Send Mr. Grills to Europe

This video might touch your heart even if you don't know the man honored here. You can read the newspaper coverage in this article for more of the story. And the local television coverage will inform you that this man has spent over three decades teaching Studio Art and Art History to hundreds of students who have come and gone through Riverside High School. But none of these media links will be able to provide you with a seat in Mr. Grills' AP Art History class.

Now I know I am an emotional pregnant woman right now, but it really does make my heart swell to remember the patience and care this man displayed while reigning in my boisterous class of high schoolers. I remember thinking that if I didn't get my act together, I'd never pass the AP exam. He made me want the personal responsibility in a way many teachers weren't able to reach me. And I passed that exam.

Years later I would run the Congressional Art Competition for our district, as a very young and naive new staffer. One of the greatest joys of that first year 'on the job' was Mr. Grills walking through the door with the entries from Riverside High School students. And I could tell he was proud of me. Not because I was doing something all that outstanding or terrific, but just because I was one of his students. That was all.

So if you cried during Mr. Holland's Opus - watch out. This story too might getcha.