BB&N Teachers Take Center Stage at April 11 Celebration
Guest speaker and Rhodes Scholar John Simon '80 reconnects with faculty legend Al Rossiter, who has taught at BB&N for 38 years.
“This feels like Strawberry Night for Faculty!” said one of the 200 teachers present at the Celebration of Teaching Excellence held at the Nicholas Athletic Center on April 11.
Indeed, a spirit of reunion and appreciation marked this first-of-its-kind celebration, which brought together current and former faculty, alumni/ae, parents past and present, and other friends of the School to honor the immeasurable contributions of hundreds of BB&N teachers through the years.
Throughout the evening, the festively decorated John H. Etter Gymnasium in the Nicholas Athletic Center was filled with joyful reunions, “catching up after all these years” conversations, and even a bit of dancing.
“I applaud you,” said keynote speaker, MIT President Susan Hockfield, “for setting out an event that celebrates teaching, to recognize it as a signature of the BB&N education, and for making the subjects you teach come alive for the students of this remarkable school.”
The loudest applause came when Head of School Rebecca T. Upham asked all faculty members to stand and be acknowledged by the crowd numbering close to 550 people, some of whom came from as far as Seattle. The ensuing ovation lasted for nearly two minutes.
“When I think about great teachers,” said Dr. Hockfield, “I think about people who have set their lives and understand their careers as a voyage that makes them grow more curious, that makes them grow more eager to learn, and fills them with more wonder, not less. Teachers who are so inspiring that biology, or computer science, or calculus, or physics cease to be just courses that you take, and start to be the course of your life. Teachers, like the ones at some point in each of our lives, who inspire us and lift us from the confines of our own classrooms and set us on the roads to our futures.”
Two of BB&N’s seven Rhodes Scholar graduates followed Dr. Hockfield to the podium and delivered their own heartwarming and inspiring takes on the qualities that make up great teaching at BB&N. Sarah Light ’91 pointed to four qualities that made the teachers at BB&N stand out: finding ways to help students discover their passions; holding students to high standards; a commitment to teaching that transcends the typical school day; and giving students the room to lead.
Light peppered her remarks with specific examples of life-changing teachers and programs, such as kindergarten teacher Luisa Field, who somehow managed to remember, 22 years later, exactly how Leo Muellner held his pencil, and Project Reason and Bivouac, which helped transform a young woman from a decidedly “unenvironmental” family into a U.S. Attorney practicing environmental law.
John Simon ’80 spoke of the ability of BB&N teachers to create “worlds of difference” for their students. He cited three in particular: by introducing students to new worlds of learning, by focusing on the individual world of each child, and by modeling and providing access to a world of service which our children will increasingly inhabit, influence, and eventually lead.
“For me,” said Simon about the first world of difference, “in Mr. Sargent’s math class, in Mr. Leith’s English class, and in Mr. Quain’s chemistry class, I experienced teachers who made their subjects come alive – because they were alive with their subjects. Their enthusiasm for their worlds of learning was contagious.”
During the program, a nostalgic video was shown to the audience, quilting together photos of scores of BB&N faculty members with audio reflections on the art of teaching as it has been practiced for so many years at Buckingham Browne & Nichols. Each time a new face came into view on the screen, applause and whoops arose from devotees in the crowd.
To see the faculty tribute video, CLICK HERE.
To see a brief video of event highlights, CLICK HERE.
To view more photos from the celebration, CLICK HERE.
Calendar
BB&N Celebrates the Arts
Renaissance Hall proved itself up to the challenge on April 26 as BB&N assumed hosting duties for the annual celebration of its collaboration with Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. This year marked the 15th anniversary of the successful partnership between the two institutions. More
Photos
Guest speaker and Rhodes Scholar Sarah Light '91 chats with Sharon Hamilton and Armen Dedekian.
Parrish Dobson, Gene Pool, Beverly Balise, and Nicole Bernstein.
Jayne Oliva, P'07, '10, Chris Dwyer, Debbie Slade, and Ada Snider.
Sharon Krauss and Althea Cranston catch up with Bill Fregosi.