By Mary McPartlin, Editor-in-Chief
June 10, 2023
ROCKLAND- This fall, Ms. Kaitlyn Diver will return as a Rockland Bulldog when she joins the school as a physics teacher.
Ms. Diver graduated from Rockland High School in 2019 and graduated from Bridgewater State University this year, where she double majored in physics and taught secondary education.
Since graduating BSU, Ms. Diver’s been working at Whitman-Hanson High School as a substitute teacher, where she did her student teaching during college. Last year, she helped out at Rockland High as a physics tutor.
Former Rockland science teacher Ms. Samantha Hoyo was the person who inspired Ms. Diver to pursue a career in teaching physics.
Ms. Diver said that Ms. Hoyo, “had such a great relationship with all her students and it really showed me that I can make a difference in the lives of younger generations while still being able to apply my passion for physics as well.”
Ms. Diver’s new classroom at Rockland will be the one Ms. Hoyo used to have, which is “really cool and inspiring” for Ms. Diver as she begins her teaching at RHS.
Ms. Diver said that she has been “so excited about the things I am looking forward to that I have not been able to think about what might make me nervous.”
Rockland science teacher and department head Ms. Julia DiCanzio had Ms. Diver as a student for two years, and since Ms. Diver went to school to become a physics teacher, it’ll be a great benefit.
Ms. DiCanzio said, “I think most physics teachers become teachers after they’ve already had a career in something related to a physics major whereas Ms. Diver is pretty rare in that her goal was always to be a teacher… she’s learned strategies that are going to be helpful in the classroom.”
Since Ms. Diver is recently graduated, Ms. DiCanzio believes she’ll bring a “fresh perception on teaching.”
Junior Caitlyn Harrington currently takes physics, and while she said she enjoys the class, she also recognizes the difficulties that come with the subject.
She said, “A lot of kids are not receptive to learning [physics] because it’s such a hard subject to teach… then the kids aren’t trying to learn it because they know they’re not going to be able to.”
Ms. Diver acknowledges the struggle students face with the topic.
She explained, “Physics is meant to be a challenging course, but that does mean it can't be fun. I am looking forward to creating a class where we can make mistakes, think outside the box, and improve our critical thinking skills together.”
Ms. Diver’s hobbies: kickboxing, cooking, and collecting vinyl records.