This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Brookline High alum Matt Shaw has been working at BHS for 12 years. He began his time as an MCAS tutor and can now be found teaching math and helping students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP). He’s been teaching people, from explaining board games to being a camp counselor, ever since he was a kid.
What does your job involve?
Planning lessons, implementing the lessons in class and I teach in small group classes. There are a lot of students with IEPs; it’s a lot of implementing the IEPs which involves a lot of customization for students. I also have a learning center, which involves less planning but more student liaison [work]. I’m the person in charge of their IEP process and helping their teachers follow their IEPs and answering their questions. I co-teach math and small group math, so it’s a lot of different things in a day.
What is one thing you cannot live without?
I do a lot of yoga now; it keeps me sane. If you’re just living your life, you go to work or go to school. At home, you’re standing, you’re sitting, you’re lying down. [In] yoga, you’re twisting all around and rolling around on the floor.
What did you want to be when you were younger?
I’ve always been interested in people. I majored in psychology in school so I think education is a good combination of my interest of people and learning.
What made you want to be a teacher?
I’ve always liked to work with kids. I was a camp counselor, and I liked the mentorship aspect of it. I also liked explaining things to people when I was a kid. I always was the one explaining the rules of the board games to people. I just didn’t like the feeling of some people getting it, some people not. I always wanted to help people catch up and get with the group, and I channeled that passion into teaching.
How do you like teaching so far?
It’s good. In Learning Center, kids can come in all the time, so you have to be present all the time. The rhythms are a little different and the preparation is different too. I love this building; I love the people who work here! It’s nice.
What makes BHS unique?
The only motto back in the day was “Freedom and Responsibility.” I feel like that ethos is still what makes this school special. Responsibility on the students to take care of their own learning puts pressure on students to take ownership of their learning process, which I think is helpful for the future.
