Wisdom Through Experience
When Kris Koebler set up shop in Room 30 of Collegiate’s Middle School in the late summer of 1989, she posted a sign under the clock that read, “Time passes. Will you?”
A Midwesterner who had recently moved to Richmond, she had taught in public systems in Minnesota, Illinois, and Oregon for 17 years, driven a school bus, worked in a bank, and even pulled a stint as a truant officer.
She knew little of the independent school world, and at first her students knew little of what to expect from this strict newcomer with a seriousness of purpose and a credo that challenged their 10-year-old sensibilities from the very first day.
Before long, though, Kris learned the ropes, the fifth and sixth graders who crossed the threshold into her language arts classroom figured her out, and their relationship became a happy marriage of mentor and student.
As the years passed, Kris became a venerable presence in the Middle School, a wise and trusted colleague, a voice of reason, a modern-day Mrs. Chips.
Now, she’s retiring.
A few days before she cleaned out her desk for good, she and I sat down to chat as we had numerous times during the past two decades, but what began quite informally quickly evolved into a dialogue between two long-time friends that revealed the perspective she’s gained during her 37-year journey.
A Midwesterner who had recently moved to Richmond, she had taught in public systems in Minnesota, Illinois, and Oregon for 17 years, driven a school bus, worked in a bank, and even pulled a stint as a truant officer.
She knew little of the independent school world, and at first her students knew little of what to expect from this strict newcomer with a seriousness of purpose and a credo that challenged their 10-year-old sensibilities from the very first day.
Before long, though, Kris learned the ropes, the fifth and sixth graders who crossed the threshold into her language arts classroom figured her out, and their relationship became a happy marriage of mentor and student.
As the years passed, Kris became a venerable presence in the Middle School, a wise and trusted colleague, a voice of reason, a modern-day Mrs. Chips.
Now, she’s retiring.
A few days before she cleaned out her desk for good, she and I sat down to chat as we had numerous times during the past two decades, but what began quite informally quickly evolved into a dialogue between two long-time friends that revealed the perspective she’s gained during her 37-year journey.
So what do you remember about your early days at Collegiate?
I had absolutely no idea what an independent school was all about, and it really caught me off guard. I was flabbergasted by the lightness of the teaching load. In the public schools, I had a class every single period except maybe a prep period.
Here I had 2 or 3 prep periods each day. In one respect, it was kind of a piece of cake. On the other hand, there was a lot of involvement with meetings, keeping track of kids, communicating with parents.
I went from totally hands-off to totally hands-on.
Did you ever wonder what you were doing here?
Maybe for the first couple of months, but once I caught on to the work ethic, the ethos, the atmosphere, the different approach to children and education, I thought, I’m really going to like this.
You’ve seen a lot of schools. What works at Collegiate?
There was just a different aura.
Here, we’re treated like professionals. For example, if you have to go to the bank, you can scoot out during a free period, and nobody will say, “No, you can’t do that.” It was a freeing experience.
People recognized that I have a life. When my dad died and then my mom and my brother, there was time to be with my family.
There’s a very nice team atmosphere at Collegiate, isn’t there?
The nature of Collegiate is conducive to producing team players.
There’s a camaraderie that exists among the faculty and administration and staff. Everyone seems to care about everybody else. If I need to talk to somebody about something, I have a whole slate of people to pick from.
Any idea how this culture developed?
I’m not sure I could tell you. If I could figure it out, I could sell it as a program some place.
To be truthful, the first 2 or 3 or 4 years I taught, I didn’t like it a bit, and I hated my student teaching. I thought, this isn’t for me, but when I came here, I saw people teaching not because they were tenured but because they loved what they were doing.
It was very eye-opening.
How have you changed over the years (other than earning your doctorate and becoming Dr. K)?
I think I’m better at understanding children and what they need. I relate better to my fellow teachers. I’m not as insular as I was before. I’ve learned to share ideas and be innovative rather than doing the same stuff year after year.
What have you learned about yourself from your time at Collegiate?
It’s made me better by making me appreciate who I am and what I have to offer mixed in with the value of other people and what they have to offer.
Great answer. What will you miss, even though you’ll still be right around the corner and on the substitute list?
I’ll miss the thrill of meeting a new group of kids every fall and getting to know them.
I’ll miss the camaraderie of the lunchroom and the faculty lounge and the birthday parties and the special luncheons we have. I’ll miss the in-service days when we have time to kick back and be with our teaching buddies.
Last question. How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who cared, who enjoyed children, enjoyed teaching, enjoyed the people she worked with.
My career has definitely been rewarding, fulfilling.
It started out kind of iffy but ended up being a calling.
-- Weldon Bradshaw
Back
I had absolutely no idea what an independent school was all about, and it really caught me off guard. I was flabbergasted by the lightness of the teaching load. In the public schools, I had a class every single period except maybe a prep period.
Here I had 2 or 3 prep periods each day. In one respect, it was kind of a piece of cake. On the other hand, there was a lot of involvement with meetings, keeping track of kids, communicating with parents.
I went from totally hands-off to totally hands-on.
Did you ever wonder what you were doing here?
Maybe for the first couple of months, but once I caught on to the work ethic, the ethos, the atmosphere, the different approach to children and education, I thought, I’m really going to like this.
You’ve seen a lot of schools. What works at Collegiate?
There was just a different aura.
Here, we’re treated like professionals. For example, if you have to go to the bank, you can scoot out during a free period, and nobody will say, “No, you can’t do that.” It was a freeing experience.
People recognized that I have a life. When my dad died and then my mom and my brother, there was time to be with my family.
There’s a very nice team atmosphere at Collegiate, isn’t there?
The nature of Collegiate is conducive to producing team players.
There’s a camaraderie that exists among the faculty and administration and staff. Everyone seems to care about everybody else. If I need to talk to somebody about something, I have a whole slate of people to pick from.
Any idea how this culture developed?
I’m not sure I could tell you. If I could figure it out, I could sell it as a program some place.
To be truthful, the first 2 or 3 or 4 years I taught, I didn’t like it a bit, and I hated my student teaching. I thought, this isn’t for me, but when I came here, I saw people teaching not because they were tenured but because they loved what they were doing.
It was very eye-opening.
How have you changed over the years (other than earning your doctorate and becoming Dr. K)?
I think I’m better at understanding children and what they need. I relate better to my fellow teachers. I’m not as insular as I was before. I’ve learned to share ideas and be innovative rather than doing the same stuff year after year.
What have you learned about yourself from your time at Collegiate?
It’s made me better by making me appreciate who I am and what I have to offer mixed in with the value of other people and what they have to offer.
Great answer. What will you miss, even though you’ll still be right around the corner and on the substitute list?
I’ll miss the thrill of meeting a new group of kids every fall and getting to know them.
I’ll miss the camaraderie of the lunchroom and the faculty lounge and the birthday parties and the special luncheons we have. I’ll miss the in-service days when we have time to kick back and be with our teaching buddies.
Last question. How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who cared, who enjoyed children, enjoyed teaching, enjoyed the people she worked with.
My career has definitely been rewarding, fulfilling.
It started out kind of iffy but ended up being a calling.
-- Weldon Bradshaw
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