San Benito High School this year features a father and son (John and Chris Fisher) working as teachers.
Working at the same school makes their relationship closer, said Chris, who teaches math. “My dad says most students don’t talk to their parents; we talk too much,” said the former Baler (class of 2002).
The Fishers said they never get tired of each other and they talk every day, keeping each other updated about what’s going on in each other’s classes and personal lives. The Fishers said that teaching makes there bond closer and closer every day, “even though we had a great relationship before,” said John, who teaches social science.
Chris, a first-year teacher at SBHS who last year was teaching at a high school in Fresno, said he admires the way his father teaches and wants to follow in his footsteps. Chris says he will do this by “having the community involved with my class, parent involvement, having the kids reach success and go far in life.”
John added, “I don’t want my son to follow in my teaching steps; I just want him to succeed with his students, which I think he has done.”
John and Chris are both former Balers, so they already know a lot about the school as well as the skills that students need to succeed. When Chris was younger, John didn’t think his son was going to be a teacher, but “ever since he wanted to go to school to be a teacher I have been talking about school and schoolwork since that day,” said John.
When Chris was at SBHS, John sdid not get to teach his son,which, he said, “is probably better.”