If you haven’t heard or seen already, Ardsley has a new social studies teacher! Coming from Mamaroneck High School, with a love for history and teaching, we’ve welcomed Mrs. Moskowitz to our Ardsley community this year. She is very excited to be here and already loves the spirit that the students have. We’re equally excited to have her!
To get to know a little more about Mrs. Moskowitz, I sat down with her and asked her some questions. I started off by asking about some of her first impressions of Ardsley and the differences between our school and her previous school. As for her first impressions, she replied saying that the students are one of her favorite parts of teaching so far. She has noticed that our school has students that are eager, hardworking, and love to learn. Similar to her previous school, Mamaroneck High School, she highlights that the students really make her love her job for what it is. She also likes how Ardsley is a smaller school than Mamaroneck because it allows her to get to know her students better. She feels that the size supports more in-depth class conversations and creativity within lessons.
While some teachers may conceal their love for their job, Mrs. Moskowitz is one hundred percent the opposite! She recalled that the impact of her high school social studies teacher made her want to teach. She said that her teacher “made us interact with history in a way we had never experienced and made us love it and appreciate it. She encouraged us to work hard while having fun.” Mrs. Moskowitz aims to recreate this environment for her current and future students.
Additionally, her love for social studies and history goes beyond school and teaching. She explained that it helps her relate to and understand people from different cultures and generations. Furthermore, she finds it interesting to see the human aspects of history, including the relationships, motivations and the human nature behind our past. The importance and meaning behind decisions throughout history is extremely impactful in our learning of it today. Mrs. Moskowitz advises that students be “willing to take a chance on something when you don’t know the answer.” She finds it important to see these deeper meanings, and that taking a risk by guessing can actually positively impact the class conversation. “Sometimes they’ll encourage others to think differently,” she added. It’s not only important in social studies, but in life too.
Finally, I ended the interview by asking a few quick facts about Mrs. Moskowitz. I asked her some of her favorite singers, snacks, and hobbies. She replied saying that one of her new favorite artists is Brandy Carlile, but she also likes Josh Ritter, The Decemberists, and Maggie Rogers. As for her favorite snacks, she said, “It depends on what mood I’m in.” She explained that for a salty snack, she prefers pretzels, and for a sweet snack, her favorite is ice cream. Finally, for some of her favorite hobbies, she said that she enjoys exercising, painting, drawing, spending time with family and creating toothpick sculptures. You may be wondering what a toothpick sculpture is, and so was I. She explained that they’re detailed sculptures where she uses furniture caning, art supplies, and toothpicks! Who would’ve known?
Overall, it was so fun to get to know Mrs. Moskowitz, and she invites you all to stop by too. I’m excited for her future years here and we can’t wait to see what she brings to Ardsley, from teaching about history to creating toothpick sculptures!