Biene’s High School in Velbert
Biene wrote this post.
Life was school, and school was life for me in those days. Everything revolved around school. Every morning, except on Sundays, school started strictly at 8:00 a:m. and the big portal with the stained glass motto “Not for School but for Life” was locked by the caretaker. If you were late, you had to ring a bell. The custodian would open for you and ceremoniously accompany you to the principal’s office on the school’s top floor. Frau Lindemann reigned like a queen at her huge shiny mahogany desk. She was a short, round lady with snow-white hair, bright blue eyes, and red cheeks. She looked kind, but that was deceiving. She was a strict disciplinarian. She would give you a severe reprimand the first time you were late. If you were late three times, you would be suspended. If you had three suspensions, you would be dismissed from school. We feared Frau Lindemann and would only enter her office with great trepidations.
Our classrooms looked austerely functional. There were giant blackboards on the front and side wall opposite the big windows. We would sit in neat rows of two side-by-side desks facing the central blackboard in front and the teacher’s workstation. The room was bare of pictures, displays, plants, or decorative items. There was nothing to distract us. However, we had the most exciting experiences in this dull physical environment. We would vicariously relive humanity’s quest for scientific knowledge and spiritual truths. Most of our teachers were passionate about expanding our minds. They tried to teach us skills to foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective oral and written communication.
The Peter and Gertrud Klopp Family 
The room could use bit of decorating. What austere conditions they had in those days. I’m sure the kids livened the place up.
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Our classrooms were set up similarly, though there probably was more on the walls—maps, charts, whatever.
Today kids sit at tables in groups and the teachers wander around the room. All so different!
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But you seemed to have been lucky with most of your teachers, which was fortunate. It is to important to have good teachers, who aim to really teach. We had one or the other who seemed more to enjoy to have power over us. And some really boring ones 😉
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Austere but nonetheless a functioning school. So happy things changed. Glad I retired before the current teaching climate. Be well and enjoy your summer.
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You too, Maryann.
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Thank you, Peter. Be well. 🙂
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“They tried to teach us skills to foster critical thinking” – that’s what we need today, not only in our classrooms 😉
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So true!
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Totally identify with the austere classroom. I suppose one could say that that kept the focus on the real subjects of learning and experimenting and scientific querying and seeking answers.
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You raise the good point that it doesn’t take a lot of frills for a lot of learning to take place.
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