Lynne Viti and Will Viti

00:03 My name is Lynn spigelmyer VT. I'm 73. Today is Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021 and I am my location is Westwood Massachusetts south of Boston. My conversation partner is William Beatty and William is my son.

00:25 My name is William Beatty. I am 35 years old today is also Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021. I am in Orleans, Massachusetts on Cape Cod and my conversation partner is Lynn Beatty and she is my mother.

00:49 Well, I wanted to start off with what you're doing. Now for work. You've been a middle school social studies teacher for for 5 years now. And so the first question that came to mind when I thought about this was how do you think your view of Middle School in general? And the way the social studies classroom is set up in the curriculum is set up has changed since you were medical Middle School student yourself.

01:22 Well, I think one of the changes that I noticed the most from my perspective now is the teacher is just how much in my current situation we focus on literacy skills as much as we actually focus on content and I think part of that is you know that it's a very different School setting from where I grew up and

01:47 We focus on the needs of our students and the skills that need need improving and I think you know groping and growing up in Westwood.

02:02 It was different in that.

02:09 I don't know I guess.

02:16 Part of

02:20 You know what we do now, I feel like

02:24 As a student, I never realize how much preparation went into things and maybe

02:30 That you know, you might be learning about a certain Compton area regardless of the class that they're all these other skills that the teachers are trying to push her way as a student here. Maybe not just cognizant of and I think one thing that we definitely do differently today is I try to explain to my students why we're doing what we're doing and what I'm hoping to get them to achieve out of this just so they can kind of see things from my perspective. Can you talk a little bit about the the various the range of Social and economic backgrounds of your students your 6th and 7th graders in the Cape Cod towns. Were you you're teaching

03:14 And when people have the perception of Cape Cod only during the summer and you know, big houses and Beachside property.

03:26 But the reality year-round is very different. I remember it was maybe the beginning of last yard then principal.

03:37 Talked about how when he was looking at a map of the bus route the bus routes don't really go near the ocean. Most of our students don't live in that sort of community. So

03:51 There's a fair percentage of students that are on free or reduced lunch.

03:57 There are

04:09 There are

04:13 A lot of we have students from a variety of backgrounds and turns the bike where their parents may have grown up.

04:24 I'm going to move to a different room because they're vacuuming.

04:41 Good thing this is just audio cuz my grandma's a nightmare. So if you haven't yes, I am at home right now, and I'm so that's one thing that's been different this year is.

04:58 We've had to deal with all sorts of Technology issues as well first student, but

05:07 Like I said, I have students from a variety of different backgrounds, I think.

05:13 Regardless of their backgrounds these are probably some of the most polite students that I've ever had and it's not just this year. But like every year they will thank you as they leave the rum at the end of each class, even if they're the ones that did all the work.

05:31 So that's something that I really appreciate about just like the school setting in general that I'm in right now.

05:39 When you were in a suburban school system that was closer to Boston, which had a sort of a bigger school system and maybe more excellent students. They weren't as polite is that so no, it's just something I think I noticed as a teacher.

06:01 That they're always, you know, they're pushing their chairs. They say, thank you and

06:09 Yeah, I don't know. I think it might be more like a school our school culture.

06:15 But it's certainly something that regardless of their background seems to Carry On from year to year.

06:22 So when you were when you were in college you major in history.

06:27 And I and I guess my question to you is because you were in the class that graduated in 2008 is a crack at the height of the default credit swap economic downturn.

06:44 How did you end up?

06:48 Teaching to something else while you experienced me living through my twenties. I think you know, I definitely had some difficulty coming out of college adjusting to a life that wasn't so structured and regimented.

07:12 Running track in college and having like a strict practice schedule, but also a class schedule work really well for me and I think all of a sudden you graduating that all falls away and then the situation that a lot of us were walking into it was very difficult to get a job.

07:34 And

07:37 What jobs did you have right after college?

07:41 I worked retail I worked at supermarkets and it wasn't until I started working at the Boys & Girls Club in Jamaica Plain.

07:55 It was fun. I just remember like, you know, you enjoy it and I think that's something that I I mean, I still get out of seating and I feel like

08:11 I'm sure that you can relate and let you know people wouldn't do it for so long if it wasn't enjoyable to some degree.

