Reporter's Notebook: Memories from 1985 (June 12, 2008)
I had the privilege of attending two graduation ceremonies last weekend – Sanford and Kennebunk.
I didn’t attend my own class graduation in 1985. When I went into the guidance office at the end of the first semester, my guidance counselor told me there were no more classes left for me to take unless I wanted to take wood shop or automotive. I declined the classes, but accepted the diploma in the dark blue folder.
As I drove off campus, I turned on the radio. The song playing was Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” and it happened to be the chorus, “We don’t need no education. We don’t need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. Teacher leave the kids alone. Hey, teacher leave the kids alone!”
Of course I cranked it up.
It was a strange feeling to arrive at school expecting to do the same thing I had done the previous four years only to leave suddenly with no ceremony to mark the occasion.
I intended to return to my school in June to participate in the graduation ceremony, but I got caught up in life. I rented an apartment, worked two jobs and paid my bills.
By the time graduation rolled around, it didn’t seem to make sense to celebrate something I had accomplished six months earlier.
As the years went by, the names of most of my teachers faded from my mind. I can only recall a few who truly made a difference or who were so bizarre they couldn’t be forgotten. Mr. Bower, my health teacher, falls in the bizarre category. The hall pass in his class was a toilet seat emblazoned with his name. I never needed a hall pass from his class.
The names of many of my classmates slip my mind as well, but if I look through the yearbooks, their photos will sometimes jog my memory. Other times, I simply have no recollection of them. Perhaps it’s because we socialized in different circles, perhaps our paths just never crossed.
I keep in touch with a couple of friends from junior high and high school, thanks to MySpace. It’s not a very intimate relationship, but every now and then we exchange comments.
Last week I spoke with Joan Cowgill who helped organize Kennebunk High School’s 50th reunion. One thing she kept saying was how much more simple life was when she was in school. She said school was a place for friends to meet. She didn’t talk about the school violence we hear about so often now.
When I was in school, we never thought about school violence, either. We never had a “bomb threat” or a “lock down.” As a matter of fact, we had an open campus. At lunch, we were allowed to leave school grounds. I can’t think of a single time that privilege was abused.
Every now and then, a couple of boys would get into a fight, but afterward, they shook hands and the episode was forgotten. The police were never called and a resource officer at school was unheard of.
1985 was a good year and I’m sure when the class of 2008 looks back 23 years from now, they will think this was a good year, too.
– Renee Worthing
I didn’t attend my own class graduation in 1985. When I went into the guidance office at the end of the first semester, my guidance counselor told me there were no more classes left for me to take unless I wanted to take wood shop or automotive. I declined the classes, but accepted the diploma in the dark blue folder.
As I drove off campus, I turned on the radio. The song playing was Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” and it happened to be the chorus, “We don’t need no education. We don’t need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. Teacher leave the kids alone. Hey, teacher leave the kids alone!”
Of course I cranked it up.
It was a strange feeling to arrive at school expecting to do the same thing I had done the previous four years only to leave suddenly with no ceremony to mark the occasion.
I intended to return to my school in June to participate in the graduation ceremony, but I got caught up in life. I rented an apartment, worked two jobs and paid my bills.
By the time graduation rolled around, it didn’t seem to make sense to celebrate something I had accomplished six months earlier.
As the years went by, the names of most of my teachers faded from my mind. I can only recall a few who truly made a difference or who were so bizarre they couldn’t be forgotten. Mr. Bower, my health teacher, falls in the bizarre category. The hall pass in his class was a toilet seat emblazoned with his name. I never needed a hall pass from his class.
The names of many of my classmates slip my mind as well, but if I look through the yearbooks, their photos will sometimes jog my memory. Other times, I simply have no recollection of them. Perhaps it’s because we socialized in different circles, perhaps our paths just never crossed.
I keep in touch with a couple of friends from junior high and high school, thanks to MySpace. It’s not a very intimate relationship, but every now and then we exchange comments.
Last week I spoke with Joan Cowgill who helped organize Kennebunk High School’s 50th reunion. One thing she kept saying was how much more simple life was when she was in school. She said school was a place for friends to meet. She didn’t talk about the school violence we hear about so often now.
When I was in school, we never thought about school violence, either. We never had a “bomb threat” or a “lock down.” As a matter of fact, we had an open campus. At lunch, we were allowed to leave school grounds. I can’t think of a single time that privilege was abused.
Every now and then, a couple of boys would get into a fight, but afterward, they shook hands and the episode was forgotten. The police were never called and a resource officer at school was unheard of.
1985 was a good year and I’m sure when the class of 2008 looks back 23 years from now, they will think this was a good year, too.
– Renee Worthing
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