As the 2022-2023 school year progresses, students and teachers are gradually acclimating to the busy environment. Amongst the wonderful staff in Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD), several new teachers have joined the staff and are now a part of the AUSD family. We are pleased to welcome Ms. Madeline Park, who joins the social science department of Arcadia High School (AHS).

After serving as a substitute teacher for the 2021-2022 school year at AHS, Ms. Park joined the social science department as a first-time high school instructor in Modern World History. While in college, she worked at Barrio Logan College Institute, a non-profit organization that helped underprivileged students gain better access to education. She also tutored English for students who immigrated from China. Overall, she believes those experiences prepared her to be a staff member of AHS. 

For Ms. Park, history was always a subject that she has really enjoyed throughout her life, especially the history of minority groups such as Asian American, Indigenous, and Hispanic communities in the U.S.

“I think it was very inspiring to me,” said Ms. Park. “It made me realize that there are so many different perspectives that need to be shared, and people really really undervalue the importance of learning those perspectives.”

While in class, Ms. Park prefers to go in-depth about certain historical figures and make historical events relevant, because according to her, it’s sometimes hard for students to understand that those prominent individuals are not just far-away figures in the textbook, but people who truly existed and made an impact in the world’s trajectory. This is very important and helpful for her because it could make history class more riveting other than the memorization of people, events, and dates. 

When it comes to her “teaching philosophy”, Ms. Park strives to be as interactive as possible by making students learn content in different ways, in addition to the less-appealing lecture, usually by assigning worksheets or doing collaborative activities in class. Moreover, she endeavors to create a supportive and positive classroom environment where everyone feels like they belong.

“In this class, we value the importance of how we should be treating others, just so that they [the students] feel like they are being heard, accepted, and welcomed in this class,” stated Ms. Park.

Finally, Ms. Park encourages people who are interested in social science, and want to pursue a similar career, to take more relevant classes and find ways to explore different topics outside class, such as doing research.

 “There’s only so much you can cover in a high school classroom, and sometimes history teachers are bound by state standards and don’t have enough time to cover a variety of interesting topics,” she said.

Overall, the 2022-2023 school year is filled with excitement and hope. Huge thanks to the fantastic new teachers who have joined the AHS family, and we hope you will gain more fabulous memories in the upcoming years!