Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Roberts.
Hi Matt, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t been such a bad student in high school. I barely graduated, I had a 1.2 GPA and a Juvenile Criminal Record. With no plans for the future and fewer prospects my mother decided the best thing to do was send me off to the other side of the planet. I went to live in Australia with my Uncle and Grandfather for six months. After doing a little growing up I eventually landed in the Army. I spent four years in the military during which I started taking some college classes. There, I discovered my problems in high school had nothing to do with intelligence. I was married by then and my wife and I decided we did not want to raise a family in the military. I finished my enlistment and enrolled in college full time. The Army also sparked my interest in teaching. I completed a History and Secondary Education degree at Elmhurst University in Chicago. That started a twenty two year career in education. I taught in the Chicago area for a few years before returning to Pittsburgh where I grew up. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching but became disillusioned with the educational system during COVID. As a result I returned to the University of Pittsburgh to complete a Doctor of Education degree. My research focused on non-typical learning environments. I was particularly interested in places where students like me could thrive. That led me to The Alexandria Seaport Foundation in spring of 2024. I used Seaport as part of my research and was so impressed with the program that I didn’t want to leave. Luckily, Dep Roepke, the Executive Director and I hit it off and she felt the same way. When she offered me the position as Program Director I couldn’t turn it down.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It most definitely has not been a smooth road. Nor should it be. I often say, we learn best through failure and I have a doctoral degree in it. But every challenge is a learning opportunity that we carry forward with us. I learned a great deal from the military and from twenty plus years in the classroom. My students have taught me so much and I use that knowledge every day working with the young people here at Seaport.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am fascinated by how humans learn. At one level we all learn the same way. Neural connections are made, reinforced, or severed and forgotten. On the other hand everyone learns differently in different environments. What does it for you might not make it happen for me. One thing I have learned in my career as an educator is that the most important thing is the environment. Children, but also adults, learn best when they are in an environment that is safe and stimulating. I tell novice teachers, every student wants to learn, they may not want to learn what you want to teach them, but they want to learn. I think what I am most proud of is finding ways to connect with young people and get them on a path to life long learning. One of the things I love about The Alexandria Seaport foundation is that we use traditional woodworking and boatbuilding as a vehicle for teaching other things. We stand next to the learner instead of in front of them. In doing so we become fellow travelers rather than tour guides. If we said to our apprentices “OK, time for math class” they would shut down. Instead, we plan, measure, and execute a project together. In doing so we have to add and subtract fractions, find the area of a board, and even the volume of a boat. It’s a classic hands on system. It only works because of the safe space we provide and the relationships we build with them first.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Although I do not live in Baltimore, we bring our apprentices there quite frequently. We visit Living Classrooms several times a year. I love the inner harbor, the vibrancy and energy of the city is great to feel. All the folks we have met at Living Classrooms and on the Pride of Baltimore have bee very welcoming and supportive.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://AlexandriaSeaport.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexandriaSeaportFoundation
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alexandria-seaport-foundation/posts/?feedView=all
