At Miami Palmetto Senior High, one thing is often true: the teachers love what they do. Students can see firsthand whether a teacher’s passion shines through in their teaching, and this may make or break a subject for them. At MPSH, many teachers have found their calling and passion throughout their journey to teaching.
Marcos Cohen, a seven year Advanced Placement Seminar teacher, was eager to teach since his senior year in high school. After graduation, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Secondary Social Science at Florida State University and went on to teach a variety of social studies courses at different schools. It was when he began teaching AP Seminar at MPSH that Cohen felt he found his true calling.
“The skills that are required [for teaching] can be easily translated to real life. They’re practical skills, and as practical as they are, they’re also extremely necessary,” Cohen said.
Cohen believes his seminar course provides students with the critical thinking skills needed to accurately interpret information and analyze problems.
“I’ve also noticed a lot of these skills are weakening among the general population. In order to keep them sharp, we have to keep using them,” Cohen said.
Cohen acknowledges the true importance of teaching young minds real-world skills that expand far beyond the classroom.
Christine Moros is an MPSH alumna, former AP student and the current AP Art History and Painting teacher at MPSH. While she always harbored an appreciation for art, she did not intend to teach it until after graduating from college with a double major in Studio Art and Art History. Moros substituted at MPSH before she was hired as the Painting teacher in 2015, then as an AP Art History teacher in 2018. She now teaches both courses on her own.
“I think people don’t realize how significant art is in the world,” Moros said.
Moros’s conviction and passion for art is visible in her lectures as she believes that art holds importance in our world, not just today, but since the beginning of humanity.
“If you want to say something significant, if you want to change the world, we do it through art,” Moros said.
Joel Soldinger is currently an AP teacher at MPSH, but began his teaching career at the school long before. Beginning as a football coach and later taking on different teaching positions, Soldinger has now settled into his subject of AP Macroeconomics. Macroeconomics was a new step for Soldinger, who saw the change in plans as a challenge.
“Becoming a macroeconomics teacher kind of reenergized me as a teacher,” Soldinger said.
Soldinger feels that his personal experience in educating himself on the topic allows him to understand his students firsthand and teach them in a way they can relate to. He encourages students to take his class as he believes it elevates students’ comprehension of current-day economics and policy-making.
AP English Language and Composition teacher Loni Perse has been a teacher at MPSH for over 25 years. She went into college as a pre-med major, then switched to a minor in education and a major in English.
“It was easy for me to understand, it was easier for me to interpret and therefore it was easy for me to teach,” Perse said.
Her adoration for English has allowed her to effectively educate many students in her quarter-decade career at MPSH. She tells her students that English is a subject that extends beyond her course and into all other subjects, allowing them to communicate effectively.
“ … I hope the students see the passion in [English] when I teach,” Perse said.
Their loyalty to their subject and belief in its significance has allowed these MPSH teachers to successfully educate their students in a way that stimulates their own love for their subjects. A teacher’s love for their subject is communicated through their lectures or coursework and goes a long way for students’ interest in the class. Their passion extends to their students and fosters a new generation’s interest in the subject.
