Joy Beat

ARUN RATH: Welcome to the Joy Beat. I’m Arun Rath.

We live in difficult times. Our country is deeply divided. There’s a steady stream of bad news every day, and those of us in the media have a “bad news bias” — that’s been studied and confirmed.

The reasons are complicated. We don’t try to be negative; to be honest, the negativity gets to us too. We started the Joy Beat not as the antidote to bad news, but as a corrective.

Too often, the joy is obscured by darkness, but we found that if you look for joy, it is out there — in abundance.

We complete our jobs by bringing these stories straight from our newsroom to your ears. Today, for our first episode, we’re celebrating the too-often unsung heroes of our time: educators.

They have the rather daunting task of shaping the next generation. Bringing the light and joy of education to children’s lives, educators are equipping them with the most powerful tool that no one can take away. The pandemic - which was when we taped these conversations - especially highlighted how essential and challenging that work is.

Every year, the city of Boston and the Boston Teachers’ Union awards educators who go above and beyond. Of the nearly 500 nominations in 2023, just seven people were presented with this distinct honor.

We’ll start with one of the recipients, Tanisha Milton, an eighth-grade history teacher at TechBoston Academy. We’ll hear about what makes teaching so special to her. Tanisha, welcome to the Joy Beat!

Tanisha Milton: Hello, how are you? I’m so excited!

Rath: We’re excited to have you. First off, congratulations! What was your initial reaction to the news? Did you know that you’d been nominated?

Milton: Not really. I know I won! I don’t know, I just feel like this is the biggest award. This is every teacher’s dream: to get the highest award, to be honored and just recognized for the outstanding work that we do. I feel as though winning this just seals the deal of the real work that I do. It’s sort of like the city saying, “We see you.”

And so to be recognized for that and to be honored for it..its an amazing feeling. TechBoston — we’ve suffered a lot of trauma, a lot of trauma. Losing our principal at our school, losing our nurse, losing kids to violence, so it feels not only am I winning this for myself, but I’m winning this for my school as well, behind these walls. So yeah, I’m honored.

Rath: I like to think — in an idealized way, maybe — that eighth-grade history teacher is kind of the coolest job, because you’re teaching really awesome material at a time when these young minds are really coming alive.

Milton: I’m going to tell you now: teaching middle school is not for the weak. This is my God-given talent. Whenever I talk to anyone, they’re always like, “Middle school? Oh God!” But I absolutely enjoy and love what I do. You have to love and enjoy what you do.

Not only do I teach eighth-grade social studies, but the city has just recognized me for being one of the 12 Boston Public Schools that is currently teaching AP African-American Studies. I was just recognized for that as well, so I’m doing great work. To be honored and recognized for it is really a beautiful thing.

I set a goal for myself this school year, and I said, “I’m going to help change the narrative of my school, brick by brick. I don’t know how I’m going to do it.” So I started off with being recognized for being one of the 12 teachers to teach AP, so I’m like, “Okay, that’s one brick in!”

So getting nominated, and then winning Educator of the Year — I’m like, “Okay, that’s another brick!” If it just takes this one person to build, bring-by-brick, to change the narrative of my school because of the great work that I’m doing, I’m all for it.

Rath: I’m glad you brought up AP African-American History because, in other parts of the country, the curriculum you teach is being attacked. It must feel so much more important at this point.

Milton: It’s all about intentionality, and then making sure that we are finding joy in our work. I’m finding joy in my work — I’ve been finding joy in my work. I am a proud product of Boston Public Schools, my children have attended Boston Public School, and I’ve dedicated 15 years of my life to teaching in Boston Public Schools, so I am just happy to be able to serve the students in the very same community that I am from.

Rath: You mentioned that teaching middle school is not for the weak. In eighth grade, kids are sort of all over the place in terms of development. How do you approach a whole classroom full of new kids each year?

Milton: It’s so important to see the greatness in students. I know that I am impactful, but it’s also important to be culturally competent, culturally responsive, and I understand the importance of the enormous responsibility that I have. It’s all very important for me to make sure that I’m creating a safe space for my students so they are able to be seen. They can be heard. They can be encouraged and be their authentic self.

