject that still influences much of her literary interests today. Besides being a teacher, she is also a pet mom to two dogs and a cat named Cajun, and enjoys listening to music and walking her dogs. Her interest in magic isn’t confined to her room decor, as Okechi loves reading fantasy, fairy magic novels and movies, especially stories from Studio Ghibli.
“I prefer soft magic systems, like the ones presented in Studio Ghibli, where magic is just a part of the world and it doesn’t need explanation. Those are my favorite types of stories,” Okechi said.
Some of her interests include crystals, ethnobotany — the study of how indigenous cultures have traditionally utilized plants — and fashion history. Okechi is passionate about fashion history’s importance in our world despite it often being disregarded.
“I think there can be a lot said about how people present themselves and what style represents as a reflection of society,” Okechi said.
For the rest of the 2024-2025 school year, Okechi has designed a curriculum for her AP English Literature class that reflects her goals of helping students relate the author’s messages back to themselves. The course will include British, Lebanese-American, Chicano and African American perspectives on literature, each reflecting different time period and the society of that time.
Okechi’s commitment to bringing students diverse perspectives makes her classroom a place where storytelling meets self discovery. Moving forward, Okechi hopes to incorporate more class discussion and collaboration in her curriculum while continuing to provide a safe space for students.
