I graduated from Berea High School, which in 2013 merged with the other high school in the district, to become Berea - Midpark High School. I wrote last year, that the old building was demolished and that a new school, which cost eighty million dollars (!!!), was constructed behind the location of the old one.
Last weekend as a part of our high school reunion, we were given a tour of the brand-new Berea - Midpark High School.
As we entered through the front door we came to one of the student lunch areas. There is not a single cafeteria, but several eating areas. That way the entire student body has lunch at the same time.
The orchestra room
One of our classmates, a music major, sat down at the piano and played our old "alma mater". Some of us (including myself) remembered the lyrics and sang along.
The auditorium is very impressive.
One of the two gymnasiums in the building
As shiny, new and "state-of-the-art" as the school is, I can say as a retired teacher, that I would not want to teach there.
The doorways on the classrooms are like garage doors that open up on the hallway, so that students can work at "cooperative learning centers" in the hall. I don't know what the students at Berea - Midpark High School are like, but I can tell you that where I taught my classes would have been constantly disrupted by noise in the hall!
We did not have a chance to see many classrooms, but from what I saw they looked very sterile. When I taught my classroom was decorated to the "Nth" degree. When you walked into my room, there was no doubt that you were in a Spanish room. I did not see any bulletin boards in the rooms; nothing for the teachers to personalize their space.
I was also flabbergasted that the school does not have a library! "Students do their research on the internet," we were told. Oh great! This dinosaur is glad that I am no longer in the classroom.
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