MASTER TEACHER: RUTH GORHAM (1930-1992)
My first few years at Graland School were -- to be kind -- a cross between rolling a darn boulder up a hill and cleaning the infamous Augean stables. In addition to the guidance provided by Mike Teitelman and Tuck Ganzenmuller, there were two women who protected me from my unfiltered and sometimes, incompetent self. One was Madame Guiberteau, the lady on whom I wrote for my last entry; the other was Ruth Gorham, the longest-serving teacher in the history of the school, a record I know will never be broken-- she worked at Graland from 1930-1992. A tenure for the record books!
Here is an excerpt from a speech I wrote for the first Master Teachers’ reception:
“Ruth’s world, her not-so-secret garden, was the world of Mt. Olympus, Paris, Cross Creek, the Great Wall, and the Rocky Mountains. And her world was not just the world of the map; it was the world of language. For Ruth, grammar was the genesis of style; vocabulary was the genesis of sense. In the world of language, she relished all tasks. In addition, Ruth devoted many years to writing organizing and updating files, and collecting materials for the school’s archives. Without Ruth, our school’s history might have been lost.”
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.