Rath: Tell us a bit more about those kids at TechBoston. What are the qualities you’ve noticed in this generation of students?

Milton: Well, they love to learn, and it’s really all about finding joy in their learning. They’re great critical thinkers, and again, as I push this new AP African-American Studies unit, these kids want to learn about their history.

That’s one of the great rewards: being able to teach kids who really have that willingness and strong desire and love to want to learn.

Rath: You’ve been doing this for a while. Do kids still surprise you? Are there things that still surprise you with things they might ask or say?

Milton: Well, I wouldn’t say they surprise me, but the kids are the ones that actually keep me hip. I’m able to learn all the new things. I’m able to learn all the new slang, but when Miss Milton says it, it just doesn’t come out right. I think that is perhaps one of the most important, fun things about my teaching — that the kids sort of, kind of keep me young.

Rath: I’ve got teenagers in my house, and I know exactly what you mean. I kind of rely on them — for my journalism, too, to be honest. What advice would you have for kids who are struggling? I mean, we’ve just come through a really difficult period. What were the ways that you helped kids get through this difficult period of learning during the pandemic?

Milton: I just think it’s really important to be able to hold spaces for students. I mean, they’re really smart; you’ve just got to have a little more patience, and that’s what I did.

There were times when sometimes we couldn’t, you know, meet the objective of the day. Sometimes, we just celebrated ourselves. Sometimes, it’s so important to just walk into a classroom and let kids be able to show their joy because teaching is joy.

And then, also understanding that the work I’m doing is legacy work. I know that I have a very powerful presence, and so it’s so important to continue to uplift them, continue advocating for them and liberating their consciousness. It’s a lot of work, but just let kids be their authentic self in the process of their learning.

Rath: Tanisha, thank you so much for joining us, and thank you for being an inspiration. You’ve put me in a good mood.

Milton: Thank you! Thank you so much. I appreciate this.

Rath: And congratulations again.

Milton: Thank you!

Rath: That’s Tanisha Milton, eighth-grade history teacher at TechBoston Academy.

Next up, we’ll go straight to the top, celebrating the leaders in education who run the whole operation, put out all the fires, untangle administrative snafus and preside over all kinds of kid drama: elementary school principals.

The Massachusetts School Administrators Association recently crowned Brenda Kelley of Morris Elementary School as Elementary Principal of the Year. We’ll hear about her journey to becoming a principal and the joy she found along the way. Brenda, welcome to the Joy Beat!

Brenda Kelley: Thank you! I’m thrilled to be here and honored to receive this award.

Rath: Brilliant. Congratulations!

Kelley: Thank you. I mean, as principals across Massachusetts and hopefully across the country — we don’t do the work alone. We do it with our staff, and this award is representative of all the staff I have led over my years as principal.

Rath: That’s an important and generous thing to say as well. Going back to how you got into this, I mean — elementary school principal — it’s such a formative time for young kids. There’s a tremendous amount of pressure and I know the job can’t be an easy one. When was it you decided that you wanted to be a principal, and when did you realize what it would entail?

Kelley: If I can go back a little bit to my career in education: I’ve always known I wanted to impact the lives of children. Growing up, I was like, “I want to be a teacher!” So I went to school, and then, as I started out in that career path, I was actually a reading specialist. It’s an amazing job to watch the growth of young children learn the difficult task of reading.

I started having leadership roles within my elementary school. One thing led to another, and I was asked to become a principal of another elementary school within Berkshire County. Having this job allows you to interact with every person who touches the lives of students.

Nowadays, you know, families are busy. Some of our students are here within our building for long periods of time, so if I can make the adults in the building happy, that translates down to the students.

Rath: It sounds like your experiences as a teacher really inform your work as a principal.

Kelley: Yes. I started out as a fourth-grade teacher in a parochial school, and then I moved to the public school system, where I was a reading specialist for 12 years, and then I became the principal of an elementary school. This is my 11th year as an elementary school principal.

Rath: We’ll talk about the pandemic in a moment, but pandemic aside, what have been the biggest challenges or learning experiences you’ve had along the way?

