The route I chose to walk the other day passed by my old elementary school. This walking path follows the defunct railroad tracks. Whenever I pass by this campus I reminisce about the fun I had on the playground and the walk to and from school.

I remember the gate to campus next to the RR trax, that was open during school hours. On this day it looked like this:

And it has this sign:

Didn’t seem much evidence of use. No sign of wear like a worn path or trampled grass for example.

The sign caused me to ponder what I call the “fortification of schools”. (I’m sure others have called it too.)

Here’s what the school looks like:

After seeing that gate I decided to check out my old high school which is only a few blocks away, and look at the new fencing. The fencing is where my thought about the fortification of schools came from.

When I first saw them I thought, “WTF?!” And I still think that. Why were they installed? I hope it wasn’t for curb appeal. If they were for “fortification” what does this say about society?

Anyway, I’ve learned a couple of things while pondering these places.

1. It’s harder than I thought to find old pictures of there schools. (I’m still looking.)

2. My elementary school opened in 1980 which is close to when I attended school there.

I’ll wrap with another photo from my walk. Until next time…