There are many teachers at Hollis Brookline High School with extensive and impressive teaching records. Some have decades of experience, many are specialists in their fields, and the best bring a very special energy to their classroom. Among these incredible people, Mr. Matthew Portu stands out as one of the most skilled educators at HBHS.
A loving husband and father of 2, Matthew Portu has been teaching for 11 years total, and 8 years at HB. He specializes in history, holding a master’s degree in the subject. Portu said he learned he really enjoyed the subject of history in middle school: “I did a whole project on the Battle of Gettysburg. That’s what started a lot of my interest in history.”
As well as being a specialist in teaching history, Matthew Portu has also taught AP Psychology for the last 6 years. “Psychology was always something I had an interest in,” said Portu, “When I interviewed for the job [at HBHS], they asked if I was interested in teaching psychology, and I’ve been teaching it ever since.”
For students who have had the opportunity to take a class with Portu, you may remember that he often cites stories when teaching. These stories can often break the monotony of simply lecturing straight to the students, and help them remember more information. “Memorizing individual facts and data is difficult, but it’s easier to think of history like a story.”
The development of this teaching style has happened over Portu’s entire career. While unable to remember the specific example of when he first used the technique, Portu did mention that it was definitely in his first year, most likely in his US History or A Cappella class he taught in the 2015-2016 academic year at his previous school.
People change a lot as time moves around them. Portu is no different. His teaching methods, particularly in Psychology, have changed as his life has developed over the last decade. “When talking about development, relationships, men and women, I can talk about all the new things in my life.” He also mentioned that he has “a wealth of new examples for development with my kids,” as he can now actively see their development making progress in real time instead of just in a textbook.
Despite how well developed Portu’s technique is, he still admitted that he has room to grow. According to Portu, teaching “has less to do with your style, and more to do with the course you’re teaching. Whenever you start a new class, there’s a lot of trial and error.” To assist in his trial and error methods, Portu did tell me about his teaching notepad. Whenever he tries a new assignment, he will put all the details of how it went into the notepad for next year, saying that it helps him improve his methods and that he would be unable to remember the specifics without it.
One of the major thought types in developmental psychology is the idea of development in stages moving from point to point. This is particularly important in theories of Maslow and Erik Erikson. During an assignment on development, Portu stated that very few of the students in class would be close to achieving the self actualization stage on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. I asked Portu if he thought he was close to achieving that stage. “No, probably not” he answered. “I’m probably closer than you guys, but I’m not quite there yet. I don’t think anybody is ever actually completely developed, there’s always something you can do to be a better person.”
This mindset of always striving to be a better person is why Portu is one of the best teachers in the school, and you don’t have to just take my word for it! Last summer, one of Portu’s former psychology students got her work published in a research journal, which is a crowning achievement for any scientist. “She did a Ted Talk on linguistic Psychology, and she went to Sweden for a conference on her findings.” Matthew Portu said that this was one of his most rewarding experiences as an educator.