Kelley: I would say, when you’re in this role, as I stated earlier, you are managing your staff. There’s the managing of students. And then, there’s the families. It’s a time-consuming job, on top of making sure that you have all of your state paperwork completed and the expectations of the district, so it’s just being able to make sure that you’re managing your time wisely.

For me, it is extremely important to make sure that I am in classrooms, visiting students, visiting with my staff in the lunch room, attending after-school functions if necessary, just to make sure that I have all eyes — a 360 view — of what is happening at my school.

Rath: Wow. You talked about bringing to all of that a kind of positivity, a joy to it, because of the nature of the education and the kids at this age. That sounds like that also takes an awful lot of energy.

Kelley: I think if you’re a generally positive person, you’re able to find the positive even in the most stressful of times. You know, I like to greet the children. I like to greet my staff. I always have a smile on my face — I generally try to have a smile on my face.

You know, our days are long days. Days can be tough. But every day, there’s something positive happening within a school building. Whether it’s a child learning how to pronounce a word they were unfamiliar with and was able to read a sentence they weren’t able to read, or out on the playground — maybe two students who might have had a peer conflict and worked through that.

There’s always something happy and positive happening within an elementary school across the state of Massachusetts and across the country.

Rath: Is there a moment or a memory that you have with a student that kind of solidified that this is what you were meant to do?

Kelley: Oh, I would say there are many, many, many moments. Most recently, after winning this award, news publications have gone out, and I recently had a student email me who is a junior in high school. He had some struggles growing up, going through elementary school. He sent me an email congratulating me on my award and then apologizing for some of the struggles he had in elementary school.

I wrote back and said, “There’s no need to apologize. You know, we all have struggles. I have struggles on a daily basis!” I’m actually going to go watch him play tennis in a week.

The impact that we have on our students — I don’t think we realize sometimes how impactful our presence is when we interact with our students.

Rath: Wow. That’s a really special kind of joy: seeing what these young people go on to do.

Kelley: Yes. And for me, I have a special place in my heart for those students who sometimes have some challenges. I was telling my staff the other day that I ran into another student even before this award was announced. It was somebody who, again, had certain challenges, and it just so happened that I happened to be her first customer and her job.

You see that she was really nervous. I was like, “We got this! You know me!” When I ran into her again, she told me that she’s going into the field of education, which is great because we need teachers. We need teachers. There’s a teacher shortage right now, and we need teachers.

Rath: Let’s talk about the pandemic because, you know, this is a demanding job in the best of times. I tend to think — and I had kids that were in middle and high school — the elementary school kids might have had the worst to deal with. Older kids were at least able to communicate with their friends electronically, you know?

Kelley: Right. So I became principal at Morris Elementary School during the pandemic. That was, for me as an adult, scary. I left a school building where I was really comfortable, and I went to a new district, a new school building, where I didn’t know anybody.

My first meeting with staff was on Zoom. Like any teacher in elementary school, the first thing I did was read them a picture book: What Do You Do With a Chance? That book is about getting brave and taking chances. When you do that, amazing things happen.

We were starting the school year off with our students on Zoom, so we talked about that together. We talked about how we build our classroom community via Zoom. Gratefully, we were able to bring our students back into the building within the first, I would say, six to eight weeks of school. We had to do it part-time, but together, we worked through the challenges of the pandemic.

I would say some of the challenges that we had during that time made the staff better educators. We learned how to focus in on our instruction to really meet the needs of our learners, who are all individual students; there’s no one-size-fits-all.

They did a fantastic job. I’m really grateful for the staff at Morris Elementary School. They trusted me and trusted some of my ideas, and it shows each and every day in our students.

Rath: I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been — going into that position at that time and connecting with the students.

Kelley: Yes, it was. I like to call myself a student’s principal. When we were on Zoom, I would join Zoom classes. But once we were able to come back into the building, you know, we did have the separation of space that we needed to stay with for a little bit, but I was in those classrooms and learning students’ names.

It’s really important to create that personal connection with students and find something that interests them. If you know something special about that child, they see that you care. That’s what’s most important to me — making sure that my students are happy and know that they have people who care about them around them.

