Social Studies teacher Mr. McIntyre is currently in his tenth year of teaching at Westborough High School, and he is one of the class advisors for the current sophomore class.
History has always intrigued Mr. McIntyre all through school as it was something he considered he was good at. Because he did well in history, there was an urge to learn more and an increase in interest. History is such a diverse subject, containing small pieces of everything, allowing teachers to present things about science, math, and other subjects that have all played a role in the past. Further, philosophy and politics are topics that Mr. McIntyre is passionate about and he likes the fact that most of these topics are covered under the umbrella of Social Studies.
Growing up on the west coast of Scotland, close to Glasgow, Mr. McIntyre earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Glasgow, studying history for both. Right out of college, Mr. McIntyre worked many different office jobs, none of which had to do with teaching as he was unaware of what career path he wanted. Many of these jobs had to do with finance and one was working in a debt-collectors office of which he hated the experience.
He says, “I was not ready to do something like teaching right after university… I needed a bigger gap between being in school and going back to school again… It made me realize what I could be doing and what I am doing.”
For some time, Mr. McIntyre considered earning a Ph.D. and was accepted into a program to do so, but did not end up doing the course. No regrets are in the air as he feels that it would have been isolating to sit in a library studying and it wouldn’t have been something he could have relished.
Teaching on the other hand is something that Mr. McIntyre enjoys because of the chance he gets to socialize and communicate with other people. He feels that teachers should be able to get to know their students and create a fitting environment for learning together. The interactive piece of education and talking to students makes the job much more appealing.
He also hopes for his class to be a safe space where students can express their opinions and be educational but relaxed. Receiving positive reactions from students also contributes a piece to what motivates him.
One WHS junior who is a student of Mr. McIntyre’s comments, “His class has made me enjoy history a lot more compared to some of my past classes. It’s interesting and enjoyable which has been a nice change.”
Mr. McIntyre’s favorite units to teach include: 20th century U.S. history because of the foreign policy part of it, U.S. imperialism in the junior course, and the 1950’s Cold War.
In a pre-Covid year, teaching for Mr. McIntyre was rewarding and tiring. The circumstances of Covid have only increased both of those thoughts. Covid has had a major impact on how teachers have had to explain their lessons and overall how they go about teaching.
“It was more tiring because you had to repeat things multiple times with the different cohorts. Student-centric work would be done at home and teacher-centric work had to be done in person, so it became going through slides and talking daily,” he states.
Mr. McIntyre felt the gratifying sense of being able to get through the year and teach the material, but also experienced the significant amount of energy that was needed to even get through the year.
Along with English teacher Mr. Brown, Mr. McIntyre is the Class of 2024 class advisors. He says that seeing kids enjoying the events is a great part of being a class advisor.
He comments, “It’s nice to get to know some of the people and the officers and to get involved in the organization stuff.”
When asked what is a motto or quote that he lives by, Mr. McIntyre responded with, “Maybe.”
He continued to explain the Buddhist story of an old man who, no matter the situation, responded with ‘Maybe’ when others around him would respond more prominently to the events happening around them.
“You don’t know what is good or bad and the Buddhist mindset is to keep an even keel of seeing how things really are,” he explains as to why this motto is especially important to him.
Other than school, Mr. McIntyre loves to spend time with his two cats, Charlemagne and Otto, named after Holy Roman Emperors, read, and go hiking around nature. He recommends reading a Tony Judt book as they touch deep historical concepts and are overall very informative.
Thanksgiving happens to be Mr. McIntyre’s favorite holiday to celebrate. He and his wife, Ms. Gormley, celebrated in Scotland with family and friends which added to the special feeling of the holiday as the custom was something new there.
He comments, “People loved it… It was something that they had seen on TV, so they got to take part in this very American tradition. It’s just people meeting each other and coming together rather than the hustle and worry of giving gifts.”
Bosnia is at the top of his list of the best places he has visited due to the unexpectedness of the trip and the surprising environment of the people and culture there. Mr. McIntyre hopes to visit Japan sometime after Covid decreases as that is a place he has wanted to visit for the past few years.
His interest in visiting Japan also sparks from his participation in martial arts. He did it while in university and is considering trying the activity again in the new year. Playing the guitar was a big part of his life, too, as he learned for 12 to 13 years.
For now, Mr. McIntyre is staying put in room A339.
One of Mr. McIntyre’s current freshman students, Amenah Abdallah says, “When I think of Mr. McIntyre, I think of someone who is consistently happy during class no matter the day. Being in his class always brightens my morning.”
