MEMORIES: 1982-1983
Little did I know I was teaching two future winners of the Nancy Nye’39 Priest Alumni Award
The school year began, as always, with opening meeting week. Unless Tom Rice sparks my mind about bonding with colleagues, I have little or no memory of these events. Kathy Stokes once pointed out my favorite meetings were the “nuts and bolts” we needed to begin the year-- everything from recess and lunch duties to transition meetings. They mattered to me. The mere thought made me salivate. Hey, my brain is moored in concrete. I did not care to share the highlights of my summer or play touch football or travel to the mountains so that we could play games- although I shall never forget the trust fall from hell.
My tasks for this year were simple: survive the fall trip ( I would as long as some kind soul assembled my tent), not get into too much trouble ( not easy for this delusional know-it-all), and teach English. My only admonition to “self” was NOT to go on the warpath about the importance of Greek mythology and English grammar -- and still fit in the other components necessary to a sound English curriculum: reading, writing, and arithmetic taught to the tune of the hickory stick. Scratch arithmetic and the hickory stick, even though I gather I often used strange props and movements to get the attention of my students.
Little did I know, I was teaching two future winners of the Nancy Nye’39 Priest Alumni Award--- Duke Beardsley and Browning Cannon. I have taught eleven students whose names appear on the plaque. It was a good group to teach. The class was a diverse group-- from the jocks to the jokers; from the quirky to the questers; from the scholars to the scholars-in training (the students who would impress us someday-- they always do).
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
