Boston, MA
Teaching is increasingly difficult. So why stay in that job? – The Boston Globe
Of course teachers want out. In a National Education Association survey last year, 55 percent of respondents said they were thinking of leaving the profession.
So why do those who stay stick it out — especially teachers who work in schools that have extraordinary challenges, even for 2023?
Ayesha Hoda leads the Middle School Academy at the Jeremiah Burke School in Dorchester. Students there perform far below state averages on standardized tests. A student was stabbed outside the Burke just after the school year began in September. In October, a 17-year-old shot an 18-year-old fellow student outside the school.
Hoda, 36, arrived at the school last year after 14 years working in difficult circumstances in the Bronx, so she figured she could handle it. But this moment in America, and the school’s unique challenges, made her feel like a failure almost immediately. Until she realized she had to think of her job differently.
“By December my mind-set had shifted,” she said, speaking in her office on a recent afternoon. “I was able to see this as a long-term plan, not something that was going to change in a few months, or even a year.” She had to convince her students that she wasn’t going anywhere, she said. Eventually, they began to trust her. And she had to recalibrate her expectations, to widen them beyond the abysmal math scores.
“I started letting go of outside evaluation systems of our success [in favor of] a positive culture and belonging and community,” she said. Some of these kids are in crisis. Some have lost parents, or siblings.
“How am I asking you to sit there and focus on a linear equation when this just happened?” she said.
Getting kids to show up every day is an achievement. Kids who cursed her out at the start of the year are now showing up for detention, accepting accountability. As she spoke, there were constant knocks at the door, from middle-schoolers who seemed to want nothing except to be with her. Some of them will show her essays they’re proud of. They might not show up on state scorecards, but these are huge wins.
“You have to focus on those wins, or you’ll go crazy,” Hoda said.
She has been struck by how much the Burke feels like a family. Those who work there are not just educating kids, but raising them as if they were their own.
So when you ask Hoda what keeps her at the school, the answer is easy.
“You don’t give up on your own children,” she said.
After 20 years at the McKinley Prep High School — the South End school for kids with emotional and behavioral challenges recently renamed for late Boston civil rights giant Mel King — Jason Samaha, 47, wanted a change. He had read all of the unflattering stories about Madison Park Technical Vocational High School over the decades — the academic struggles, the staff turnover (the school currently has 17 open positions), the herculean and so far failed efforts to make it a prized magnet. None of it turned him off.
“I talked to a teacher who works here,” said Samaha, who teaches 10th grade English. “I came over and took a look around and I liked what I saw.”
The students — in cosmetology, plumbing, and other shops — are enterprising problem-solvers, he said. For some of them, the school’s partnership with Bunker Hill Community College has been immensely successful, giving them college credit in addition to high school degrees.
When a lesson doesn’t go according to plan, “it’s never the kids,” Samaha said. It’s on him to recalibrate for the next time, he said, to provide better scaffolding so students are free to analyze a poem like the gorgeous “Ode to Dirt,” by Sharon Olds. If one lesson bombs, the next one redeems it, he said. He reckons 99 percent of his students have grown academically in the last year. But Samaha has grown, too.
“Every single day … a student has taught me something, or made me think about something in a new way,” he said. “I like to think I’m a smart and thoughtful guy, but they’ll say, ‘Hey, did you ever think about this?’ It always surprises me.”
He knows it may sound dishonest, but he never has very bad days at Madison Park.
“There is always light in there somewhere,” he said.
Erin Clark/Globe Staff
There is no tragedy that can befall Connell Cloyd’s students at Dorchester’s Henderson Inclusion School with which the seventh grade math teacher is not already personally familiar. He grew up in Memphis, in a neighborhood where drugs and gangs burned destructive paths. He knows the grief of losing parents when you’re young. Cloyd, 43, struggled at times to stay in school, but math — and great teachers — saved him, pushing him to excel, and to go after scholarships that got him to Phillips Academy in Andover, and then Tufts University.
“My story is real enough that it can resonate with them,” Cloyd said. When he comforts a kid who has lost his brother unexpectedly, he can say he’s been there, trying to get through that first day back at school, after his own mother died suddenly.
At the Henderson, students with disabilities learn in the same classrooms as those without them. The school has long been beloved by families, but in the last couple of years, violent episodes — and slipping standards — have led some of those families to leave. Most notably, the principal of the upper school was attacked and seriously injured by a 16-year-old student in 2021.
“These things have been happening in public education for years,” Cloyd said. “My heart goes out … but I am not affected in a way that is going to make me step away.”
