MEMORIES: 1982-1983
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
55 CLERMONT STREET DENVER, CO 80220 303.399.0390
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1924, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.