It is a curious and remarkable thing: staying in one setting or lifestyle for a long period of time. This usually comes with jobs and occupations, as the most dedicated and happy employees tend to stay with their companies the longest. 

BC High is no exception to that. In fact, the school offers a wide array of teachers who have been in the community for decades  or even generations. Many students are taught by the same teachers that taught their fathers, and the longevity of some of the faculty at BC High raises many questions: Why did they stay for so long? How is teaching and student life different nowadays? How has the BC High community evolved over the years? For many, teachers that have been at BC High for a “more than normal” period of time are like time capsules into education and overall life from the years prior. Hearing about school life in the 1990s is as fascinating as hearing about school life in 2019. What has it been like making the commute into Dorchester, parking in the parking lot, and walking down the halls of BC High for the past 20 –30 years? For many, the main drive to come back to BC High year after year is the Jesuit mission. Jesuit pedagogy has been a very important part of BC High, and many teachers have taken that to heart, inserting vocational pedagogy into their work, and spirituality is directly woven into the teaching experience. As Dr. Argento, who has been teaching at BC High since 1983, said, spiritual pedagogy at BC High is vocational, not a job. He has taken the school’s mission directly to heart and has relished it for forty years. This devotion fueled by the Jesuit spirituality is a common theme at BC High, and this pedagogy has touched the hearts and minds of many teachers, creating a devoted and committed environment. 

Teachers have also seen changes at BC High. As you may expect, working at the same place for many years will come with changes and evolution. A common consensus is that technology has majorly impacted students and their learning styles, specifically the overuse of social media. As English teacher Mr. Shaw descibed social media as lowering attention spans, raising distraction levels, and creating an overall less focused body of students. Technology must now be taken into account by all teachers, a new concept that has drastically changed and influenced high school education. From an evolutionary perspective, technology has been a fundamental way student and academic life have differed. It is one of the major changes long-time teachers have seen in the evolution of teaching. 

Many teachers have also stayed out of curiosity and a lifelong love of learning. Dr. Argento himself has said he is a “lifelong learner.” A love of teaching and learning has fueled the staying length of many staff members, who simply see BC High as a center of academic fruitfulness. The special and unique qualities of BC High have been demonstrated through the dedication many teachers have had throughout the years, staying at BC High for the majority or all of their careers. There is something to be said about this dedication, and it is truly thought provoking how so many people have chosen to stay in our community for so long.