Through an imaginary dialogue with her grandmother, a first-grade teacher reflects on the educational methods which her grandmother used and referred to in her journals and discusses the whole language methods used in schools today. A whole language classroom is described as a busy place where activity abounds and conversations buzz. Whole language is a philosophy that the teacher believes in and an encompassing theory blending the use of all language modes. The focus in whole language is on the process not the product, on meaning and purpose. Whole language teachers are empowered through ownership of their teaching. Many of the experiences described in the classrooms of the 1920s seem similar to what might occur in whole language classrooms today, suggesting that effective educational methods will continue to work over long periods of time. (MG)