Surviving Mrs. Witchburg--I mean Mrs. Richburg

Entering the 1960-61 school year at Rice Elementary School, I was assigned to the 6th grade classroom of Mrs. Richburg. It would prove to be an unusual and eventful year in this country school. I can still feel the breeze coming in through the opened windows, located in the back of the classroom. The school building was not air-conditioned; a large attic fan pulled the air in and down the hallway. Most of us boys would even come to school barefooted in the east Texas fall and spring months. The rule was: if you came to school barefooted, that was fine; but if you wore shoes to school in the morning, a note had to be brought from home saying it was ok to take them off.  

I remember it was an election year and John Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon for the presidency. Issues surrounding the election are still in my mind. Somehow I remember our discussing Dean Rusk who was appointed Secretary of State in January of 1961 by newly elected President Kennedy. 

Very memorable that school year was my baptism. I was so nervous that night I couldn't even spell the name of the church correctly on the response card.

 I remember loving recess and physical education with our teacher, Mr. Jerry Kidd. The taste of the cafeteria fish sticks every Friday lingers in my memory. In 1960, many schools districts across the nation began this practice in their lunchrooms. I remember riding Mr. Henry's bus to school. A special highlight of the year was our class' spending a whole week away from home at Camp Tyler--living in cabins, doing crafts, and exploring nature as part of the curriculum. 

It is amazing what we remember. But some memories can be unpleasant and cause us to cringe! This brings me to the subject of my teacher, Mrs. Richburg. In fact, we boys nicknamed her Mrs. Witchburg. She was mean and I don't think I ever saw her smile. 

One day Ronnie Bickly had made an apparatus for killing flies. (With the opened windows in the back it was not unusual to see flies showing up in our classroom.) Well, Ronnie ingeniously took a wooden ruler, pushed a tack in the end of it, and tied a broken rubber band around the tack. During instructional time he was focused on holding the ruler in one hand, pulling the lose end of the rubber band back tautly, and then popping an unwitting victim (fly). Mrs. Witchberg--I mean Richberg--spied Ronnie, who was obviously not paying attention to the lesson. She proceeded to come up behind him, grab the clever device, and started popping him on the head! Needless to say, we all got the point and that device was not duplicated for the remainder of the year.  We quickly learned we could tolerate the flies easier than our teacher's wrath.

It was also the year that she swooped into the boys' restroom and pulled Jimmy Davis off of the commode. You see, we guys would occasionally hang out in the restroom for long periods of time and she was wise to the fact. On this particular day, Jimmy was actually using the commode! There were no holds barred when it came to strictly enforcing obedience and good behavior on her watch. 

Still, boys will be boys--and slow learners, it seemed. Sometimes we would practice putting a sleeper hold on each other while in the restroom. One day I performed it on a classmate and he fell unconscious to the floor and hit his head as I let him loose. Mrs. Witchberg proceeded to march right into the restroom, check on the boy to see if he was alive, and then with a stern admonition sent me directly to Mr. Hanson, the principal. I'll always appreciate Mr. H. who was gracious enough to let me off the hook with only a verbal reprimand. (I'm not sure Mrs. R. ever knew that.)

How do you define effective leadership? As I reflect on the impact of that year, I realize that my teacher introduced me to the fact that not every leader will serve as a positive influence. However, as a former administrator, I've seen teachers who were well liked but who never delivered the curriculum. I have come to believe that sometimes an overly strict, unfriendly leader who presents the curriculum in an excellent way is better than one who is popular but lacks dedication to the standards for her class.

 Mrs. Richburg was a good teacher in that she knew and conveyed well her prescribed content material and presented it in a disciplined setting. I did learn from her in spite of her harsh ways, and she prepared me for the 7th grade. Mrs. Richburg also prepared me for future teachers, coaches, employers, and supervisors who manifested her leadership style. She is one of the three teachers that I remember  most vividly in my elementary school years. To her credit, she never attacked the character of her students. But she was consistently mean and we knew it.   

I wonder how many parents would let their child go into Mrs. Richburg's classroom today. Her style wouldn't last long now. How many students would be tough enough to survive her direct approach to instruction coupled with a cold demeanor.  You won't believe I am saying this, but she may have been one of my best teachers. We definitely paid attention when she had the floor. I think about that year on the rare occasions when I eat fish sticks. That taste takes me back to those simple and formative days of the sixth grade.

Effective leaders are not always warm and friendly. Sometimes they can be cold, unfriendly and direct. Mrs. Richburg was the latter. While I would never advocate for any teacher to have a hateful disposition in or out of the classroom, this woman was effective to the degree that she taught the curriculum well, preparing her students for the next grade and for life in general. Yet how much more effective would she have been with a smile on her face and joy in her heart.

Remember, I believe we are all leaders regardless of our position.