The 2025-2026 school year welcomed Marisa Silk to Walpole High School as a new English teacher. She first attended Stonehill College, studying English and secondary education as a double major. Silk later became a master student of English literature at Bridgewater State University. This past summer, she took classes at Oxford University which helped her get her master’s degree in English literature.
“I was always reading 20 books outside of high school and I just really loved being inside the classroom and learning. I still take classes to this day because I still want to be a student,” Silk said.
The WHS community created a welcoming and accepting environment for Silk. This year, Silk tried something new, teaching sophomores and juniors, which she didn’t do last year. Silk enjoys collaborating with many of the new teachers because she enjoys observing their teaching styles.
“My experience joining was really good, I had a lot of support from administration and teachers in our department. I was adapting to teaching different grades. I had never taught juniors before last year so it was really nice to collaborate with other junior teachers about what they do in the class,” Silk said.
Last year, Silk taught juniors and freshmen; however, the freshmen students stood out to her the most. “Silk loves to watch her students grow and improve. She loves to teach freshmen because they are open to new experiences. “
“I like teaching freshmen the most. I love their little nerves that they have getting into freshman year. They are also really open to making mistakes and trying new things,” Silk said.
Silk claims that throughout her high school years, she struggled with math and science, but history stuck out to her the most because it’s a story-telling subject. This is where her love for English blossomed. As a high school student, Silk always considered herself a book worm. She always loved being in a classroom and learning new styles of teaching.
“ I see history as a story as well. So I really enjoyed it but in the end I just loved reading, analyzing literature, movies and TV shows. English was always going to be my path,” Silk said.
Silk gets to share her love and ideas in classes in hope they will learn and grow from her teaching. She’s had a great experience this year so far and hopes to inspire students to do their best.