Rath: You’ve talked about your love of reading and promoting a culture of literacy, and now, we understand how far back that goes for you. Tell us about this book vending machine that you’ve implemented at the school.

Kelley: Yes. So, part of building a positive culture is making sure that we have consistent language that we use throughout the building. We implemented positive behavior interventions and supports, and we developed some consistent language in school expectations that students found throughout the building.

We teach this similar to teaching children how to read; children come to school, and we need to teach them social skills and behavior. We all use the same language. When children are demonstrating one of our schoolwide expectations, they receive an acknowledgment ticket. In that acknowledgment ticket, they can bring home a portion for their parents to see, but it’s also put into a bucket for a raffle.

I wrote a grant in the hopes of attaining a book vending machine. I was awarded the grant, so we got a book vending machine. Each week, on Fridays, I send out a Google form, and teachers pull one of those acknowledgment tickets. Children receive a token for that vending machine, and they’re able to choose a book.

Rath: One thing I know about education is that children who are read to and read turn into adults who read. It must be wonderful to be at the starting point of that process.

Kelley: Oh, it is. You know, I was just talking to a kindergarten teacher this morning. Those kids right now — some of them are able to read an entire book. I mean, it’s a simple book, but they’re able to read it. To see their face after they’ve closed the back cover of the book — you’re like, “Great job!” It’s such a rewarded act to witness.

Rath: We typically end these interviews with the question — you know, being the Joy Beat — what specifically brings you joy? But it feels like you may have just answered that.

Kelley: Yeah, there are many things that bring me joy. You know, outside on the playground, watching a fifth grader complete a difficult math problem. We just had the middle school students here because our fifth grade is moving up to middle school next year, and some of the middle school students were answering some of their questions.

And just to listen to the maturity of some of the fifth-grade students, asking questions about what their experience is going to be like in middle school — that just warms my heart.

Rath: Brenda, it’s been a joy talking with you. Thank you so much for joining us and for helping to shape the next generation.

Kelley: Great. Thank you so much. It’s been an honor to be on your show.

Rath: That’s Brenda Kelley, Massachusetts’ Elementary School Principal of the Year.

Finally, let’s head to the world of higher education. From Boston to the Ivy League, Bill Raynor has had a long and storied career. He spent over four decades as a college basketball coach and athletic director, pushing his students to embrace the dedication, sacrifice, structure, and joy of participating in team sports.

He also designed and initiated the Young Men of Color program at MassBay Community College to assist students of color in their academic pursuits. Bill is here to share how sports shaped his upbringing and the lessons and joy he teaches the next generation. Bill, welcome to the Joy Beat!

Bill Raynor: Thank you so much for having me, Arun.

Rath: First off, long before you were a coach, you were quite a player! You were known as Little Billy Raynor Jr. on the hardwood courts.

Raynor: Yeah, that is correct.

Rath: How did that incredible experience inform your coaching and your decision to become a coach, ultimately?

Raynor: Well, actually, it’s kind of interesting. I was planning on becoming an international lawyer, and after graduating from Dartmouth College, I decided I wanted to take a year off. My idea was to go to the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University and During that time, I got a call from my high school indicating that one of the Christian Brothers at Catholic Memorial High School had just been transferred a week before the start of school. They knew that I had a background. He was a French teacher and the freshman basketball coach, and they knew of my background and studying in France. So I decided to take the job. Two very important things happened for me. One was that I found out I hated teaching. Second was that I loved coaching. From there, I coached the freshman team and assisted with the varsity team.

I left there and coached at Saint Mary’s of Lynn High School. From there, I got a call from the coach. Frank McLaughlin was the head coach at Harvard University at the time and asked if I wanted to join his staff. Thoughts of diplomacy left my head, and thoughts of coaching entered. So that was the start of my coaching career.

Rath: That’s wild. Sometimes, you don’t know what you love until you’re actually doing it.

Raynor: Exactly.

Rath: I was reading a bit about your athletic career as a young man and how, even back then, people were really looking up to you for your achievements and what you were doing. I’m wondering if you were aware of the importance of that, especially as a young Black man the importance of that.

