Those Crazy Years: A Collection of Teachers’ High School Experiences

When freshman orientation ended early due to the school’s power being cut, Anna Basile decided to walk to her house with a few of her friends. By the time she reached her house, those few friends had turned into about 200 freshmen from multiple neighboring schools that had also been at the orientation. “As we were walking, more and more people just started following us,” Basile said. Whe...

During his high school career, John Burkle and his friends had a habit of playing pranks on teachers. In an area before fancy security systems, they were seldomly caught. “We all knew that we were lock jawed. If one of us got caught doing something stupid, they would never sell out the other person,” Burkle said. One Friday, they snuck into the school through an open art room window on the first...

After being caught driving on a suspended driver's license, AJ Leman was surprised to find out just how strict the consequences were. He had accidentally rear ended a Pontiac Sunfire, pushing it into a telephone poll. “Thankfully the guy [in the Pontiac Sunfire] was okay,” Leman said. “I remember thinking to myself, I'm screwed. I don't have a license.” When the police asked to see hi...

In her junior year of high school, Haley Johannesen was co-captain of the dance team called the Palmz, with a z at the end. The Palmz would do the halftime show for the basketball team. However, certain fashion statements became troublesome. “In the early 2000s, we would wear a ton of glitter to accentuate our hair, and all of our makeup was glitter. We wanted to be seen,” Johannesen said. �...