The following is an article from the 2023-2024 Soar Magazine. Read the entire magazine here.
Written by Vicki Davis
In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the playwright states, “If we do meet again, we’ll smile indeed; If not, ‘tis true this parting was well made’” (5.1.128-129). One classroom where students are sure to be met with a smile is Mrs. Dawne Beck’s high school English classes.
“Mrs. Beck is the type of teacher who is gracious, outgoing, and understanding. She tries to do her best to relate to her students in beyond personal ways and brings it all together with a bow of God’s Word,” said student Olivia Keith.
With a Master of Arts in Teaching Languages, certifications in both English and Spanish, as well as training from Classical Conversations, Mrs. Beck is a highly skilled teacher who has been associated with SCA since she began attending as a freshman in high school, later working in the STAR program during college. After graduating from college, she taught Spanish at SCA from 1996 to 2007 until her family moved to Texas for a ministry position. During her time at SCA, she participated in the school’s first mission trip to Honduras, later serving on numerous medical mission trips to Honduras and Guatemala. She also led SCA’s first European trip in 2003 when she took students to Spain.
Returning to SCA in 2021 to teach English and writing, Mrs. Beck continues to impact students with her love of learning and focus on interpreting literature and life through the lens of God’s Word. Providing more than just content knowledge, she works hard to make her classroom relevant to students’ lives every day. For example, while reading the dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 with her 10th graders, you might find her discussing artificial intelligence and the necessity of cultivating real relationships. Also, while reading Night by Elie Wiesel with the ninth graders, students may be writing haiku or creating book trailers to grapple with the tragedy of genocide.
You’ll often find her students composing by hand as they learn to improve their writing skills through outlining, drafting, and redrafting before typing their papers. Or they might be playing a game as they work on vocabulary, punctuation, or parts of speech. You may also find them reading Romeo and Juliet outside or acting out Greek tragedies in full costumes in her room. She’ll do whatever it takes to engage students in reading, writing, and understanding their world with a biblical worldview as they consider the implications of the literature they read.
Interestingly, you never know what Mrs. Beck’s class might be doing on any given day, because she seeks to customize learning based on individual student needs while balancing the demands of a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. However, you do know that students will be challenged, engaged, and active participants in class — often presenting and discussing issues as she works to improve their critical thinking skills. Perhaps this is why her students describe her as kind, funny, interesting, interactive, inclusive, and creative.
Even more than academic excellence, she’s committed to reaching every student with their unique interests and through the many modalities of learning. You’ll often find her room full of students getting extra help throughout the day. One of the best things heard from her classroom last year was a young man finishing up a paper who exclaimed, “Mrs. Beck, I didn’t know I could write like this!” She’s committed to helping improve student writing as part of the SCA Writing Project implemented over the past five years.
In her personal life, Mrs. Beck is married to Keith Beck and is the daughter of retired pastor Neal Hager and SCA elementary principal, Mrs. Sylvia Hager. She has three children: Charis Beck, who graduated from SCA in 2023; Selah Beck, a rising senior; and Eliana Beck, a rising freshman.
Perhaps the greatest thing about Mrs. Beck is how she loves people. When you talk to her, she looks you in the eye, quietly listens, and thinks before she responds. Her empathy and connection with students make her a talented, relatable teacher. Furthermore, her love of Jesus and deep biblical knowledge bring a Christian worldview and insight to everything she teaches. Mrs. Beck’s love of reading and writing combined with a love for Jesus Christ is contagious and helps everyone achieve more through her class.
Her student Kyra Bevel summed it up well when she said, “Mrs. Beck is one of my favorite teachers. I look forward to her class every day and hate when her class is over. She has helped me grow in my love of the Lord and of reading. Mrs. Beck has increased my love for English, and I don’t think I could have made it through this school year without her.”
Truly she seeks to create lasting, Christ-centered relationships in her classroom so that even on days when students enter without a smile, they’re sure to leave with one.
