By FELICIA FALLANO
Miranda Libkin is starting her opening act at Malden High School. Coming from a background in theatre, she is now debuting as a ninth and eleventh grade honors English teacher at MHS. Overwhelmed at how big the school is, she is relieved that the students and staff are so welcoming and polite, and she feels comfortable asking for help.
Libkin is “excited for the school year and excited to be in Malden.” She grew up in State College, Pennsylvania and is looking forward to being in the city for a change. After teaching in Pennsylvania, she has come to MHS with a positive attitude, where she is “having fun everyday.” She “likes the feeling of living in a city” and the dog park, where she often takes her new puppy, Dill, to. Libkin said she named her dog after a character from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of her favorite books.
In high school, Libkin was a part of the Drama Club and grew up taking ballet classes. Originally majoring in acting and minoring in dance at Ithaca College, Libkin came to realize, “[she] was most [herself] when teaching.” According to Libkin, the art of “teaching is similar to theatre. [One has to] learn to hold the attention of a group and tell a story. We do that in English when we figure out details that make up the stories.” She comes from a family of educators, and is now an educator herself. She attended Pennsylvania State College and earned her masters degree in teaching.
When asked about her reason for choosing Malden, she said, “[she] searched for teaching jobs in the Boston Area online, and found [MHS].” Libkin immediately took a liking to how humorous the interviewers were, such as principal Dana Brown. She is getting use to the schedule, lengths of periods, and teaching both ninth grade and eleventh grade classes. She also taught ninth grade and eleventh grade English last year in a high school in Pennsylvania. Libkin said the easiest part of her job is having fun. She is not currently coaching any sports or advising any clubs at MHS, but would like to in the future.
Sean Walsh, the Head of the English Department, said that Libkin is “very outgoing in class” and that all the potential English teachers that were interviewed were great, but “did not have the qualities that these new English teachers have.” Freshman Leticia Dos Santos commented on how “she is always enthusiastic in class” and how she is “already learning a lot from [Libkin].” When asked if she had any advice for the students of MHS, Libkin replied, “[do not] be afraid to challenge yourself. Outside of your comfort zone is where you will learn most about yourself.”
