Remembering East: Three generations

Glenbard East High School celebrates 50 years in existence this year. After a conversation with the Baker-Johnson family, you would think you had lived through all of them.

Grandmother Kathy Baker, 61, tells of a time in the 1960s when girls were barred from wearing slacks or above-the-knee skirts to school; a time when a teacher could earn a notorious reputation for discipline and, in turn, respect.

Baker's daughter, Amy Johnson, 40, says her time at East in the 1980s ushered in some diversity, namely, a few minorities scattered among the four grade levels.

In Baker's day, diversity meant something different, she said.

"It meant having a school with both Catholics and Protestants," she said.

For 15-year-old sophomore Melanie Johnson, the two scenarios seem unfathomable. She cannot remember a time when diversity was anything less than hundreds of minorities at the school.

Many things have changed in the school's five decades along with the changes in its population. But for all the improvements made over the years, Baker said she still thinks some aspects of school life were better in the early days. For instance, the clubs that were just getting their starts were the place to meet other students.

"It was easier to be involved in school," the 1966 graduate said. "That was your social life."

Baker saw the school grow into one Lombard could call its own. Previously, students had been bused to Glenbard West, which Glen Ellyn felt great ownership of.

Having a high school in Lombard helped the community establish its identity, Baker said.

Many years later, she saw her six children - including Amy - pass through the school.

Amy Johnson was a member of the school's music and theater departments.

The 1987 graduate said she enjoyed her education at East and enjoyed the school's slowly maturing diversity. She said this is one reason she happily enrolled her daughter at East.

"I wanted my daughter to get a quality education," she said.

As a mother of an East student, she now uses technology that wasn't available for her mother. Electronic recording of grades makes it simpler to keep an eye on her daughter's progress. But while that might be a technological detriment for students in Melanie's generation, there are also many positives.

"I think it would be much harder without it," Melanie said of the advances made.

Likewise Baker can't imagine using the technology available to today's students such as computer-aided research, instant messaging in class and instant communication with teachers.

"All we had was the library. That was it," Baker said. "That was our only option: encyclopedias at the library."

Having gone through the school as a student, parent and now grandparent, Baker said she has seen the school evolve. But that is not always a good thing.

"It's a great place for kids to learn, but it's changing like everything's changing," she said. "Part of (the change) is good and part is presenting its own challenges."