When the bell rings at 3:30 and teachers go home to relax or make their way to The Summit to work out, math teacher Karen Longhart leaves the math classroom — to do more math. Longhart was rewarded for her efforts when she was nominated for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics “I get so much done because we don’t have any kids,” said Longhart. “I’m also really efficient and I work a lot.” Longhart was nominated for the board of the NCTM in June, and now an election is being held between the eight selected candidates, four of whom will be chosen in a month. The board works on such projects as helping president Clinton write a standardized math test and making guidelines for teachers. “NCTM has 110,000 members and only 12 people on the board,” said Longhart. “It’s an honor to be considered.” With a position on the council, Longhart’s time at FHS would become even more limited. Since meetings of the board are held in Washington, DC, that would mean three to four trips across the country a year. “I would be traveling a lot,” said Longhart. “It would be very time consuming.” Longhart also finds time for her favorite activity — swimming — although she works more than 50 hours a week. She has been a competitive swimmer for 31 years, swimming since the age of six. Longhart swims for about an hour, four to five times a week. Last year she was able to swim with the Flathead swim team. “I think it’s awesome,” said junior Becky Henning. “She is still so dedicated and loves it so much — I hope I can do that when I’m her age.” Longhart is a distance swimmer and competes in two to three meets a year. She attended the National Master Swim Meet and competed in the 200 fly, which was considered the hardest event at the meet. During the meet, a writer for the magazine Master Swimmers wrote an article on the meet and interviewed Longhart as part of his story. “It was pretty neat,” said Longhart. “The magazine was writing an article on why anyone would want to do my event, then they randomly selected swimmers to interview. I was picked.” Before The Summit opened, Longhart was forced to stop swimming for about four years. The air around the old pool was making her constantly sick. “Swimming is so soothing and relaxing after a day of school. It was really hard for me to stop,” said Longhart. “Swimming was my whole life.” Besides her recent accomplishments, Longhart is also president of the Montana Council of Teachers of Math, the board that wrote the SIMMS project. “Of all the people I know,” said her husband, FHS math teacher Fred Longhart, “She is the most energetic, well read, and aware stately — as well as nationally — on math.” Longhart doesn’t even stop for summer vacation. During the summer Longhart and her husband team up and travel across the country for four weeks teaching other math teachers how to use calculators more effectively. “We really have a lot of fun,” said Fred Longhart. “She’s always the boss when we are there and we both really enjoy it.” Longhart has a busy schedule and works hard at everything she does, which might just account for her numerous achievements. “She is a highly motivated person,” said assistant principal Gene Boyle. “Her motivation takes place in the classroom as well as in all of her recreational activities.” |
