BY KATIE MAI & AMANDA DE MORAES
Rebecca Corcoran grew up in the town of Norfolk, Massachusetts. She graduated in 2006 from King Philip Regional High School then enrolled into Boston University where she spent four years studying and majoring in International Relations, primarily International Order.
From a young age, Corcoran had a passion for learning about different countries and cultures. This caused her fascination for learning about the interactions of countries in college. She was especially interested in topics regarding serious global issues due to the differences between the solutions and methods proposed and executed.
Corcoran’s path towards becoming a teacher began in her senior year of college where she interned for a model United Nations organization in Boston. After graduating high school, the model UN coordinator from her internship offered her a job. She got to visit several schools, receiving the opportunity to work in different history classes and engage with the students in them. “That was my favorite part,” she mentioned, adding that this was her inspiration to go back to school to earn her Masters Degree in education.
This is Corcoran’s first year at Malden High School as a social studies teacher. However, Corcoran has worked at MHS for about four years as the model UN coordinator with junior classes through her old job. Michael Lightbody, another social studies teacher, had the chance to work with her for a few years during the time she was a Model UN director. He stated that Corcoran was a “great help and resource” to both students and teachers alike.
Her personal goals as a teacher involve getting to know her students, and helping them grow and develop throughout the year. “Overall,” she adds, “my major goal is to make my students excited about history.” She acknowledges that is not the most thrilling subject for most kids, but would like to change that.
Corcoran faces challenges as a teacher such as teaching a lot material in a condensed amount of time. Even more so, she also must deal with the students’ preconceptions about history and what it is. She comments that it can be difficult working against its stereotypes because the subject is often received as “boring” and “irrelevant.”
Corcoran’s interests include international travel and foreign languages. Aside from traveling in the United States, she also visited places such as Canada and Bermuda. Her love for traveling was influenced from her visit to China right after college. In the near future, she plans to fly to Europe with friends.
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