Walk softly and carry a big Rick
Richters more than a bat-wielding menace at AHS
By Emma Miles
Published Jan. 18, 2023
His baseball bat drags across the floor as he steps out into the hallway. The 8th graders who were previously running and screaming in the hallway freeze. Their eyes glance to the white, black, and blue baseball bat swinging side to side. Their hearts drop into their stomachs, their hands start to sweat and their ears get warm. He shakes his head, making eye contact while slowly walking back into the classroom. Once he makes it back into the class his face breaks into a smile. That's his favorite thing to do.
Now, I will say it right now, Mr. Dustin Richters is not some big, mean bully who enjoys making little kids cry. He actually has some other hobbies. One of which is running, yes, for fun. Mr. Richters has the sort of motivation to willingly run in his free time. While I was asking him questions he told me that starting to run “was a challenge.” He had graduated college and was not in the best shape so he wanted to push himself to get into shape again. He decided he wanted to run a 5k. “At the time,” he said, “lots of people were trying that.” It bloomed from there. He knew he could run 2 miles so he pushed for 4, then 6, then a half marathon. At this point he realized that this was a mental challenge, not physical.
Mr. Scott Miller immediately describes Richters as “dedicated.” While Miller goes on to say, “He married his eighth grade girlfriend, that is dedicated,” I instead think about his teaching style. You can see it in his work. He's always prepared to over explain something or give an extra day on an assignment. His work makes him excited. The thing Richters loves most about his job is the excitement of learning and talking about something he is truly passionate about. Mr. Richters loves when students come up and take charge of their own learning, trying different things for projects or simply asking the why questions. That's what makes teaching fun for him and so worth it.
Richters stands at about 6 feet tall. His outfits are usually pretty tame, very predictable, like his picture day outfit. Oftentimes he wears a pair of slacks, sometimes a brown pair, sometimes a beige pair. His shirts are usually casual dress shirts, or a quarter zip with a collar. His chin comes to a point in a triangular shape. Occasionally he may have a slight bit of facial hair, but usually kept clean. His square glasses sit upon his angular nose, slightly magnifying his eyes. He often gives the stern mothering glare, or the cheesy dad smile. He also gives the look of a child on Christmas when he gets excited. This happens often. Unlike some, Mr. Richters has deep interest in his job. So much so you can often see the excitement rolling off him in waves. I mean the guy can name just about any country based on students' rough drawings (true story). This energy impacts the room a lot. When looking around his room you can often see students actively engaged in lessons. Their eyes follow him around the room like a puppy watching a treat. Richters shoots questions around the room while students shoot answers back and often questions of their own. It's like a never ending boomerang flying around the classroom.
While Richters was growing up he was the oldest of four on a farm in Luverne, Minnesota (which he loves to talk about). In high school he was definitely one of the ‘good kids.’ He told me he “had a small group of good friends” so he was kept out of trouble. The most he really ever did was blurt out things he forgot to filter. Richters was part of Peer Leaders at Luverne and while it was similar to the one here at Aitkin High School (which he co-directs), it was more about volunteering. The students needed 45 hours of volunteering a semester to get half a credit. Since Luverne is such a small town the elementary school was connected to the high school so Mr. Richters would go TA for the younger kids instead of having a study hall. This is when he realized talking to people about the stuff he really loves is the best. Although he didn't really know for sure what he wanted to do, he often had other teachers and adults tell him he'd be great at teaching, so he went for it.
As I sat in Mr. Richters first hour holocaust class (which I previously took last year) I watched him teach. The right side of the room was empty besides myself. He started class with his usual attendance. He normally calls off the students' names as he reads them becoming a mix of first and last names. The announcements go off, the pledge is said, something about lunch and international club, then it goes silent. Mr. Richters starts class, beginning with an assignment from the day before. It was an assignment about propaganda used to dehumanize the Jewish people in Germany. As he talked about the assignment I realized how much I remember from this class. It made me realize the impact of his teaching, how easy it was to grasp onto the words and concepts. While Richters teaches he tends to gravitate towards the left side of the room, where all the students are. His left hand remains in his front pocket while he moves around the room keeping all the eyes in the classroom on him. At some point he ends up sitting on the front of his desk, asking students questions and keeping them engaged, even in the first period of the day.
Mr. Richters just has this aura to him. He can keep anyone entertained in class and make anything boring much more enjoyable. It could almost be considered a talent. For example, I had him as my 8th hour homeroom teacher my junior year. As a student who usually had their work done (or just didn't want to do it anymore), I, along with many others, gravitated towards talking to Richters. Not only is he insanely knowledgeable, he is also funny. Mr. Miller, who claims Mr. Richters as one of his true best friends, told me it is hard to find someone who is so smart, into sports, live music and can act childish. He would often tell us stories about silly stuff he's done, like getting caught by his neighbor practicing his lock picking skills on his own house. Or explain things we didn't understand and most of the time listen to our own silly stories. This built an incredible bond between him and many students. I personally have been affected by that bond.
Mr. Dustin Richters is the person you can trust to tell anything and ask the kind of dumb questions you’re too nervous to ask someone else. He's the person you can count on making a bad day good and will always check in with you in some way. If he sees your head down in class you better believe he’ll make sure you're still doing okay. He's the guy who loves to put those younger kids in their place so the school is less hectic for the older students. He's someone who is always dedicated to your success so you can do way more than him in life. He's also the guy who listens to those goofy stories and writes down the quotes that make him laugh (guilty). He's the teacher who creates his own healthy and comfortable environment for all students. He puts his best foot forward every single day, no matter his own struggles. Even if he got 3 hours of sleep and is on his second V8. Mr. Dustin Richters is by far the most dedicated teacher and Aitkin High School, the students, and staff are all very lucky to be in the presence of a legend.
