Retiring from Fergus

Many might have heard that a couple of teachers plan to retire this year. Those teachers are Mrs. Armstad and Mr. Drivdahl. Mrs. Armstad worked only at Fergus as a teacher for 34 years. Mr. Drivdahl worked first at Lambert, MT, for 11 years, then moved to Lewistown and worked for 14 years. During those 14 years, he went to Iraq for about 2 years, then came back and began teaching again. They've been teaching for many years; a short lifetime in some eyes, and as the year winds down they prepare themselves for the transition. Armstad doesn't seem to be counting the days but Mr. Drivdahl, on the other hand, is excited to get to work on his retirement plan.

Mr. Drivdahl plans to build cabins and sell them for a small profit. For him, money is no issue because his retirement money gives him a nice cushion. He stated that he is ready to try something new and fulfill a little dream he's been brewing in the back of his mind.

Mrs. Armstad’s plan after the end of the year is to move to Missoula and live with her daughter and granddaughter. She can't seem to get enough of students and plans to sub in Missoula, and work in the university as well. In a couple years, she plans to have a home some where south, like Costa Rica or Panama, where she can live during the winter to avoid enduring the cold temperatures Montana has to offer. We all know how she loves to travel and so it is expected for her to continue doing so after she retires.

These teachers had taught a wide variety of classes. Mrs. Armstad had taught English, World History and drama for highschool students. Her favorite class to teach was World History. Mr. Drivdahl has taught Woodwork, Welding, and Construction to seventh grade through senior students. His favorite class was Welding.

Both teachers share fond memories of Fergus and the people who have traveled in and out throughout the years. Too many, perhaps, to recall all of them. However, one of Mr. Drivdahl’s fondest memories was the Spika girls going to nationals for the NRA. The girls have become very successful in their life as well. He loved watching students succeed in what they do, especially when they completed a project and found pride in what they had created. He had enjoyed teaching the students and help then develop their own skills. He also finds pride when the students become successful adults in the world.

Mrs. Armstad couldn't list an exact memory, but she loved the plays she put on in drama class, and would find them both fun and rewarding for the students. She loved creating relationships with the student and coworkers. She also loved hanging out with her coworkers in the lounge, and has had many hilarious moments in that room. Whenever someone asks how she was able to do this job for so long, or how it hasn't gotten boring doing the same thing every year, she simply replies,

“It's different every year, not so much because of what I teach, but because of who I'm teaching it to. The students keep changing and as a result, so do the experiences I live through. I've never had to live through the same school year twice.”

The teachers have some advice to give to a new coming teacher who plans to work at Fergus. Mr. Drivdahl recommends to become friends with the secretaries in the office. If a good friendship is not created, things don’t seem to run as smoothly. The secretary works with all of the funding, paperwork, and shipping her needs for his class. They deserve respect and it is best to avoid conflict to ensure an efficient process. Mrs. Armstad recommends to cultivate relationships with the students. She finds it as the most rewarding part of the job and she understands this is necessary for becoming a good teacher.

Mrs. Armstad believes the benefits of creating relationships with the students is possibly the reason she has worked so long. She had said if it weren’t for her granddaughter, she would continue to work as a teacher for as long as she possibly could. Some may think she is crazy, but she loves teenagers, and interacting with them. She enjoys the intelligent conversations with the students as well as the sarcastic remarks she can say with ease in the environment she works in.

Mr. Drivdahl believes the reason he has worked for so long at this job is to see the students enjoy and succeed in his class, and in the events and activities they join. He loves to see how far a student can go in their life and what they accomplish.

Both teachers have seen many changes in the school. However, both seemed to say that the technology development was the largest change of them all. When Mrs. Armstad started working computers weren’t a thing. She remembers overhead projectors and doing grades by hand. She still is a little old fashioned and keeps a little book to write down her grades in. Mr. Drivdahl said when he started PCs were only fancy typewriters. The development had caught the teachers off guard. Mr. Drivdahl can see the good and the bad of technology and more specifically, phones. Knowledge is at the fingertips of most every student and that can be used to find answers for a worksheet, or also be used to cheat on a test. The students also seem to be distracted with their phones and social medial, taking away from the lessons being taught. Mr. Drivdahl had a harder time changing with technology because he went to Iraq during the big change from Windows 7 to Windows 10. He had to relearn everything and felt completely “out of groove.”

Both have experience in large cultural change in music clothing and style. However, the students haven’t seemed to change. According to Mrs. Armstad, kids are just as fun as the day she began her job as a teacher. Mrs. Armstad believes she was incredibly lucky to work here, in a small town, rather than a big city, and she feels sad to be leaving, and will miss us all. Mr. Drivdahl stated he plans to quietly leave and he wishes us all well.