The halls at BSM looked a little different last week as some of the seniors were carrying around their flour babies. The theology department has a Vocations class available for seniors to take where they study parenthood and get a chance to become parents for a week. Each student buys a bag of flour which they must “parent” for a week by bringing it around with them and creating schedules for it.

Some teachers feel that the babies can be an in class distraction. Even though they are meant to teach students a lesson, at times they can end up causing more of a distraction to classes. “They can definitely be a distraction in my classes. I know that that’s not what they’re there for. I know that also because of the human nature of adolescence that sometimes you’ll take entertainment where you can find it and students can find it in this activity,” English teacher Anna Overbo said.

While this project can provide a glimpse into parenthood for students, teachers feel it creates a false reality. These “babies” are often found left behind by students or tossed into lockers making them disparate to a real baby. “I think it probably gives you a false reality of what having a baby really is like. I think this just based on the fact that they get left behind or put into lockers and other stuff that could not happen with a real baby,” building substitute teacher Larry Grace said.

While the flour babies can bring about some issues, many teachers do enjoy seeing them around school for a week. The students get to create names for them and dress their babies however they like. All the babies end up looking different and you get to choose how each student chooses to style their baby. “I think it is really fascinating to see students take ownership literally, but also emotionally of these eight pound things, especially once you see different styles of clothing and how they make their faces,” Overbo said.

Over the past few years, teachers have seen an increase in excitement around the flour babies. Students have started to put more time into their babies outfits and seem to be more excited when the project comes around. “It’s kind of cool, because in the last couple of years, there’s actually been an increased excitement about the amount of elaborate, taking care of that go along with the flour baby,” Overbo said

Every year, BSM teachers seem to enjoy the short while that flour babies are around. While they at times can cause distractions in class, they also provide a fun aspect to the BSM learning environment.