Published Jan. 18, 2023
His baseball bat drags across the floor as he steps out into the hallway. The 8th graders who were previously running and screaming in the hallway freeze. Their eyes glance to the white, black, and blue baseball bat swinging side to side. Their hearts drop into their stomachs, their hands start to sweat and their ears get warm. He shakes his head, making eye contact while slowly walking back into the classroom. Once he makes it back into the class his face breaks into a smile. That's his favorite thing to do.
Now, I will say it right now, Mr. Dustin Richters is not some big, mean bully who enjoys making little kids cry. He actually has some other hobbies. One of which is running, yes, for fun. Mr. Richters has the sort of motivation to willingly run in his free time. While I was asking him questions he told me that starting to run “was a challenge.” He had graduated college and was not in the best shape so he wanted to push himself to get into shape again. He decided he wanted to run a 5k. “At the time,” he said, “lots of people were trying that.” It bloomed from there. He knew he could run 2 miles so he pushed for 4, then 6, then a half marathon. At this point he realized that this was a mental challenge, not physical.
Mr. Scott Miller immediately describes Richters as “dedicated.” While Miller goes on to say, “He married his eighth grade girlfriend, that is dedicated,” I instead think about his teaching style. You can see it in his work. He's always prepared to over explain something or give an extra day on an assignment. His work makes him excited. The thing Richters loves most about his job is the excitement of learning and talking about something he is truly passionate about. Mr. Richters loves when students come up and take charge of their own learning, trying different things for projects or simply asking the why questions. That's what makes teaching fun for him and so worth it.
Richters stands at about 6 feet tall. His outfits are usually pretty tame, very predictable, like his picture day outfit. Oftentimes he wears a pair of slacks, sometimes a brown pair, sometimes a beige pair. His shirts are usually casual dress shirts, or a quarter zip with a collar. His chin comes to a point in a triangular shape. Occasionally he may have a slight bit of facial hair, but usually kept clean. His square glasses sit upon his angular nose, slightly magnifying his eyes. He often gives the stern mothering glare, or the cheesy dad smile. He also gives the look of a child on Christmas when he gets excited. This happens often. Unlike some, Mr. Richters has deep interest in his job. So much so you can often see the excitement rolling off him in waves. I mean the guy can name just about any country based on students' rough drawings (true story). This energy impacts the room a lot. When looking around his room you can often see students actively engaged in lessons. Their eyes follow him around the room like a puppy watching a treat. Richters shoots questions around the room while students shoot answers back and often questions of their own. It's like a never ending boomerang flying around the classroom.
While Richters was growing up he was the oldest of four on a farm in Luverne, Minnesota (which he loves to talk about). In high school he was definitely one of the ‘good kids.’ He told me he “had a small group of good friends” so he was kept out of trouble. The most he really ever did was blurt out things he forgot to filter. Richters was part of Peer Leaders at Luverne and while it was similar to the one here at Aitkin High School (which he co-directs), it was more about volunteering. The students needed 45 hours of volunteering a semester to get half a credit. Since Luverne is such a small town the elementary school was connected to the high school so Mr. Richters would go TA for the younger kids instead of having a study hall. This is when he realized talking to people about the stuff he really loves is the best. Although he didn't really know for sure what he wanted to do, he often had other teachers and adults tell him he'd be great at teaching, so he went for it.
As I sat in Mr. Richters first hour holocaust class (which I previously took last year) I watched him teach. The right side of the room was empty besides myself. He started class with his usual attendance. He normally calls off the students' names as he reads them becoming a mix of first and last names. The announcements go off, the pledge is said, something about lunch and international club, then it goes silent. Mr. Richters starts class, beginning with an assignment from the day before. It was an assignment about propaganda used to dehumanize the Jewish people in Germany. As he talked about the assignment I realized how much I remember from this class. It made me realize the impact of his teaching, how easy it was to grasp onto the words and concepts. While Richters teaches he tends to gravitate towards the left side of the room, where all the students are. His left hand remains in his front pocket while he moves around the room keeping all the eyes in the classroom on him. At some point he ends up sitting on the front of his desk, asking students questions and keeping them engaged, even in the first period of the day.
Mr. Richters just has this aura to him. He can keep anyone entertained in class and make anything boring much more enjoyable. It could almost be considered a talent. For example, I had him as my 8th hour homeroom teacher my junior year. As a student who usually had their work done (or just didn't want to do it anymore), I, along with many others, gravitated towards talking to Richters. Not only is he insanely knowledgeable, he is also funny. Mr. Miller, who claims Mr. Richters as one of his true best friends, told me it is hard to find someone who is so smart, into sports, live music and can act childish. He would often tell us stories about silly stuff he's done, like getting caught by his neighbor practicing his lock picking skills on his own house. Or explain things we didn't understand and most of the time listen to our own silly stories. This built an incredible bond between him and many students. I personally have been affected by that bond.
Mr. Dustin Richters is the person you can trust to tell anything and ask the kind of dumb questions you’re too nervous to ask someone else. He's the person you can count on making a bad day good and will always check in with you in some way. If he sees your head down in class you better believe he’ll make sure you're still doing okay. He's the guy who loves to put those younger kids in their place so the school is less hectic for the older students. He's someone who is always dedicated to your success so you can do way more than him in life. He's also the guy who listens to those goofy stories and writes down the quotes that make him laugh (guilty). He's the teacher who creates his own healthy and comfortable environment for all students. He puts his best foot forward every single day, no matter his own struggles. Even if he got 3 hours of sleep and is on his second V8. Mr. Dustin Richters is by far the most dedicated teacher and Aitkin High School, the students, and staff are all very lucky to be in the presence of a legend.