BFA has its own culture. There are certain phrases that get thrown around here a lot more than anywhere else I’ve ever been, but I think part of that is the nature of this school – the transience, the high level of demand put upon us, the variety of tasks and jobs we fulfill. Here are a few phrases I hear fairly regularly:
“Be Flexible Always” – the unofficial BFA motto. When teachers show up thinking they will be teaching one thing and realize the day before school starts that they are actually teaching something else, they are reminded that BFA stands for “Be Flexible Always.”
“Drinking from a fire hose” – Last year as a new staff member, I think I heard this phrase about 5 times a day. During the transition to a new culture, our mentors and friends would say, “I know I’m giving you way too much information right now and you probably feel like you’re drinking from a fire hose, but you’ll adjust soon! Don’t worry!” I think I was actually had to adjust more to these phrases than to the “overload” of information.
“Wearing different hats” – In a boarding school setting, we all have different roles. During any given day, we switch between teacher, friend, parent, big sibling, mentor, receptionist, administrator, etc. When addressing a fellow teacher with regards to a personal question, I might say, “Putting on our ‘friend’ hats now, . . .” We often have to clarify whether we are speaking on professional or personal levels because the lines get blurred so easily here. I don’t know why we can’t just say, “Speaking to you as a friend, . . . ” like the rest of the world, but I guess the “hat” analogy has just become part of BFA culture!
