There’s no place like home.
Families in Bexley have taken this old cliché to heart. In fact, many students today represent the second, third and even fourth generation of their families in Bexley.
Bexley graduate Bruce Grossman, Class of 1978, said he has two daughters: one Bexley junior and one in the Class of 2007. Grossman said that many things have changed since he went to school at Bexley.
“High school today better prepares you for college than in my day,” Grossman said.
Grossman added that there were no cell phones or laptops in his day and that more students traveled without parents on spring break.
“For example, [people would] drive to Florida with several friends alone for spring break,” Grossman said.
Grossman added that some of the same teachers remain from his high school years.
“I still see my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Barbara, who walks the streets of Bexley,” Grossman said. “[She] still remembers me, which was 42 years ago.”
Sophomore Katie Walker said she and her mom have had several of the same teachers.
“At Maryland, my mom was in Trudy Pearson’s first third grade class she ever taught, and I was in her last class she ever taught,” Walker said.
Walker added that she and her mom had science teachers Jim Tatman and Craig Kramer and former sixth grade teacher Bill Bowman.
“[My mom] pretty much has lived here her entire life, so she always has memories to share with us about growing up,” Walker said.
Her mom, Megan Walker, said it was strange sitting in a parent-teacher conference with Tatman, this time as a parent.
Megan Walker agrees with Grossman that the biggest change is the growth of technology. She recalled that when she was a student, the high school had only one computer.
“[The computer] was in a separate room and teachers would have to sign up for class time to go in to learn basic computer programming,” Megan Walker said.
Megan Walker added that she thinks the class load is much harder now than before.
“We had Honors English and [Biology], and if you were advanced in math, you had the opportunity to move ahead a year,” Megan Walker said.
Megan Walker added that she remembers her specific experiences while watching her daughters grow up.
“I am sure my daughters get tired of me saying ‘I remember when’ and ‘when I took that class’ or ‘that’s different than when I was here,’ but I do hope that someday they will understand how special it is for me to watch them grow and experience in the same community that I grew up in,” Megan Walker said.