For Monica Kuhlmann, teaching comes in a lot of forms. The third-year teacher is a math and civics instructor at Kelso. But she said besides teaching math and civics to her sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, she also enjoys helping them develop skills in cooperation, respect and compassion.

"The thing that's gratifying about my job is not when my students learn book lessons, but when they learn life lessons," Kuhlmann said.

Kuhlmann said she enjoys teaching in small towns because she gets to see things that are nonexistent in larger cities. For example, she said, at small schools it's very common to see a tractor near the school that was parked there by the student who drove it to school, but tractors aren't a common means of transportation elsewhere.

"We also do other things that set us apart, like auction puppies at a dinner auction to raise money," she said.

Kuhlmann said this year her current events students have learned a lot from the presidential elections last November. There were a lot of classroom debates, and students enjoyed discussing how campaign issues related to the Constitution.

"Each child gets to express his or her opinion, and no one is ever wrong for their views," she said.

Kuhlmann remains very active when she is away from school. She enjoys spending time with her dogs, collecting crafts and going to aerobics classes.