Questions and answers
(Created: Friday, June 23, 2006 11:23 PM CDT)
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Teacher helps raise $50K for museum
By Stefanie White McKinney Courier-Gazette
Vickie Hester never considered herself a brainiac. That's why the McKinney resident and elementary arts teacher at the Kennedy Learning Center in Dallas was surprised when she was chosen to be one of 22 people to participate in Yahoo! Answers “Ask the Planet 2006” campaign.
Hester was a member of a recycling group of Yahoo! when she first learned about Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! Answers is a site where people can post a question and get real answers from real people. The questions, Hester said, ranged from serious to silly.
“I've probably answered the meaning of life a thousand times,” Hester said.
Hester put in an application but didn't expect to hear back from anyone. When she was first told that she was chosen to be a part of the promotional tour, she thought someone was playing a joke on her.
“I thought it was a scam,” Hester said.
Once a representative from Yahoo assured her that she was going on the tour, Hester was ecstatic.
Hester joined the other “Brainiacs” in New York City for the week-long tour on June 13. The group was set up inside a three-story brain where they answered questions from people on a live webcast.
About 50,000 questions were answered by the group and other Yahoo! Answers users. Hester even learned the answer to a problem she has long been dealing with: squeaky tennis shoes. The solution: baby powder.
Hester, who teaches 225 economically challenged kids, bonded with Russell Simmons, who came from a lower-income family himself. Simmons, Hester said, was a source of inspiration.
“He was the most amazing man,” said Hester.
The “Ask the Planet 2006” campaign aired on MSNBC and was featured in Readers Digest. Hester found all the media attention overwhelming.
“I had cameras in my face for a week,” Hester said.
Back home now, Hester says she looks forward to telling her students about her adventures in New York City. While she is now considered a “Brainiac,” Hester still sees herself as a regular person.
“I'm really just your average school teacher from Dallas.”
Contact Stefanie White at stefanie.white@scntx.com.
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