There’s a common saying that goes, “It’s never too late to follow your dreams.” As we get older, we sometimes lose the fundamental connection to what interests us the most. Many lose these interests when they reach adulthood; some achieve their goals while keeping up with their true dreams.
Our newest addition to the Cardozo family, Mr. Cork showcases this to be true. Mr. Cork is our newest assistant principal, in charge of both the math and science departments.
Way before he became an educator, Mr. Cock studied chemistry and theater. After graduating he got a masters degree in playwriting, but he dearly missed the art of chemistry. So, he went back to school to get a degree in chemistry while also still studying for theater — even going to drama school for a masters in fine arts and playwriting.
He received his undergraduate degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a double major in chemistry and theatre. He went on to earn a masters degree in education. He then pursued a masters degree in educational leadership at Hunter College.
Before he started here at Cardozo, Mr. Cork had been teaching since 2005. Within this time, he has worked in a lot of independent schools, and carter schools, both as a teacher and administrator for the Department of Education.
Mr. Cork is extremely passionate when it comes to education and he believes in how inventive humans are. He strongly expressed, “We create structures to explain the world around us. Structures to communicate with other people, structures to express ourselves.”
Mr. Cork believes that, “It’s such a blessing to be able to create a story about how science can be cool and to help students understand something that I love.”
When it comes to high school, students’ paths aren’t so easy to navigate. Many don’t know what directions or paths they would like to take when they get out of high school. Since Mr Cork isn’t familiar with Cardozo just yet, one of his main goals is getting to know the community.
“I can be a facilitator of whatever that direction is for both students and teachers,” Cork stated.
Mr. Cork looks forward to the spring semester as he will be teaching physics. His continual goal for his students is to make sure that everyone feels safe and secure enough that they can learn from a subject that he is truly passionate about.
“For me, if someone has a laugh during class and says, ‘Oh, that was easy. That makes me happy because it means that I did my job,” he specified.
He also added, “Learning is a fun experience, and it’s something that provides a baseline for education.”
Overall, Mr. Cork shared his wonderful insights about his newfound role within the Cardozo community. For his passion for educating the young minds, his love for chemistry and theater, and his willingness to ensure that Cardozo students can understand a different subject, like chemistry, we’re sure he will make an impact on our school.
