Greg Beaupre works in Special Education.
Where did you go to school?
I grew up in North Attleboro, MA, did my undergraduate work at UMass Amherst, and did my graduate work at Boston University.
Where did you teach before coming to BHS?
Newton South High School for the past 15 years.
How did you become interested in working with kids?
I grew up with a number of family members with disabilities, so I always knew, really early on, that I liked working with people with disabilities for a variety of reasons. I wasn’t really a hundred percent certain that I was going to go into Special Education teaching, but I always knew I was going to go into education. I really just liked working with students who really appreciated getting support from other adults and making those connections with kids and really trying to better educate kids with disabilities.
Were there any specific teachers who made you interested in teaching?
My father was also an educator. He started as a teacher and actually was an athletic director in my hometown, so he had a lot of teacher-type friends. I would say less so teachers that I had directly, because I didn’t have any Special Education teachers, but I knew Special Education teachers, and I saw what they put into it and how they interacted with students with disabilities. It always looked like something that I had the right temperament or skill set to do. I have a good amount of patience, I really enjoy the feeling of helping others, especially those who need more help than your average student, and throughout my whole life I’ve always enjoyed spending time with people with disabilities.
What’s your favorite part about teaching?
My favorite part about teaching is reaching that student that likes to project that they really don’t care about school. There really are some students who don’t care about school, but a lot of them are kind of putting up a defense mechanism because they don’t want to be challenged in areas and things that don’t come easily to them. When you can engage a student who’s not exactly a willing learner, and really make that student actually interested in curriculum and in learning, that’s the moment that is the most rewarding for me as a teacher.
What was your first impression of this school?
I was really struck by the diversity. Newton South has some diversity, but not to the level of Brookline. So that, for me, is exciting. It’s really cool that there’s a T-stop here. I think it’s probably the only high school on the T, I would imagine. Just after coming here a few times, realizing that Brookline’s right in the city, it’s a really a neat and dynamic place to work. I’ve gotten to reconnect with people who’ve come here from Newton that I knew before, or knew of, and that was part of my curiosity and part of my interest in taking the job here. There have really been a few great people that have made the leap from Newton over to Brookline and so I kind of took pause and was thinking, “Okay, so why are these strong people from Newton now moving over there?” I can see why after being here, even for just a few weeks. It’s a very dynamic school. I’m definitely glad I came, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know the school.
What’s something you use to motivate students when they’re having a hard time?
I think it’s always helpful to remind students that everyone’s different. Some things are easy for some people, they aren’t easy for other people. The only thing that the students can have control of, and that they totally own, is their effort and attitude towards school. Life will get difficult for everyone at times, so one day it might be a certain concept in math that you’re really struggling to get, but if you find that you can keep applying effort and maintain a positive attitude and maintain your work ethic, you can really get through any circumstance in life. That’s really what I try and share with my students.
Kendall McGowan can be contacted at [email protected].
