Norberta "Mrs. M", “Betty”, “Mima” Moreno

By: Dr. Norberta Anderson

Norberta (Betty) Serna Peña was born on December 18, 1933, to Lorenza Serna Peña and Manuel Hernandez Peña. She was born at the family home in Hurley, New Mexico. Within her family, there were five sisters and three brothers.

As a petite, red-haired youngster, she was to begin her journey through an educational system which was to form her into the person, wife, mother, and professional educator she would become. Through the many health and life obstacles she overcame, she never lost sight of the importance of learning, the reliance of the educational system and the spirit of humanity.

In 1939, Betty was enrolled at the Hurley Northside Elementary Schools as a fragile, sickly six-year-old. As was the traditions, she was enrolled in the equivalent to kindergarten classroom known as “The Baby Grade”. The criterion for enrollment in this particular classroom was being of Mexican descent. The policy at Hurley Northside Elementary School was that all “Mexican” students be enrolled in “The Baby Grade”. Mrs. Milburn was the teacher assigned to “The Baby Grade”. The curriculum for the students was to learn to color, write their name and to speak English. There were very few students who actually spoke English when enrolled in school. Betty was in the minority as she learned to speak English at home because of the older siblings who had already experienced the educational system.

Betty remembered that there weren’t enough desks for all the students enrolled in ”The Baby Grade”, and it was policy of the school district that if a student was absent, another student could take the desk and upon the returning to school, the absent students would have to sit at a large table in the back of the classroom with the other deskless students. Betty remembered that the students were to use the bathroom facilities in plumbed outhouses which were located on either side of the coal and woodsheds. The bathroom facility for the teachers was a metal can located in the closet of the classrooms. Betty recalled that she had never used a plumbed outhouse so the “flushy” outhouse at school frightened her. Her older sister Estefana accompanied Betty on her bathroom breaks. She recalled that the students were responsible for bringing in the wood and coal for the classrooms’ stoves/heater each morning.

Although it was a political and educational practice to segregate the students according to their ethnicity, Betty wasn’t aware of the implications that segregation caused because the students were not aware of the differences between the schools. These differences weren’t apparent until the seventh grade when all students were enrolled at Hurley Junior High School.

The most memorable school year for Betty was her first-grade year. Miss Chaudoin and later Mrs. Graves were her teachers. During this academic year, she remembered a perfect attendance program utilized by the school. Any student who achieved perfect attendance was rewarded by early dismissal on day each six-week period. Although Betty was constantly absent because of her frail health, she was dismissed early with her perfect attendance siblings because her teachers understood that she could not walk the two-mile distance alone. Betty was helped home each day by her older brother Crispin, who carried her on his shoulders so she wouldn’t get her feet wet and then become ill again. While in the first grade, she developed her love of books. Betty was mesmerized by her teacher as she read aloud to the student. Mrs. Graves was begged daily by her students to continue her oral storytelling. Little did Betty realize, but her love of her teacher’s reading was setting a path toward her future career choice.

As Betty entered the second grade, there was apolitical decision made which puzzled her. During that school year, a young Hispanic teacher was hired to teach second grade at Hurley Northside Elementary School. Initially, the young teacher began to teach, however, shortly after the school year began, she was dismissed. The reason for her dismissal was given as “because the young teacher began dating the young man who delivered the coal for the school”. Because of her actions, the school administration considered her behavior “Unseemly for a teacher”.

The most influential teacher for Betty was her third-grade teacher, Mrs. Lucy Powe (1991 Western New Mexico University Hall of Fame Induction). Mrs. Powe always pushed her students for academic success. In retrospect, Betty pondered of Mrs. Powe’s motivation for her students was because she had been assigned to the “lowly” Northside school and she had to prove to her colleagues at the Southside Elementary School that her students indeed had potential and could achieve very high academic and social expectations.

One of the most vivid memories for Betty, was the time she was given a lead role of “Princess Petronella” in the school “A Shadow Play”. This dramatic opportunity inspired Betty to pursue other dramatic roles throughout her schooling.

Mrs. Powe was the first teacher to every scold Betty. The scolding occurred while Betty was scuffing her shoes with sand from the sandbox because her older sister Estefana had just gotten a new pair of shoes and Betty also wanted a new pair. Mrs. Powe scolded her by discussing the financial situation of Betty’s family and she touched Betty’s conscious. This was the first time Betty realized her family’s dire financial situation. She hadn’t realized that they were poor, and this was an awareness for Betty. Mrs. Powe became the role model for Betty as a teacher. She chose to immolate her own teaching styles and compassion for students.

The fourth through sixth grade years were mostly positive for Betty. These years provided Betty with high self-esteem and confidence in involving herself with literary opportunities at school. She continued to enjoy listening to her teachers read aloud to the class and continued to be involved in drama. During her fourth-grade year, Betty was enrolled in Miss Wilson’s classroom. This was the first time Betty experienced a blonde-haired, green-eyed teacher. She recalled wondering if Miss Wilson’s eyes hurt because they were a color Betty had never seen before.

When Betty was in the sixth grade, she experienced her first male teacher. This was a unique experience because teaching was considered to be a female dominated field, especially at the elementary level. This experience proved not to be a positive one for Betty.

During the early years of elementary school, there were historical and life changing events which occurred. World War II had begun. There was a national paper shortage, and this affected the educational system. Betty recalls that the teacher would require the students to use and reuse their paper time and time for classroom assignments, making erasures until the paper could not be used again. When the paper could not be used again, it was recycled through the paper collection program. She recalled that during this time the Army conducting military maneuvers at the lime quarry near the school and very vividly recalls the black curtains covering the classroom windows during the “Blackout and Air Raid drills” which were conducted during school days. Betty recalled that to her, the world was changing, and she was frightened by the changes.