I recently got to thinking about how schools have changed. I wasn’t thinking about the curriculum or the technology that teachers and students use to teach and learn, respectively. My thoughts turned to accessing the school from the outside.

Growing up in Arizona, my schools weren’t single buildings with multiple floors like you see in most states. When I was in elementary school, there was one building for kindergarten through third grade, with three classrooms designated for each grade along with school offices and the gymnasium/lunchroom. It made sense that you kept the younger kids in a confined area so as not to let them wander outside into the streets.

Then again—traffic in Chino Valley in those days was at a slow crawl.

When I reached fourth grade, those classrooms were in modular buildings outside the main building, similar to what you would see on construction sites but big enough to house a classroom of 25 or so children. It was the start of moving more grades over from the other school in town to have our school be a full elementary school and the other school could be junior high school.

By the time I got to fifth and sixth grades, a new addition had been built onto the elementary school, with the grades having their own building along with a new library, gymnasium/lunchroom and space for other elective classes like art and music. There’s something about being a kid and being able to enjoy the fresh air while transitioning through the day. Rain wasn’t a regular occurrence, so we didn’t get wet too often.

When I got to seventh grade, the concept of junior high went away in favor of what became the middle school for grades 6-8. I’d gotten use to an open-air campus, but the difference was the other school in town was much older than the elementary school, so there were times when classes became too hot because the air conditioner broke down or too cold because the heater gave up the ghost.

The interesting thing about both elementary school and middle school was that, even though the schools had fencing, visitors regularly had the run of the campus, visiting classrooms to volunteer or bring in class treats.

Then came high school. Like the middle school, there was an open-air campus, but the fencing was gone for the most part. You could easily access everything, including the auditorium and athletic fields, and even eating lunch could take place outside during the nice days.

Ironically, Chino Valley High School in those days was a closed campus, which meant students couldn’t leave during lunchtime. However, the lack of fencing made it pretty easy for some without vehicles to flaunt the rule.

It was an interesting culture shock after I left Chino Valley to encounter single-building schools, where moving between classes took place in a sterile environment and not in the open air. Obviously in Wisconsin, it makes no sense to have separate buildings for grades or specific subjects because many winter days don’t get about freezing, and having to traverse between buildings would not be the best for children’s health.

The first major school shooting with Colombine resulted in schools taking drastic steps to try and prevent someone from waltzing through the doors with a gun and letting loose with a wave of bullets.

Nowadays, you don’t get to just open the front door and walk in, even if you planned to check in at the school office. Most schools have buttons you have to push so that office staff can look through the cameras and see if you’re friend or foe, and then let you in. Oftentimes, you’re going through a second door to get to the office and sign in. To get to classrooms, you’re escorted there by someone, even if you’ve been there before.

I was lucky to grow up in an era where you didn’t have school shootings on a regular basis. During my visits back to Arizona in recent years, my high school has since set up fencing and other electronic measures to provide more security. No more visitors wandering the sidewalks and randomly stepping into classrooms. The public schools are no longer easily accessible to the public.

As I write this, I wonder what it would be like to go to school during this time. I was used to enjoying the fresh air as I was traveling between classes. Being in a single building and essentially sealed in for seven or eight hours a day would not be ideal for a country boy like me.

One thing’s for sure. Once the school day was over, I would deeply inhale the fresh air once I stepped off campus.