After 32 years of teaching at Francis Parker, Mr. Chris Harrington, a former San Diego Union-Tribune writer turned English teacher, left retirement to teach as a one semester English teacher at Bishop’s.
Q: What made you want to leave retirement to work with kids again?
I figured that would be the first question. Well, I retired from Parker after 32 years teaching there with an understanding that maybe if the right kind of position came up, I might be interested in doing that…I started doing some different things, like working with students on college essays and opening a writing business…When I heard about this job, I thought it was the kind of position that might be interesting, to work at a school that environment that I’m really familiar with. Even though Bishops and Parker are two very different schools, they’re more similar than they are different. So I kind of know the terrain a little bit. Bishop’s is such a great school that I thought, you know, this is the kind of opportunity that seems just about right. And the fact that it’s one semester and not even a whole year made it a lot more appealing as well.
Q: Why have you chosen to teach English?
Well, that choice was made a long, long time ago. I mean, I’ve taught English since I was 25 years old. It’s the only subject that I really would be qualified to teach at this school…I was actually interested in a journalism career. I worked for the Union-Tribune for a number of years right out of college as a sports writer. And then I went to Boston College for graduate school. I kind of found myself accidentally in front of a freshman English class. It was one of those things where it was a part of my graduate school program. I had to teach this class and I didn’t know anything about it at all. And so I just kind of figured it out on the fly. And at first I was pretty terrified. Halfway into the semester, I was starting to really enjoy it. And by the time I got finished with it, I thought like, okay, I’ve got myself a career path now. Then I came back to San Diego, worked at some community colleges and then got a job at Parker in 1991 and worked there straight through until the 2022/23 school year and then retired at that point. That’s my life story, sort of.
Q: Is English the only subject you have taught?
I taught journalism. I was the advisor of the school newspaper for Parker for 13 years. I did that for quite a long time. I was a college counselor at Parker from 2000 or 2006. Did I teach anything else? I worked in administration a little bit here and there. But English has been my main thing. I coached also. I coached baseball. I coached football. I’ve done a little bit of everything, but English has been my main focus.
Q: How has your experience at Bishop’s been different from working at Parker? How have they been similar?
There are more similarities than differences. At Bishop’s the teaching and learning environment is very similar to what it was at Parker. You have classes that are about the same size with kids who want to do well. So day to day, it’s a very similar kind of teaching experience. The English department at Parker is great. The English department here is great…I like Bishop’s schedule a lot better. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen what it’s like here compared to other places, but at Parker the classes were shorter and as a student, you would go to four or five, six a day, and as a teacher, you would teach, you know, four or five classes a day, and that got to be very hectic…The school community, it’s very similar and in both places. I haven’t been here long enough to really be able to say anything definitive about the Bishop’s school community in terms of the way students are different or the way the faculties are different. It feels like right now a very familiar territory to me.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish in your semester here at Bishops?
I have two different classes. I have a senior class that is a semester class. So that one, I’m hoping just to teach a good Detective Fiction Class and help the seniors along during a really busy time in their high school life. They’re applying to colleges and I’ve been part of that for a long time. So I know the stress and pressure that they’re under. I’m trying to teach a class where I’m aware of that and make sure I don’t have deadlines on big college deadline days and things like that …The other class I teach is an English II class, sophomores, and that’s a little different because after the semester, I’m going to hand that over to another teacher, Dr. Clark…What I’m trying to do is help the students build their writing to meet the challenges that come second semester…I’m trying to help students take the next steps as writers and thinkers, so that when she does come back, she kind of knows, like, where these students are and can help them then take the next steps forward. So yeah, I have slightly different approaches because one class is going to end, the other continues on.
Q: Out of the two classes you’ve been teaching, which has been your favorite so far?
I like both of them for different reasons. The senior class is a little more chill. The seniors kind of know the routine. They know what to expect. The sophomore class is more heart-charging. They’re really interested in doing well. I like that kind of hustle to improve.
Q: So far, what has stood out to you about Bishop’s?
My sense is that the community is really strong. I mean that in terms of both the teaching community and the student community. The teaching community made it really easy for me to slide right in here. It’s kind of weird coming into a school and being here only for a semester. It’s kind of an odd thing”…[the English Department] has been super welcoming, answering all my questions, making it really easy to slot myself in. I’ve tried to make it easy on them too. I’ve been able to slide in with a minimum of disruption; I know what the terrain is. I even know how to use the Blackbaud system and the learning management system…The student community I’m getting to know more and more. There seems to be a closeness among the students from what I can tell.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
It’s a beautiful school. The lunch is great.
