The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

This is the first year that Margaret Fasteson has taught sixth grade at the Big Sandy Elementary School.

Margaret and her husband hail from the Spokane area. Several years ago a friend convinced them to come to the Geraldine area where Margaret taught for two years.

Bob Quinn hired Margaret's husband to be a part of his farming operation and Margaret got a job here in Big Sandy.

Margaret does not run her sixth grade class like others.

Sometimes she just can't as she has the largest class in the system, teaching 20 young Montanan's every day.

But there are other things that are unusual.

She has plenty of lights. Everything from Christmas lights to parlor lights are on each day. Her classroom comes with a large lounge chair and a rocker.

"I think that all those things make my classroom more cozy and with a cozy environment it helps the kids learn better," said Margaret.

Then there are the posters. One says, "Be kind to unkind people. They need it the worst." Another says, "How can people communicate through the arts?"

She has a large poster called the Chit Chat Chart. When asked about that she said that she gives participation points as part of the student's grade in each of the subjects she teaches every day. If a person is disruptive or just blurts out a comment or something like that they get a chit chat point which takes away from their participation grades.

"When kids know that those participation points are a part of their grade, this works well in teaching them to communicate better," said Margaret.

You can see that Margaret Fasteson really enjoys teaching and to ask her students about her, they are really enjoying her.

"Teaching is my life's work," added Margaret. "It is more than academics. I am trying to teach the whole person. Building character is necessary too. In my classroom we all talk a lot about a lot of subjects. That is a big part of education in the classroom."

One of Margaret's students had been listening to the interview and spoke up saying, "We have a very nice teacher."

Margaret smiled and said, "I challenge my students. I expect a lot out of them."

You can see that is true. And those challenges are loved every minute by that large elementary class in Big Sandy.