Teacher Spotlight: Malcolm Deans

By Evie Fordham

 

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         Mr. Deans and wife Pamela

Spanish I teacher Malcolm Deans knows teaching is what he is meant to do.

“What greater calling than to help mold the lives of individuals to serve God,” he said, “It’s a career that I do for life because God has called me to teach.”

Mr. Deans, or as his students call him, Señor Deans, has always been fascinated by the Spanish language. He grew up on a farm where he frequently interacted with Spanish speakers, giving him “a desire to learn the language and culture more.”

He attended Bob Jones University, where he double majored in Spanish and Bible. He finds his position teaching Spanish I as well as high school Bible at Wake Christian Academy rewarding in many ways.

“It’s the opportunity to leave a mark in the hearts of my students that is its own reward,” he said.

He also loves how “dynamic” teaching can be.

“Every day is different in the classroom and not many careers provide an individual with so much room to be creative and autonomous each day,” Mr. Deans said.

Mr. Deans’ students especially love the fun but educational projects he assigns. Two of their favorites are writing and illustrating a children’s book in Spanish and researching a Spanish-speaking country. He surmised that the country project is so well liked because students prepare and share food from the country they choose to learn about.

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          Mr. Deans and daughter Lydia

Mr. Deans has been married to his wife, Pamela, for twenty-three years, and they have one daughter, Lydia. He is very involved at Wake Christian. Mr. Deans coaches volleyball here and participates in the yearly school-sponsored mission trips to Latin America. He has traveled to many Spanish-speaking countries and said his favorite area is the Amazon River area of Peru.

He emphasizes two things to his students: the importance of hard work and the value of mistakes.

“Some students are more naturally gifted than others, but even the most gifted student will not achieve much if they are lazy,” he said, “It is nearly impossible to be successful at anything if you are not willing to work hard.”

Mr. Deans also wants his students to see the good that can come through making a mistake.

“The greatest lessons in life result because of failures,” he stated, “It is the lessons learned from those mistakes that help make us who we become.”

 

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