BY EMRAUDE BONNET & NEDEN BERNADIN
Nora Watson, known to students as Miss Watson, is a new math teacher here at Malden High School. Before arriving here at MHS, Watson worked at the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter School in Boston for one year and also taught in Lawrence, Massachusetts for two years. Now that she’s here at MHS, she’s here to stay.
Watson chose to teach here because she enjoyed the environment, meeting the teachers, and the great diversity that is present at this school. She thinks it is wonderful that this school is so diverse with so many cultures and students with backgrounds from all over the world. Watson states that, “it’s exciting to get to meet so many different people.” She likes the fact that she gets to learn so much just by interacting with her students. There are things here at MHS that she has to get used to though, like the waterfall schedule, which she thinks takes some adjustment. In her opinion, it is one fast class to the next and it takes some getting used to that a class drops out every day, but she still likes the overall idea.
When asked if she’s always wanted to teach, Watson responded with a quick, confident, “yes.” She actually came from a line of teachers – from her grandmother to her mother and her father right down to her. After she graduated with a degree of mathematics from Boston University, she immediately participated in Teach For America, which helps college graduates become a teacher. Watson loves to teach all math classes, specifically geometry, statistics and calculus. Watson also liked teaching chemistry in the past because the labs were fun. She believes that ”teaching can be very challenging but [she feels] like everyday matters and can make a difference in the life of a student,” and so teaching is a very important job.
As for the students here at MHS, Watson appreciates them and how much they’re helping her as a first year teacher; she thinks her teaching will get better, yet the students think she’s great the way she is. They’re respectful and kind to her, they give her advice and are very helpful. Sophomore Daniel Hong thinks “she’s a great teacher and loves the way she teaches.” Principal Ted Lombardi thinks she’s great as well. He actually worked on the same campus as her when she worked in Lawrence finds her incredibly smart. He is very excited to have her around.
When she is not teaching, Watson likes to travel and sing. She actually sings with a group called the Tanglewood Singing Choir. She had previously lived in England and has traveled to all types of places like Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. Barcelona is her favorite city in Spain, but she’s lived in Boston since 2010 and loves it here. She still loves to travel and travels when she can for cheap. She loves to travel because she loves learning about other cultures and loves architecture and seeing new places. She thinks the Tornado Travelers club here at MHS seems interesting because she would love to travel with other students and fellow staff members.