08:21 And I I do want to maybe come on to it a little bit later now that he retired and just think about you know, what are the pieces obviously their parts you probably don't miss but they're probably parts that you know, you do Miss. Yeah, I went when I put together all my years of teaching. I probably taught for almost 40 years although in different kinds of settings, and and I think

08:49 Most of my teaching

08:52 In the last 30 years before I retired was to first-year college students and I particularly like that age. They're 18. Some of them are quite 18. They might be 19, but they're really still adolescence and I think when I taught High School Pub in public school when I was in my early twenties was the same thing. I really like the Juniors and seniors. So I I think my sweet spot in terms of the group age groups that I liked working with were 16 17 18 19 because they are their minds are really developing at quite a rate even though they're still navigating through the tail end of adolescence and that's what I miss. I miss that kind of that energy and that willingness to explore things. That is a sort of gone by the time people are 21 22 23, so I would say I miss that

09:52 On a superficial level I miss seeing what the how they dress because we sort of mimic this older people mimic what young people are doing and on a more serious note, they would often be reading books. I had never heard of him and I would find my way around to that certainly wants technology came into the classroom. I learned from my students much more than they learn from me. They were always able to show me how to do something and I've lost that now I have you know might my sons are grown up and don't live in the home. They're they're immigrants to the the the world of technology. They weren't born into it the way kids who are 16 17 18 now are so I missed that.

10:45 Learning from them as well as as teaching them and I think that they're still at the at the point in their lives where they are influenced by their teachers and I think for those students I make the stroke made the strongest connections with they saw me to some extent as a role model not just in terms of their writing, but in terms of the you know, they would ask me questions at the end of the semester. I would say any other questions and they would want to talk about how do you balance having a family and working? Just when did you decide to that you wanted to be a teacher? That's where I think so, I think I miss that what I don't miss I don't miss the meetings. I swear play The Long faculty meetings. I don't miss all the United hate. I always hated giving grades. I don't miss that at all might each retired people short course is now and I don't have to give grades are we paper? So that's good. So I guess the end.

11:45 An only only to a lesser extent do I miss being on the campus? Because right now the campus it doesn't even act like a campus at Wellesley College, I would imagine they're doing some sort of hybrid.

12:06 Setting yes, he'll not even half the students are there they will so done something that under normal times would take forever in this is something I found very frustrating about teaching a small liberal arts college did culture of the colleges that it would take a long time to get something changed because everything was done by committee. Everything had to be here to bring in all the stakeholders and it had to be a consensus in for something smaller and it within a department and therefore there are a lot of things that might have needed to be changed but hadn't been changed and because of the pandemic everyone had to turn so quickly and pivot that suddenly instead of having a regular 14 weeks semester that they are now for the first time ever having these many semesters of six or seven weeks to in the fallen 2 in the spring that it's real. It's just changed the whole model and I don't know.

13:05 From my colleagues whether it's going to go back exactly to the way it was before. I think it's some ways it's shaking things up in a good way. I think it's also been very frustrating for a lot of people because remote learning is not the same as teaching is being in person know I am thankful that you know, I don't have to worry about my health in the setting I'm in right now.

13:35 I think

13:39 Pivot has quickly become one of my least favorite words of all time.

13:47 But I do think you know, despite all of the challenges and hurdles that you know learning in a virtual environment has thrown especially the kids that are still so reliant on adults.

13:59 They're always that Core group of students that are going to learn in spite of everything you do. So even if you're a terrible teacher you still have these kids that are going to make their way in the world. And I think that's one thing I've gained a lot of appreciation for is especially with my seventh graders because I'm teaching to bridge this year by 7th graders are a little bit more mature and especially some of the girls are very willing to come to like our office hours in the afternoon just so they will ask to help the 6th graders with their work.

14:45 And that's been fantastic and I think a lot of times.

14:51 We can get bogged down and you know, the negativity of the students that maybe your aren't performing where we would hope they are and one piece that you know my calling tonight in the last couple months of really focused on is like what we want to send positive emails home to parents about all the wonderful things. Their kids are doing as much as we have to send those e-mails home that are you know asking for support or just letting the parents know that maybe the child isn't meeting expectations. So it's been really nice to get to sign those emails. But also to get responses back from house Thanking us for, you know doing what we do because it makes you feel good.

