Reminiscences of Live the Learning

The stage was set early for Live the Learning at Graland in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Photographs and archival materials clearly show the influence of active, interconnected learning.

Graland’s curriculum centered around history and emphasized experiences that made lessons meaningful. Teachers brought learning to life through plays, projects, songs, and writing connected to classroom themes.

Graland’s early curriculum was organized around themes including:

Kindergarten – Home

First Grade – Community

Second Grade – Dinosaurs and Native Americans

Third Grade – China, India, and Mexico

Fourth Grade – Egypt and Greece

Fifth Grade – Rome and Medieval Times

Sixth Grade – Renaissance, Discovery Period, and Colorado History

Seventh Grade – U.S. History

Perhaps the best-known example of Live the Learning from Graland’s earliest years is the fifth-grade knighting tradition. Started by Mrs. Gorham in the early 1930s and carried on by Mrs. Priest and others, knighting was part of the study of the Middle Ages, a unit that perfectly captured the spirit of Live the Learning.

Each fifth-grade student advanced from pages to squires, performing duties both at school and at home, where a letter encouraged the “Lord and Lady of the House” to assign responsibilities as well. I remember learning about Sir Lancelot and choosing to be knighted as him. We also had to design our shields, and I wish I hadn’t selected one as challenging based on a family crest with three boar heads.

One of my classmates, Steve Bisbee ’66, recalls trying to be obedient and dutiful while serving as a page and squire. Our teachers kept charts where infractions led to checked boxes, and five checks meant disqualification for knighthood.

Writing a speech and delivering it to the Royal Court of Sixth Graders—King, Queen, Archbishop, and Chancellor—helped us develop another set of important skills. Ending with a feast at a round table, the entire experience remains one of the most anticipated for today’s fifth graders. 

Mrs. Priest also had our social studies class create a Roman History Museum, for which each of us researched a topic and made our own “artifacts.” I chose to study ancient coins, cutting small circles from aluminum foil and drawing Roman emperors’ faces on them. That project inspired a lifelong coin-collecting hobby, and two of my ancient Roman coins appear in the accompanying photograph.

For the museum, I also built a Roman aqueduct from balsa wood. The skills I learned from using an X-Acto knife and glue have served me many times since. Andy Dodge’s fifth graders still practice those same skills while constructing their crush towers in science class.

Graland’s founders also wanted the new school to demonstrate social responsibility. In the 1930s and 1940s, each grade level adopted families in need. Around the holidays, toys, books, and food were distributed, and December was a busy month when a Christmas Toy Workshop was set up to repair and clean used toys. Parents helped, and each year, items were delivered to Denver Fire Stations for children whose holidays needed brightening.

That same spirit continues today through Graland Cares, an annual campaign inviting students and families to support senior residents living in Volunteers of America (VOA) housing. Participants bring items of comfort, such as handwritten cards, puzzles, stationery, hats, gloves, and blankets, along with notes to brighten each recipient’s day. Like the toy workshop of earlier decades, Graland Cares reflects the school’s longstanding commitment to service, strengthened by the continued support of parents who volunteer and help organize school events through the Graland Parent Association and beyond.

Field trips are another way real-life experiences extend classroom learning. During my years at Graland, my classmates and I had few opportunities for such trips. Later, science-based experiences like Camp Cheley and Southwest trips led by Nancy Nye ’39 Priest and Ben Priest became important parts of the Graland experience. Today’s Middle School students gain invaluable learning from the seventh-grade trip to Washington, D.C., and the eighth-grade trip to the South. When students recall their most memorable experiences before graduation, these trips often top the list.

Mrs. Ruth Gorham, our seventh-grade English teacher and master teacher from 1930–92, also embodied Live the Learning. She offered summer trips to Europe in the 1960s, connecting classroom study to the wider world. Several of my classmates were fortunate to join her and still speak fondly of those experiences, which included reading Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” together while traveling and later seeing the play performed at the Globe Theatre in London.

Mrs. Gorham also made our seventh-grade year more memorable through a study on humanitarian work and global citizenship. Inspired by her visit to Gabon, Africa, the previous summer, she encouraged us to explore what it means to dedicate one’s life to helping others. We read and discussed chapters from “Out of My Life and Thought” and later presented what we learned on a local television program, “The Merrie Lynn Show.”

What has been the result of this focus on Live the Learning throughout Graland’s history? The Graland experience has helped develop skills and habits that shape our everyday lives. Our teachers emphasized care, effort, and respect for others—values that mattered as much as academic success and helped define who we became.

The joy of discovery and curiosity that defined our time at Graland has stayed with us, inspiring a lifelong love of learning. Those lessons about creativity, compassion, and perseverance continue to guide how we live and learn every day.

In her book “The First 50 Years,” Mrs. Gorham wrote, “Sparked by Miss Nelson’s genius, Graland’s leaders have carried forward her vision, her attitude toward learning and living.” We are very fortunate to have current leaders, teachers, and staff members who continue to honor Georgia Nelson’s legacy and ensure that the spirit of Live the Learning endures at Graland.