The hardest part of his job, Cloyd said, is the pressure of “making the numbers,” raising math scores on which “your school’s existence is really predicated. The weight of that falls on me.”
But not heavily enough to make him consider leaving. He lives five minutes from the Henderson, so the school’s community is his community, too. He has stayed invested in his students up through high school and beyond.
“I share their fears and hopes and aspirations, their families invite me to things, I am part of their lives,” he said. “If I just walk away I would be another life that has left them.”
He can see how the work might burn people out.
“If you can’t let some things go, then it will consume you,” he said. “Every day you walk out of here with 60 lives in your head, then you’ve got your own life.”
And every morning Cloyd walks in and, no matter what is going on with him, “you put on a show that math is the most important thing you need to learn.”
Even on the toughest days, it’s not hard to remember why he keeps coming back.
“Education is still beautiful,” he said.
Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham can be reached at yvonne.abraham@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeAbraham.
Boston, MA
O’shae Brissett, part of Boston Celtics championship, reportedly signs with Long Island Nets
O’shae Brissett, who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in June but hasn’t played professionally since, has reportedly signed an NBA G-League level contract with the Brooklyn Nets G League team, the Long Island Nets.
Bobby Manning was first with the news Friday morning…
Sources tell me Oshae Brissett signed a G-League contract with the Long Island Nets
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) January 17, 2025
The 6’7” 26-year-old Brissett, a defensive specialist, will join Long Island having last played for the Boston Celtics as a part of the NBA Championship squad last year.
In his defining moment of the title run, Brissett was inserted as a small ball center by Boston coach Joe Mazzulla in Game 2 of the Celtics-Pacers conference title series. It was his first playoff minutes, but he played a critical role defensively, picking up three steals and finishing a +15 in his 12 minutes on the court.
“Just his presence, his energy, his athleticism,” Mazzulla said after that game. “Just gave us, I think he had a dunk, got a steal, got us out in transition with a couple [of] rebounds. So just, he plays with such a high level of intensity and energy. It’s big for us.”
In his 55 games with the Celtics in the 2023-24 season, Brissett started just one and played roughly 11.5 minutes per game. He averaged 3.7 points per game, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. He shot 44.4% from the field, 27.3% from beyond the arc. He adds yet another NBA veteran presence to the young Long Island Nets team with .
Brissett played three years with the Indiana Pacers, his best year coming in 2021-22 when he played 67 games, 25 starts, averaging 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds.
However, he hasn’t played since the NBA Finals. Brissett, who turned 26 years old in June, declined a $2.5 million dollar player option with Boston at the end of June. He hoped that he could get more by testing the free-agent market. Similarly, the Toronto native dropped out of the Canadian national team, coached by Jordi Fernandez, to focus his free agency. However, offers or at least offers he liked never materialized and he remained a free agent until Friday.
Brissett’s rebounding and size will give Long Island some added depth, and in Long Island’s case, a potential starter. Brissett always intended to pursue a return to the NBA, and his signing with the Long Island Nets is a first step to getting back to that dream.
Brissett also re-unites with Kendall Brown who had been his Indiana Pacers teammate two years ago.
BOSTON – Over two weeks ago, after the Orlando Magic’s latest rally fell short in a loss to the Detroit Pistons, fourth-year guard Jalen Suggs called out a worrying trend among his team in hopes of nipping it in the bud.
“We’re putting ourselves in these holes and spotting teams leads, then having to fight, scratch, claw just to get back in the game and give ourselves a chance,” Suggs said on New Year’s Day.
The Magic had developed a resilience that meant they were never out of games, no matter the score. Complimentary, energy-filled basketball helped Orlando do the fighting, scratching and clawing to get back into those games.
Did it always result in a victory? Not quite. But the relentless attitude and constant effort – especially for a team so handicapped by its shrinking list of healthy players – was commendable, and has been embedded in the Magic’s DNA.
In the rare occasions when it doesn’t show face, though, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley says it’s “glaring.” That was the case when the Milwaukee Bucks delivered a 29-point shellacking to Orlando, marking the most lopsided loss for the Magic this year.
“There was an energy and effort issue,” said Mosley postgame.
Wendell Carter Jr. would later say his team was “out-physicaled” and made life too easy for their opponent.
Then, in the locker room, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope told reporters Orlando got its “a– whooped,” and Paolo Banchero told reporters, “[A]s a group top to bottom, we’ve got to be more ready to play. We’re down a lot of bodies, but we can’t make excuses and we’ve just got to come out and play for each other.”