15:34 I wanted to go back to your work as a teacher who were or who are your biggest role models for teachers as a beginning teacher several years ago and now

15:55 I think when when you know what I think about Role Models, there's you know, the explicit role model that maybe you look too and you talk to you but also maybe the more unpleasant ones that you either don't fully recognizes how much they've influenced you so I can from that perspective. I feel like you know the teachers I connected with as a student whether it was over the course of like a whole year or just like, you know, a couple of specific incidents like that just there's got to be something of those former teachers in like my Outlook regardless of what my profession would be because you do spend so much you spend a hundred eighty days when this person per year.

16:46 So they really can have a big influence on you. Even if you don't see it at the time, but also just like the way we were my brother Tony and I were raised by you and dad is just you know, we work hard we have high expectations. We are kind of other people like all of that kind of goes into who you are as a person and Carries over to whatever your profession is.

17:16 And the same goes for like your colleagues on your starting like I

17:20 Can't say for sure how much I've taken from teachers. I've worked with her teacher that I watched each.

17:29 And I mean, it's still happening, you know part of being a teacher is committing yourself to let you're going to have to learn.

17:39 Try your whole life. It's not just you know, I'm not the finished product as a teacher and I hopefully not the finished product as like a person like we should always be changing and getting better explicitly Cleo who?

17:55 Was

17:58 A teacher I worked with at my previous school and who in many ways I would say.

18:07 Is like my mentor?

18:11 Long-distance now long-distance now that he's moved to New Zealand with his family. But you know, even like last month with everything that's happened was happening in the country. I'm on WhatsApp like we're talking like explaining what I did. I'm asking for feedback. We're talking about his students.

18:39 And I think

18:43 She was really.

18:47 Someone who pushed me when I needed to be pushed.

18:53 And

18:57 Also getting to be in his class as a teaching assistant when I was working with special ed students. I got to experience firsthand like how he did what he did so effectively what did he do? So effectively, what was the thing that he I mean, I think there was a reason to go to have lunch in his room and it wasn't just like, you know the boys club it was like people from all spectrums and he would like entertain during lunch and tell us stories and

19:38 You know, but he was out. He was also a great listener and I think what he did really really well is

19:46 Get something out of those difficult students that a lot of teachers can't he always used to say is like there's one reason I coach football. It's he said he's like, he's like those kids that want to play football.

20:02 If they're in my class, like he's like I know like I will have them behaving otherwise in a plant and so he would ask for those types of students.

20:14 Listen to be very very difficult and very frustrating was the kids that like, you know, you stay up at night thinking about the ways in which you can try to reach them in.

20:24 Like she had kids coming to like say goodbye to him after they graduated 8th grade that like

20:30 That was the only class they ever really did well in.

20:35 So, yeah, he

20:39 Great sense of humor

20:42 But certainly someone that

20:47 I look at and I think like if I can be like a like a shade of the teacher he is like I'm doing a good job.

20:58 I guess and just interns like other role models.

21:04 I don't know. I think it exists maybe outside of like teaching and more of just like the concepts of like hard work and

21:13 You know, we talked about growth mindset the need to get like a little bit better at something everyday.

21:20 But I've had some amazing colleagues.

21:25 And I feel like I've probably if I've spent like time working alongside any of these teachers. I've probably taken something from them.

21:38 Most of your friends from high school and college have gone into I think we can agree or fairly lucrative jobs at doctors. You got Engineers, you got people who got mbas from you know, Ivy League schools. Do you ever regret not having pursued something like law or business or medicine?

22:02 No, I don't know. I don't I don't regret it at all. I think and for a couple of reasons a lot of what some of them do specific especially those in like the business sector like it can be very abstract and I think for me personally I I do best when it's a Concrete concept. I used to of Horrid in grad school when we would go over these like hypothetical case studies of a student and that student doesn't like I had such a hard time being like, I don't know this child's like I'd like put me in front of them and I can tell you like I'll figure things out but so I really need

22:44 Definitely the kind of like learn by doing and also

22:51 You know, my friends have some amazing jobs and they do amazing things and

23:01 I just I'm happy when I'm at mostly because I'm

23:08 I enjoy what I do on a daily basis.

23:14 For example on Friday last Friday. I got an email from the guidance counselor saying like oh

23:23 This student of yours who's now in 8th grade.

23:26 Would like to know if you would write her recommendation for summer program and I was like that make that is awesome that like you use like you had two full years of teachers after me but you'd like I was still one of the people you picked like. Yes, like I feel great.

