Archived News Item

Whoa! School!

So, yes, we’re back.

In case you missed the post a few days ago, the big news at the moment is that another Narrator, Harris Lapiroff, a current junior in CAS, has agreed to join the BerkeleyHigh.org cause. By “agreed to join” I mean that I bugged him until he said he’d write to the front page now and then, just to get me off his back.

This is good because, primarily, I’m a boring bastard, and you’ll want to hear from other people, but also because I’m enrolled in Independent Study this year, and as a result, don’t really have any idea what the hell is going on at BHS. Oh, I hear the gist, but I’m not actually on campus day-in and day-out, so I’ve lost touch somewhat.

For anyone not versed in the system, Independent Study is a program offered by Berkeley High wherein students — under an ordinary curriculum — can meet with their teachers only once a week, learn material, ask questions, clarify concepts, receive their assignment, then spend the rest of the week until their next meeting working on their own, studying the material and completing the assignments, not to see a teacher or a class until the next week’s meeting. Very collegiate.

In other words, to steal a quote, it’s “high school without the school,” and the appeal is obvious. Equally obvious is the fact that “IS” students must have the motivation and discipline, as well as (to a certain extent) a working brain, in order to handle what amounts to self-education, which is why it isn't for everyone.

If you know me, or at least have listened to me ranting for the past two years, you can probably imagine that this is an excellent fit for me. But in any case, I’m there rather than at BHS, and while I’m still technically a student, I have escaped the slimy clutches of the Maze. I hope.

So that’s that. I’ll still be writing here, of course, but you may find my missives to be turning more theoretical and removed, rather than in-the-trenches material like “There’s a chainlink fence in the courtyard!” (there is). For that sort of thing, Harris will be lending a hand, and hopefully between the two of us we’ll be able to keep you satiated.

Which is not to say that the job is done. Really, I’m still very much on the lookout for any other interested contributors to this site, any avid writers, keen observers, chronic critics, or really anybody who’d like to throw in some information, some news, or a few opinions from time to time. If that’s you — or if you know someone who it might be — please feel free to get in touch with me. Drop an email.

In the meantime, have a blast.

What the hell. It’s Berkeley High.

— Brandon