To Banchero’s point, the Magic’s 124 missed games from players due to injury or illness haven’t been a catch-all, safety-net excuse when the team is struggling. Instead, their aforementioned resilience built an identity that helped them generate results throughout the entire first half of the season, regardless of available contributors.
It justifies Mosley’s claims that the lackluster performance vs. the Bucks “wasn’t Orlando Magic basketball. Not even close.” Because although that was the case in Game 42, through the first 41 games, it wasn’t.
“It’s something that you can learn from, and you have to be able to bounce back, which this group has always done,” Mosley said.
With a national audience watching along, Orlando (0-4 in national TV games this season) pays its only visit to TD Garden Friday evening, squaring off with the defending champion Boston Celtics for the second of three matchups this season. The Magic host the 18-time champs once more in April to close the Kia Center’s regular season slate.
Boston has dropped three of their last five outings, including an uncharacteristic loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in Scotiabank Arena. The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum due to a last-minute spat with an illness in the Magic’s Dec. 23 home win, but Orlando was shorthanded as well. Of their top four scorers, only Suggs was available.
“We beat them last time at home, so I’m sure they haven’t forgot that,” Paolo Banchero said in Orlando’s locker room Wednesday. “They have a hell of a home atmosphere [and] home crowd, so they’ll be ready to play in front of their fans.”
Heading into Friday’s tilt, where both teams are eager to wipe the slate clean from their mid-week malaise, Boston reports a clean bill of health. Now, only Banchero is available of the Magic’s top scorers, and other key reserves are unavailable as well.
MORE: Magic-Celtics Injury Report
Those who are available, however, say they shouldn’t have any issue getting back to their standard.
“Playing against teams like this is what hoopers get up for,” Anthony Black said. “Definitely getting up for this game. It’s always fun playing against some good hoopers, so I think we’re up and I think we’ll be ready to bring energy come game time.”
“You don’t like losing games, especially when you get your butt kicked,” Mosley said, “but you also have to know you have to bounce back, can’t hang your head, be ready to go and move on the next game.”
Follow ‘Orlando Magic on SI‘ on Facebook and like our page. Follow Magic beat reporter Mason Williams on Twitter/X @mvsonwilliams. Also, bookmark our homepage so you never miss a story.
BOSTON – The Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics do battle for the second time this season Friday evening. Tipoff between the two Eastern Conference foes is at 7 p.m. ET from TD Garden.
Each team will be looking to bounce back after uncharacteristic losses. But, one team will be much healthier when attempting to do so.
On the front end of this chilly Northern road trip, the Magic handled by the Milwaukee Bucks by 29 points Wednesday night in Milwaukee. They’ll be without three of their top four scorers and five total rotational players in looking to wash the taste of that contest away.
Boston went north of the border to Toronto and dropped their Wednesday outing by 13 points. The Celtics report no injuries ahead of Friday’s bout.
Regarding this season’s series, Orlando (23-19) took the first matchup over Boston (28-12). Friday’s nationally televised matchup is the second of three this year between the two teams.
Who: Orlando Magic (23-19, 5th in East) at Boston Celtics (28-12, 2nd in East)
What: NBA Regular Season Game
When: Friday, January 17, 7 p.m. ET
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
TV: ESPN, FanDuel Sports Network Florida, NBCS Boston
Radio: 96.9 The Game, Orlando Magic Audio Network, SiriusXM
Point Spread: Milwaukee -6
Last Meeting: Orlando 108, Boston 104 on 12/23/24
Orlando Magic
Boston Celtics
Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic: Mosley tipped off his fourth NBA season as a head coach this season, all of which having come with the Magic. He’s 126-162 in the regular season all-time. Before Mosley was named the head coach of the Magic, he was an assistant with Dallas, Cleveland, and Denver. He’s a Colorado alum, and played four years of professional basketball in Mexico, Australia, Finland and South Korea.
Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics: Mazzulla, 36 years old, mans the sidelines for his third season as the Celtics’ coach this year. In each of his first two seasons, Boston finished atop the Eastern Conference. They hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy a historic 18th time this past June after his team cruised through the playoffs in just 19 games (16-3). Prior to taking over as head coach, the former West Virginia Mountaineer was an assistant on the Celtics bench for three seasons. He’s regarded as one of the brightest, young polarizing minds in the game. today
Follow ‘Orlando Magic on SI‘ on Facebook and like our page. Follow Magic beat reporter Mason Williams on Twitter/X @mvsonwilliams. Also, bookmark our homepage so you never miss a story.
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