Believe it or not, many BSM staff members have children who attend BSM and are widely involved in the school community. Teachers play a big role in the overall environment of BSM, and students find that they may have a different school experience if their parent is a teacher at their school.
Kids of BSM staff find there to be many pros to their parents working here. They think it’s a nice option to have someone here in the school who’s always there for them or available to talk. It also can give the students the advantage of having connections with lots of other staff members at school, knowing they’ll always be looking out for them. Students find it easier to ask for help with their homework, especially if their questions are about the subject that their parents teach. “I always ask my parents for math help. Both my parents are math teachers. So if I ever need math help or science help, I usually ask them,” junior Anya Seppala said.
Occasionally, there can be cons to your parents working at school. For example, many of these students have to come to school early or stay late after school hours due to their parents’ teaching schedule. Many teachers arrive at school over thirty minutes early before school starts. This results in the students having to get up earlier and spend more time at school which is not always desired. Especially with busy schedules with extracurriculars, it can be difficult to spend that extra time at school. “We come early, like every day. We have to be here at like 7:30 A.M. or earlier, and then we have to stay till 3:00 P.M. every day,” junior Eleanor Porisch said.
Some of the students have even taken classes taught by their parents. To some surprise, this experience is not much different compared to ordinary students’ experiences in the class. As students don’t talk about their personal life outside of school in class with their parents, students find that taking a class taught by their mom or dad compares similarly to having an alternative teacher. If anything, it’s more comfortable for the students rather than uncomfortable. This serves as an advantage for students. “I had biology one semester and ecology with my dad. Honestly, it wasn’t much different. It was more comfortable because I knew who the teacher was, but it wasn’t much different than any other class,” Porisch said.