Rolla High School’s beloved Jamie Rinehart is retiring after 28 years of teaching history. Students know him by his enthusiastic, storytelling voice that echoes throughout the halls. Rinehart is a big believer in good conversation and is always willing to sit down and chat with a student or coworker.
“I talk about my life a lot in class, which I think is real beneficial… I think it helps you build a relationship with kids… My biggest hope for kids when they leave my room is to go out and be productive people. You know, you don’t have to be a doctor, lawyer or anything, but be a dadgum good [person],” Rinehart said.
Rinehart is known for both his ability to converse and his love of literature. He enjoys reading different kinds of texts and promotes them to his students. The RHS library even houses a special section of his book recommendations. His love for reading also translates to what he teaches.
“I bring all of that stuff into my class, and the only way you know about that stuff is if you read it yourself. Or, at least, I read a lot about authors. So I might not read their [work], but I read about them because authors write about what they know and they know about what they live—their own life experience,” Rinehart said.
Rinehart also enjoys writing his own pieces of literature while being both a teacher and a cattle farmer. During his career, he wrote and starred in a short, history-focused television series.
“I wrote a history of the American cattle industry, but I wrote it as a television show. It was actually aired on RFD TV, [which is] kind of known as the farm network, but it was aired in 2009. It was four half-hour episodes that covered different time periods in the American cattle industry and the different breeds of cattle and why they were important or popular at the time,” Rinehart said.
Overall, Rinehart’s love for teaching is attached to his love for American history. He truly enjoys educating his students through captivating stories, lectures, and assignments. Rinehart’s expertise was passed down from mentors when he first started teaching.
“I was lucky when I came to Rolla. I’ve [gotten] to teach with so many great people, great historians, great coaches, people who taught all kinds of different stuff, things that have nothing to do with history. I built a lot of lifetime friendships. One of those was Coach Dave Croft. He had a real impact on me, and Coach Aaron Bartle did as well. Those guys had a great impact on my career,” Rinehart said.
Just last year, RHS welcomed a new addition to the history hallway: Jacob Rinehart, otherwise known as Jamie Rinehart’s son. The younger is affectionately referred to by some as “baby Rinehart”. From being enriched through senior Rinehart’s knowledge, Jacob Rinehart has enjoyed history from a young age. Now, he gets to continue the teaching legacy left by his father.
“It’s just been cool to see when I leave, part of me stays here. [My son] continues on that legacy that Coach Croft and Coach Bartle passed down to me, and [then] retired. They left. But, now, when I’m leaving, [my son] gets to be here, and he’ll continue some of that stuff, which will be real neat,” Rinehart said.
RHS will hear Rinehart’s voice ringing with notes of wisdom and care for one final semester. Then, continuing the tradition of Coach Croft and Coach Bartle, he will retire from his teaching profession. But being a lifelong learner and historian won’t change.
“It’s not what I do. It’s largely who I am. I mean, it’s part of me,” said Rinehart.
