Mrs. Kathy Richter is one of four teachers who are retiring this year. For her retirement, she is looking forward to being able to spend time with her children and grandchildren. Photo Contributed.
By Patricia Ortiz
The seniors are getting ready to leave and embark in new adventures. However, they are not the only ones who will be ready for a new journey to commence.
After 38+ years of teaching English, Mrs. Richter will be retiring.
Her decision to retire came after her husband retired. She states that her husband was making plans for their retirement and even went as far as to talk about, “when she retired,” at the end of the year. Mrs. Richter also wanted to retire so that she was not one of those teachers, “that everyone said should retire.” Once she made her decision to retire her family was, “happy and excited.”
The most exciting part about her retirement is that Mrs. Richter will know be able to spend time with her granddaughter. Since her children live far away, Mrs. Richter will know have the opportunity to part take in events that she was not able to before such as, her granddaughter’s birthday party, recitals, Grandparent’s Day, Daughters of Charleston events, and spending time with her son who lives in Florida.
Though she is looking forward to being able to spend more time with her family, retirement has also made Mrs. Richter ruminate about the “uncertainty of not knowing what to do.” In addition to the uncertainty that comes with retirement, Mrs. Richter’s retirement has propelled her to think about what she will miss once she leaves Plymouth High School. She will miss, “the students, the teachers, her colleagues, and the building because everyone is so close [and] we all help each other.”
With 38+ years of experience under her belt, Mrs. Richter has some advice to give to whoever wants to be a teacher. She advises them to, “be flexible. Your first priority should be the students. [Be able to] learn with them and have fun.”
Teaching has been a journey for Mrs. Richter and she does not wish that she could have known back then what she knows now. She states that knowing anything would have taken, “the journey of learning away. If you knew then you would be Benjamin Button because it would take the joy away from learning.”
Her job is, “intellectually challenging. No day is the same. You get to surround yourself with wonderful people constantly, all different kinds of people, but they are all good.” All these traits have created the best part about teaching.
Mrs. Richter will surely be missed by everyone who’s life she has touched. Her parting words to PHS are, “I love you and I will miss you.”