TEACHER'S CORNER: HISTORY INSTRUCTOR LETS EXPERIENCE DO TEACHING

When Jack Grisham teaches American history to his students at Cape Girardeau Central High School, they get more than just history; they also get personal experience.

"I try to bring history alive by including personal history gleaned from 28 years of military experience," Grisham said.

When Grisham is about half-way through the textbook, he begins to remember the events because he lived through them.

"I try not to tell too many combat stories," he said, "but I tell them what I experienced, such as the Holocaust. I saw a Nazi death camp during my duty with Patton's third army in World War II.

"I tell them about the Depression as I remembered it as a boy of 10 or 11, and how my family lived through it."

Grisham was a lieutenant colonel in the Army. He retired from the Special Forces and bought a farm in Texas.

"It was very boring," he said, "having never been a farmer."

So he and his wife, Frances, started traveling all across the United States, Canada and Mexico in a travel trailer.

"Well, we tired of that, too," he said, "and decided to come back home to Anna, Ill.

"We stayed a night there with my brother and his wife, and they told us how much they liked Cape Girardeau. We drove over here and rented an apartment."

A couple of days later, Grisham saw the sign outside of the Cape Girardeau Board of Education office and decided to see if his teaching certificate was any good.

"I told them I got a degree from Southeast Missouri State in 1950. They asked if I would like to teach as a substitute. I said yes, and they started calling me for that. The next year they gave me a job teaching high school social studies."

That was 15 years ago.

Grisham said he hopes that he helps to instill in his students a sense of pride in themselves and patriotism for their country.

"Patriotism is not innate," he said. "It has to be taught. One way is by example and by speaking out and saying what a great nation we have, even with all of its faults.

"Even though these students are in high school, it's so important for teachers to realize just what impact that their actions and lifestyles have on their students, both inside and outside the classroom."

Grisham sponsors the school's Patriotic Club.

"We do the things other clubs do to raise money," he said, "but we give it all away; for example, to help with the FISH food pantry. Once a month we open school with the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. We try to be a visible group."

Over the years, some of Grisham's students have used their artistic talents to decorate the walls of his classroom with art that features patriotic themes from throughout American history.

The Grishams have been married for 49 years. Their son, Mark, and daughter, Jacqueline, both live in Texas. The Grishams have three grandchildren and expect their first great-grandchild next year.