Upon entering Coppell High School room C127, you are immediately greeted by the sound of laughter, music and lively chatter. This is a normal day in French teacher Nathalie Deines’s class.
Her roots originate in France, where she was born and raised before moving to Missouri in 2003, where she had her kids, Corey, Chris, Megan and Kimmy. In 2018, she and her husband Jim moved to Coppell, where she began her teaching career.
Although she may not be the best at English, she embraces this quality.
“I make mistakes, yet I continue talking,” Deines said. “I know my English is not perfect, but I like to tell them that it’s perfect, so they laugh at me. I call them my ‘boo boos’ because when it’s out, you can’t change it.”
Although her journey as an educator may have begun later than most, Madame Deines was inspired by her kids and their friends.
“When my kids went to high school, our house was like a revolving door,” Deines said. “People would come in and out, so for me when my little one went to college, I was like ‘I want to do something’ and then my son Chris said ‘Why don’t you become a French teacher?’”
Since she started teaching at CHS in 2018, Deines shows constant support for her students, whether that is checking students’ work or helping them fix their mistakes. This allows students to properly experience the process of learning to speak a foreign language without being fearful of failure.
“She’s really patient,” French II sophomore Shloka Kalluri said. “She double checks everyone’s work a bunch of times to make sure that we’re all set, because we usually do speaking assignments. She makes sure our script is perfect, reading over it a dozen times and listening to us speak however many times we want to until we feel confident about our work, and that’s really helpful.”
Deines uses her commitment and love for teaching to build strong relationships with her students. Through the use of connections between France and other countries and cultures, she enjoys linking her students’ ideas to stories of her past.
“We exchange our cultural differences and similarities which is very important because we live in a really globalized world,” Deines said. “Coppell is the best example. I think it’s one of the reasons I came to Coppell because I really, really wanted to enjoy it, and I embrace the diversity.”
One way she immerses students is by part of her curriculum, celebrating La Chandeleur, a French national holiday, in February.
“In February, we celebrate La Chandeleur, which is Crêpe Day, and I make crepes too,” Deines said. “So, when we do these activities, those memories are important to make because different students can share their culture, and we can share the celebrations.”
Deines not only makes an impact on students in her classroom, but also on other teachers in the LOTE (language other than English) department. French teacher Michael Egan takes inspiration from her, as well as being good friends with her.
“She’s very patient with me, she’s patient with her colleagues, she’s patient with her classmates or students,” Egan said. “I admire her for what she’s doing now at the age that she’s doing it, because this is something that she thought she could never do before.”
Deines not only plays the role of teacher, but also plays a large part in her students well-being and motivation at times.
“She motivates students constantly by giving them inspirational messages like ‘you only have this one chance,’ ‘you have to get your work done now to get the best grades you can,’” Kalluri said. “She is really supportive in her efforts. If students put in the work, she will give them a good grade because she knows that they actually studied for it.”
While her interactions with others may be confined within C127, Deines certainly does not fall short of having an effect on CHS as a whole. Principal Laura Springer admires the work Deines does to spread her passion, bringing her culture out of her classroom to others.
“She just brings a culture to this building that we need. I love to look at different teachers and see them show their culture and their pride in that culture with our students,” Springer said. “I love to come in sometimes when they’re celebrating whatever holiday they’re celebrating at the time — it’s just beautiful.”
Although Deines may have fun with her students and allow them to express themselves, she is about structure and being focused.
“She does a very good job of holding her students to a high standard,” Egan said. “But, she’s also not afraid to play with them, to be silly with them, to engage with them, to encourage them to want to make mistakes, but to encourage them to accept the mistakes that are going to be made during the process.”
Throughout her time in her classroom, Deines’s goal is spreading the message that learning a language does not have to be hard and that it can be enjoyable when students harness the skills and abilities they have, while also appreciating others around them.
“It’s about responsibility and learning work ethics and seeing the big picture,” Deines said. “Learning French is not just simple. Learning French is just learning skills, skills like never giving up, even when it’s difficult, trying your best, putting in the effort, and I think teaching my students those skills is going to help them go further in their lives.”
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