23:47 You know I get to talk about.

23:50 Like the Mandalorian with my students and you know, I get to like every day is always interesting and I love it and

24:03 Yeah, I don't think there's anywhere else. I'd rather be I think when I think of all the things that have happened in the country in the last 60 days and how that filter overflowed into everybody's lives including 6th and 7th graders. It seems like there were a lot of challenges to how to take that information and somehow work it it to what you were doing in the classroom. How do you relate something? Like what happened in the cap on January 6th or what? You know, what's happening now with the second impeachment trial. How do you relate that to studying Egyptians?

24:48 Or whatever you're doing. I mean a lot of times you don't even need to because these kids are especially the 6th graders.

24:59 I just need you to help them make sense of something to kind of lay out the facts ultimately taking a step back when we're teaching history teaching social studies were teaching students how to come to an informed opinion about something.

25:16 So

25:18 You know in like the last month having to go through these difficult conversations with our with my students has been a lot of me laying out what the facts are and helping them clear out clear up whatever misconceptions they have but also at the same time not being afraid to call out behaviors that if a student was exhibiting them we would say that you know, that is not meeting our expectations that sound expected Behavior.

25:51 Because

25:54 I think it's very Tucson degree. It's very troubling when they see an adult acting in a way that they know implicitly is not okay.

26:04 So

26:06 It's really been an opportunity for us to just talk about values.

26:12 My 7th graders are finishing up a research project on civil rights activists have to pick somebody so we did like a brief overview of civil rights movement in the United States.

26:32 And

26:35 Just getting outside of the traditional let's talk about dr. King or let's talk about Malcolm X I encourage them to find someone that they

26:45 Looked up to and they thought you know, there is something about the medication to admirable. So of course we have students looking at Gandhi or Nelson Mandela price since I have a lot of lot of the girls went with like someone from the women's suffrage movement as something that they can connect to how far back do they go like the question lot or some of these kids went deep and far back enough that I didn't know who they picked and had to look up that person cuz I did not know who they were.

27:24 Somebody Bob Marley

27:27 Cement at Aretha Franklin, you know, so we got like a very wide range which gave them a lot of agency in terms of how they demonstrated their understanding so like for the students that picked

27:46 A musician that they're putting together like a playlist. That's kind of supplement, you know their presentation.

27:56 I like the playlist for Aretha Franklin, please and telling them that they're going to have to perform some of the songs which they sometimes they can't tell if I'm joking. I have to continually tell them I'm kidding cuz sometimes they'll believe like you know that I do that's one thing. I do enjoy that you can can Kyle Joker Ali's kids and they like the get it they'll ask you stuff. Like all like what kind of car do you drive me like a horse to work? He's going to walk himself, He'll come back and pick me up at 2:30 and they're like

28:35 I'm not sure how much of that is true.

28:42 So

28:45 Yeah, I guess you know, that's one thing that I think about teaching like that aspect of curiosity in the kids. Like these kids went with this civil. Right peace, like someone's doing Colin Kaepernick.

28:59 So there is there's a whole lot of curiosity there any percent what they've done to the class is that part of the student presentations in middle school can be rough. So typically what I like to do is become a gallery walk ins on to Google classroom at the platformer use and I'll give them some more have to look at everyone's that take forever.

29:32 They'll have some questions that they have to answer about the work that they look at and kind of good student feedback.

29:44 So

29:49 Are you looking forward to getting back into the classroom totally like next school year?

29:58 This is a question. I feel like I get a lot and my answer back is usually a question. Like if your job completely changed overnight. Would you want it to go back to the way it was before? Yes, I can't wait to get back in the classroom. I can't wait till like be able to give my students like a fist bump or like, you know.

30:20 Be like physically in the same space where we like there's that energy like I can't wait to make them like if they look like they've you know stayed up all night like make them do 10 Jumping Jacks at the beginning of class like

30:36 And by the same token, like I can't I can't wait for like that kid that struggling to be like you're having lunch with me and we're going to talk through what's going on. How many kids would come to lunch you would have liked.

30:53 The last ride this one student Changi who's from the Dr. And speaks almost no English and he was in my homeroom. So what we did is we we set up.

31:09 A little lunch group where you some of the boys would come like once once a week or every other weekend Kenny and I during class cuz you know if

31:21 He wasn't really doing any like content level stuff. We are working on in my room. There was like all these images of like nature and stuff and we were late. We there were sticky notes over all of them saying what their words were in English.

