Born an Aussie and raised an Englishman, Scott Grimshaw is an officer in the Maine Air National Guard. In November we had a chance to catch up with the exceptionally bright and dedicated young man who is balancing his role in the reserves with the demands of the teaching profession.

You hear the tales of those born as Generation X, the generation of young men and women who are self-absorbed and interested only in what life has to offer them. Then you meet someone like high school teacher Scott Grimshaw and you quickly realize that stereotype is simply not accurate.

Military Background
Born in Australia, Grimshaw moved to England in 1973 when he was just 2 years old. Growing up across the pond in Nelson, a part of Lancashire County, Grimshaw would go on to study engineering and graduate from the Bolton Institute of Higher Education in 1992 with a degree in electrical engineering.

While involved in his college studies, the young man came to America during the summer to work at a boys’ camp in the lakes region of central Maine. There he would meet his wife-to-be, Pamela. She would prove to be the reason that Grimshaw would become an American citizen.

After graduation, Grimshaw would marry Pamela in 1992 and move to America. Pamela worked and saved money for the couple as Grimshaw waited for four months until his immigration status cleared. He would finally move to this country permanently on Feb. 4, 1993.

With both of them interested in travel and service, the recent college graduate enlisted in the Air Force in 1993, even though he was not yet an American citizen. The couple would be stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland where the Englishman went on to serve four years as a member of this country’s military. After the completion of his service, the engineer and his wife made the decision to return to Maine and did so in 1997. The couple soon built a house and settled into the next phase of their lives.

The engineer worked for the better part of three or so years for an electrical testing company called AC Electric. Though the work was good and challenging, Grimshaw felt a need to do something more. He enrolled at the University of Maine at Farmington, generally considered the top undergraduate teacher preparation program in Maine, and earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education in 2003, the same year he attained American citizenship. Despite his exemplary background in math and science, the former engineer chose English as his specialty.

At almost the same time, in May of 2001, Grimshaw re-entered the service, this time in the Air National Guard. He began serving as a draftsman, but he still could not pursue an officer position due to his citizenship status at the time.

Sense of Commitment

Currently a first lieutenant with the job responsibilities of communications engineer, Grimshaw made a 10-year commitment in 2003. The traditional obligation for the guard is one weekend a month and two weeks a year. But the engineer was quick to point out that schedule is much more fluid once you become an officer.

In 2004, he spent six weeks in the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. And this year, a six-week stint back in the Gulf had him away from school at the beginning of the school year.

Grimshaw knows he faces deployment though it has not yet come for his unit.

“There will come a request for an engineering project at some point though maybe not in Iraq,” the officer said.

When asked about how he feels about that emotionally, he states, “I am OK with it because of my prior active duty service in the Air Force.”

However, he did note the negative impact that being deployed could have on his wife. As one would totally expect, the lieutenant stated, “my wife is not as comfortable with that.”

Pamela, in fact, already knows of the demands of service and what it was like not to have regular contact with her husband when she lost communication with him while he was working in the heart of Mississippi during the Hurricane Katrina operations.

As for his assessment about his military service, Grimshaw acknowledges, “the military is hard work and it does bite into my time when it comes to the classroom.”

Yet at the same time, Grimshaw notes he feels a sense of responsibility to be involved in society.

“You have no right to complain,” he says when addressing the issues that confront our country today. “You have no right to force an issue unless you are involved.”

Specifically when it comes to the questions about the war in Iraq, Grimshaw states, “It’s a job that has to be done. As a country we have a social responsibility across the world - a responsibility not just to our country. The world is becoming one community.”

Classroom Teacher

Grimshaw teaches ninth- and 10th-graders at Leavitt Area High School in Turner, a modest-sized high school of 700 students set in a prime area for farming. During his four years in education, Grimshaw has taught academic and basic English in addition to a writing lab.

When asked specifically about becoming a teacher, the unassuming Grimshaw shared his compelling story.

“One of the driving forces behind my becoming a teacher was my brother’s suicide at 23,” he said. “I have had 14 years to accept this, but when I think back I believe Ashley’s struggles after leaving school were in part due to the educational opportunities he did not have.”

Grimshaw went on to add, “He was a smart young man that never really found his place in society. The competition for jobs was stiff in our working class community and although Ashley had skills, he would have been better served to at least have a two-year college degree. As a result of not feeling satisfied with his place in life, Ashley was tormented to his end. I try each day to help students achieve more so they will not know the pain and frustration Ashley felt as a young adult.”

As he enters his fourth year in the classroom, the teacher finds he is finally getting a handle on the workload. Grimshaw has revamped his expectations in the short time he has been in education. He has put aside some of the traditional high-end reading material that is often beyond the ability of his students for a curriculum that ensures student involvement. In the meantime, he is anxiously following his student’s test results to be sure that what he is doing is having the desired impact.

The changes seem to be working. Grimshaw loves the energy the students are now bringing to the classroom. He finds it personally rewarding when students can’t wait to begin discussing the books they have been reading.

In the classroom he stays away from talking about the military so as not to be influencing youngsters one way or the other. However, by virtue of his extensive travel, he will discuss the social and cultural aspects of life that he has been exposed to through his service.

This year when he began the year away from school because of his military commitment, Grimshaw sent the students a couple of letters, informing them of what tasks he was involved in. Ever the teacher, the engineer embedded the twenty vocabulary words assigned to his freshman within the first letter he sent out. Students then had to locate those words within the letter they received from the teacher.

Careers Flow Together

The teacher was quick to point out the impact of the military on his teaching, pointing to the discipline he has learned from his service as a critical aspect of being successful in the classroom. Yet when he speaks of discipline, he does not mean the traditional classroom management aspect of the professions.

“You need to be disciplined to stay on top of your game as a teacher. The military has taught me how to keep up with the teacher workload,” he said.

As for the classroom helping in the military, teaching a variety of students has helped him immensely. “Teaching has helped me deal with the different types of people in the military. By working with students, they have taught me how many different types of personalities there are out there. That has helped me with my career in the Air National Guard. I have seen those who have to meet a military standard much like what is now expected in education.”

Support For His Military Colleagues

There is one message Grimshaw would like to send to others regarding his military time. He said he hopes that people “understand there are many reasons for joining the military. We have some highly-trained people who are committed to doing their job well. Our unit has a reputation for doing good work and a high rate of volunteerism. I am proud to be a member of such an outstanding group.”

Yet another teacher who came to the profession later in life, Grimshaw is everything a school district could want: bright, articulate, thoughtful and totally dedicated to the profession. The Air National Guard officer also represents everything America could want in one of her soldiers.

Put the package together and you have a young man who just so happens to be an exemplary role model for both his students and his teaching colleagues.

Gladly reposted here at request of the editor of Openeducation.net