Teacher Spotlight: Dennis Hensley

By Senior Evie Fordham

Ninth grade science teacher Dennis Hensley has instructed at Wake Christian Academy for nearly thirteen years. Growing up, he readily admits that he “was not a big ‘fan’ of school,” but today he enjoys his job “working with and teaching young people.”

He adds that his “motivation” as a teacher is “to be a part of the next generation … helping them both in and out of the classroom.”

Teaching is a family affair for Hensley, whose wife is a preschool teacher. They have three children, all of whom attend Wake Christian.

Hensley received his Masters in Education from Campbell University and he says the “most rewarding part” of teaching for him is “to help someone see themselves as a ‘success’ … to help motivate them to find their niche or their place in how they can show their own abilities and not see their disabilities.”

Currently in charge of Wake Christian’s physical science classes, Hensley says his “interest in science has been God’s hand in how science is a part of everything we see and can’t see. I chose science as a means of showing how creation is just that — creation — and try to explain this to my students in comparing creation versus evolution in all parts of science.”

Beyond academics, where Hensley says his main “responsibility is to help [his students] understand the confusing parts,” he tries “to help them see beyond the classroom and see where they will impact others beyond these next few years.”

“I want them to know that the impact they have on others — good or bad, even for a brief moment — can last a lifetime,” he adds.

Hensley’s caring attitude toward his pupils makes it no surprise he also spends his time working with them on the field too, coaching the Junior Varsity Football, Junior Varsity Girls’ Basketball, and Junior High Softball programs.

He explains that in addition to watching students grow in class, “I enjoy working with the students outside of the classroom on the sports field and seeing them in their element.”

Hensley’s involvement in the lives of his students both in and out of the classroom gives him a special connection to his students that adds to one of the many things that helps students feel at home at Wake Christian.