31:40 And so we have like a little lunch group where Kenny and I would come up with questions during class that he could ask them in English and that he could also answer in the boys were all in like they loved it would come and Kenny just cuz it can get a little overwhelming.

32:05 So that that's something I did but also just you know, sometimes you have to give a kid lunch detention and it's not like

32:15 Purely punitive. You just want to like sit down and talk to them, you know, maybe like home aren't going to challenge or they didn't you know, you particularly well on this assignment or you just noticed that like the attitude was off like I don't get to do that. Like I can request it as soon come see me outside of school hours, but I can't go to the lunchroom and pick up their tray and walk back to my room with it so that they have to follow me. Like I can't go into the lunchroom at the beginning of the day when they're getting their breakfast and pull out a few dumb to

32:54 I don't know either do work or

33:00 Have them write down like a Hallmark for the week. You meet with some of them to do their homework. If they don't do their homework, right? I mean you your kind of running a little social worker at your price on the side of town were absolutely social workers first in many regards particularly in my district.

33:25 There's so many parents who have like really overwhelming work obligations themselves, and they just the kids might have have to be self-starters and after.

33:41 I know.

33:43 Fundamentally that you know, everyone's parent wants them to do well in school the the nature of not just you know.

33:57 The environment I'm in but also

34:05 Just like the school schedule. We don't homeroom doesn't start till 8:45 in a lot of parents need to be at work fire earlier than that. So.

34:16 You can in years past obviously, you know, you can drop your kid off at like 7:15 and so like I'll be there in my room doing whatever come on in you just like even if you don't have work for me, even if you're not my student if you'll like if I had your sibling if your locker is outside of my room last year at a whole row of lockers where they weren't my students right outside my room and now I have some of them this year and

34:51 The fact that like I kind of got to know them a little bit last year and that like you like anime and you enjoy doing this and you are so tiny you crop crawled inside your own locker and shut it so in an act up with the thing I miss about being in school too. It's like not just your students but like all the kids cuz you get to know like their friends and

35:23 It's been hard this year to get to know my students as people.

35:31 Could you have to build that level of trust you have it? Cuz if you don't have it, if you do get to know who they are. You can't build that trust you can't and then if there's no trust you had you can't push them in the way you want to.

35:44 Which is why I keep saying trust the process.

35:50 How many kids are there in your school your what Your 5th 6th 7th and 8th grade, correct? Honestly have no idea.

36:06 I want to say let's think how many 6th grader classes.

36:15 Does that seem small to you?

36:21 It seems like a good number because usually by the end of the school year. I'll know almost every kid in the entire grade, even though I only have half of them as students cuz we have lunch. And things like that. I mean you quickly get to know the ones that are always running in the hall, but it's nice to get to know, you know.

36:41 Against

36:44 Our maybe bring a book to lunch. Are there any things about teaching on Cape Cod or living on Cape Cod? You didn't grow up on Cape Cod that that you particularly like I know you have what is it? That's nesting in the pole outside the school.

37:08 I mean I continually worry if I'm in the parking lot that they're going to swoop down and make off with me if they are rather large but I think you know, especially this last year one of the things I've been really thankful for is my ability to get outside everyday.

37:27 I try and make a point of like going for a walk everyday after school. Just kind of clear my head and add.

37:35 We had our

37:38 February morning meeting today

37:42 And we are kind of sharing some of those stories about you know, whatever you do to keep yourself saying it was interesting to hear how many of my colleagues also go for a walk after school.

37:55 So that's been something I've really enjoyed.

38:03 Well, thank you so much. This is I feel like I've learned as much in this 38 minutes as I have in the last 5 years. I know you will often talked about specific assignments and

38:20 Students responses to them my friends are always interested because on our group text message. I'll occasionally throw them little screenshots of things that make me laugh high school and college.

38:41 For instance when a student emails you in. The first line is it's me students name. I know who is emailing me thing is it's always like it'll make me laugh. I'll make them laugh play. I feel like I'm very fortunate to have landed where I have and to have not just a

39:04 Such an interesting group of students, but also search wonderful colleagues say everybody dresses up in a flannel shirt to celebrate. Mr. B's birthday inspiring that. She's very much looking out for me down here in your absence. Thank you. This is fine. Thank you Mama. I appreciate it.