Raynor: Well, the game of basketball holds a special place in my community and the community that I grew up in. As I was becoming a better player and getting a little bit of recognition, that definitely was something that I was aware of — that people were aware of my abilities, that I was able to traverse the city and go into all different kinds of neighborhoods to play and compete, that I was embraced by each of those communities. It did spark this idea that people recognized and appreciated my talent.

Rath: You talked about how learning you loved was something of a revelation to you once you started doing it. Was there a particular moment when you realized, “This is my calling. This is how I can have an impact on people?”

Raynor: I don’t know if there was a particular moment that struck me, but one of the things that did occur to me was that I did have a talent, if you will, for teaching the game, interacting with people, with translating the many beautiful and wonderful experiences that I had experienced as a player, and being able to provide that for the players that i have coached throughout my coaching career.

If you looked at the impact various coaches had on me and my development, this seemed to be a great pathway for me to pass on those experiences to others. But also coaches are really educators and teachers. You get beyond the game and get into the psyche of the individual. That’s been a great blessing throughout my coaching career.

Rath: I can’t imagine it was easy growing up as a Black man in Boston at the time, but hearing you talk about it and in your writings, you’re so overwhelmingly positive. I can hear it in your voice! I’m wondering where that comes from?

Raynor: I think that comes from my background. I was blessed with a great family and great parents, and they always instilled the positivity of life, and we didn’t dwell on the negativity. We dwelled on, if you will, living in the answer and not living in the problem.

So despite the various kinds of ups and downs and rollercoaster rides that life throws at you and the different challenges that life throws at you, instead of focusing on the negative parts of that, I focus on the positive.

Rath: One of the things I love about your story is how you are a scholar athlete. I’m curious about how, in your coaching, you use literature as a way to connect with young people through your love of the written and spoken word.

Raynor: Yeah. I think that — especially as rap, hip hop and spoken word have become as popular and influential as it has — here was an avenue where I’m able to use my self-expression and various forms that others could relate to. That’s been my path.

I’ve always been intrigued by artists and their use of language, and their use of words and lyrics. Despite whatever musical genre it might be, there’s the opportunity to really highlight and make a powerful impact with statements in a short form that’s always intrigued me. So I began writing, and initially, I was just writing for my own edification. Then, as I started sharing some of my stuff with people, they encouraged me to share it with others. As I did, others seemed to gravitate towards it, and they encouraged me with their words of appreciation, so I continued.

Rath: Bill, you’ve brought so much joy to so many people, evidenced through your multiple inductions into various halls of fame in New England. With the impact you’ve had on so many people in your career, speaking personally, what has brought you the most joy?

Raynor: What has brought me the most joy has been the reaction and the relationships that I’ve established at the various stops along the way I’ve had in life. The people — the relationships I have — date back 50 years.

It’s been through meeting and teaching the great game of basketball, as well as my Young Men and Women of Color program, which has also been one of the great achievements I’ve had, that I’ve been able to, in some small way, be a part of helping young people grow and realize their academic or professional aspirations.

Rath: Bill, it’s been a great pleasure talking with you. Thank you so much for joining us today, and thank you for everything you do.

Raynor: Well, I really appreciate it. I hope that your audience goes out and investigates and explores my new book, Why Black Men Nod at Each Other. I think that there are many, many relatable stories that I impart in this book, and I like to break down walls that keep us separated and try to show that we are more similar than different in this crazy world of ours.

Rath: These three educators have devoted their lives to teaching. Tanisha, Brenda and Bill all bring much-needed joy to our lives, and that’s why we’re celebrating them here on the Joy Beat.

OUTRO:

We hope you enjoyed the first episode of our Joy Beat Podcast.

Tune in every other Tuesday for more of the Joy Beat, wherever you find your podcasts.

Special thanks to our guests and a big thank you to our team, who make this show possible every day.

This episode was produced and edited by Kana Ruhalter, with help from Jackie Martin. Special thanks to Devin Robbins and Dave Goodman, who helped mix today’s episode.

If you would like to nominate someone or something for the Joy Beat, let us know! Leave us a voicemail at (617) 300 B-E-A-T. That’s (617) 300 2-3-2-8.

This is: the JOY BEAT. I’m Arun Rath. Thanks for listening.