By NICHOLAS BRAMANTE
English teacher Abbey Dick is among the many new additions to the Malden High School staff this year. Receiving her Bachelor’s degree from Assumption College in Worcester, MA, and her Masters from Westfield, MA, Dick claims that she knew she wanted to be a teacher as soon as she hit college.
Growing up, Dick had always liked the subject of English, so exploring a career in that area seemed almost natural, however there were a few hurdles that she had to pass before she could completely commit herself to her fondness of English.
Throughout a good part of her life, Dick was passionate about singing. It was something that she loved to do, but she had to give it up in order to pursue her greater interest; English. Dick explained that in order to pursue one, she had to give up the other. She expresses that she was more than willing to give up singing when she realized she wanted to be the “best English major ever.”
To fulfill this quest, Dick worked in a few schools before MHS, the most recent one being in Millis, MA, which can really only be described as a small town. Dick claims that the “whole town could probably fit [into MHS].” Going from a miniscule town to a larger school such as MHS overwhelms most people, although it seems that Dick is transitioning well.
Dick had an easy transition into MHS with the help of the students and faculty as she described the students that she has met as “incredibly friendly and kind.” Although the schedule has taken a bit of getting used to, Dick is convinced that she has the best room in the school, so needless to say, it balances out.
Within her classroom, Dick is taking a more modern approach to the customary teaching methods with her students. Working towards the final goal of being a paper-free classroom, Dick employs a broad array of technological tools in order to connect with students faster and easier. Some of these tools include her teacher website and even a twitter page, in which she reminds students of the homework she has assigned that day. Her other ultimate goal within her classroom is to have her students writing as much as possible.
Out of all the English arts, writing has always been Dick’s favorite and because of this, it has become her favorite subject to teach. As far as other publications by various authors, Dick is not very big fan of Shakespeare. One of her favorite books includes The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. All and all, MHS seems to be a pretty good fit for Dick, and she seems more than ready to do her part in dishing out her own very special brand of teaching.
