Matt Perry on the Impactful Role of Mentorship in Pedagogical Practice
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We talk with Matt Perry, a seasoned educator who has a unique approach to teaching history, infusing the use of storytelling, decision-making, and personal connections to really bring it alive for students. It’s not just about dates and ancient wars. Matt uses his time with students to truly see them for who they are, which serves as the basis for developing a true mentor relationship - we dive into how and why this is critical for our kids, and lastly, we look at the outcomes he’s seen for kids who have not always followed the traditional academic path. Join us!
Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory.
About our guest:
Matthew has degrees in Anthropology and Law from the University of Michigan. Over the last 30 years, he has instructed students of every age from 8 to adult, taught over 50 different courses, and created curriculum from scratch for most of those. He specializes in creating interdisciplinary courses that always incorporate a major (and often explicit) mentoring component. His approach to Social Studies teaching, in particular, emphasizes storytelling and the psychological components of decision-making, to help students personalize history and access the rich web of lessons we can draw from it. He has also designed board games, recorded oral histories, written for law firms, and co-founded an Ed Tech startup. For hobbies, he reads A LOT, birds slightly less, and travels as much as possible with his lovely wife.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin
