The 2022-2023 school year was beloved English teacher Christopher Jones’s 38th and last year at Bromfield. Throughout his time teaching, he has seen a lot of changes and made fun memories along the way.
Mr. Jones’s favorite part of his job is—“no question about it”—working with students. He likes seeing the light bulb go off when students discover something new. He also enjoys when students teach him something new about a book. He says that good books mean there “is a lot going on” and that a person “never really sees everything.”
In regards to the major ways Bromfield has changed, Mr. Jones says, “Technology has gotten much, much better.” Before, there were “no computers in classrooms,” so there was no access to the Internet. While there was no email, there was a computer lab to which teachers could take their students, so that they could type their papers. Parent-teacher communication also looked different. Parents would call the main office if they wanted to speak to teachers, to whom the main office would then pass along messages.
Mr. Jones shared that snow day announcements would be spread through chains of telephone, quite literally. Teachers called up other teachers to spread the news. On regular school days, teachers mostly received information through faculty meetings.
In addition to these communication changes, Bromfield did not have a separate middle and high school. Bromfield was a 7-12 grade school back then. Mr. Jones thinks it is good to have a separate middle and high school because “middle school students and high school students are different creatures.”
Reflecting on all of these changes, Mr. Jones says that the new ways can be beneficial, but “the old ways can be just as good.”
Mr. Jones has two favorite memories. He loved creating and delivering the graduation speech back in 2015 and said it was “an honor.” He will be giving the graduation speech again this year. He also enjoyed humorous moments such as a Nerf gun fight in his Public Speaking class. In total, he has taught about seven years of Public Speaking. That particular Public Speaking class was all boys, so they called it the “Brofest.” On the last day of class, they got the okay with Mr. Hoffman to bring in athletic bags containing Nerf guns to surprise Mr. Jones. He was wrapping up the class when Mr. Hoffman came in and the fight began.
After he retires, Mr. Jones wants to first take time off and “see how [he’s] feeling.” He says, “Teaching is a very rigorous job. It takes a lot of energy. I’m looking forward to not feeling worn out all of the time.” He is interested in volunteering at an assortment of organizations. He says “I find [that] volunteer work is really rewarding.” He also wants to spend time with his family.
Overall, Mr. Jones has enjoyed his time at Bromfield. He concludes by saying “I think it’s a special place. I think it’s a great place to teach, and I think it’s a great place to go to school.”
