Joshua Beard, 40, makes his lessons memorable. Otherwise, his students wouldn’t remember the lesson. That’s what he believes.

“You don’t often get inspired by the ‘Wah Wah’ teacher from Charlie Brown. You get inspired by the teacher who jumps on the desk, you get inspired by the teacher who sings, you get inspired by the teacher who allows you to share your thoughts and voice your opinions … you get inspired by the teacher who challenges you, you get inspired by the teacher who shows you he or she cares.”

Beard brings this attitude to the classroom with the goal of teaching his students how to “try.” Students in his classes face challenges, and should expect to fail in the most spectacular way at some point. For Beard, with failure comes growth and learning.

“This simply means that there will come a day in my class when they can’t do something correctly the first time and maybe even several attempts after that. Many students are of the belief that failure is a bad thing. I try to get them to understand that a failure, aka a mistake, is simply an opportunity for them to find a better way.”

He graduated from Rosepine High School and made his way to Louisiana State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in history with a minor in political science. He later went on to earn his Masters of Education in secondary social studies education

Teaching wasn’t a career goal that Beard always had, but it is one that worked well for him.

“After graduating from high school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I just knew I didn’t want to be bored. I also wanted to have a career that allowed me to keep horses and cattle.”

He considered becoming a horse trainer or a big animal veterinarian, but the freedom and free time that being an educator seemed to provide him led him to his decision.

“I felt that teaching and coaching would allow me the opportunity to continue exploring my education, as well as afford me the time to work with cattle and horses. I later realized the time I thought I would have as a teacher and coach was not the reality that many people believe.”

He was also inspired by his teachers and loved ones. His mom, two aunts and wife served as great examples, as well as the teachers he had while he was in school.

Eighteen years of his life have been committed to teaching, and he has spent almost every second doing so in DeRidder.

He said he has taught almost every mathematics class, from Algebra I and II to financial math. This year, his teaching schedule consists of a dual enrollment course, AP Physics I, two weights and conditioning periods and two innovative engineering courses.

Beard is a “de facto engineering department head,” and has had a hand in the development of a pre-engineering program that utilizes the Project Lead the Way curriculum.

The first class that was introduced in the program was Introduction to Engineering Design. This year, they introduced Principles of Engineering. He teaches both of these classes.

Next year, the capstone course, Engineering Design and Development will be available for students to take.

He said the non-stop nature of his job keeps him going.

“I don’t have to be stuck where I just learn about this or that and solely focus on that one thing for the next 40 years until retirement. I get to look into different subjects and become as close to an expert as I can, so I can pass that knowledge on to my students as best I can.”

Personal investment is the key to being an efficient teacher, he said. When teachers expand their own knowledge, learn from peers and put genuine, personalized effort into their students’ education, amazing things can happen.

“Classroom management is not some cookie cutter formula that your college courses may have said it would be. While you can get ideas and pointers from books and mentor teachers, ultimately, you have to find your own style and way of running your classroom by trial and error.

Beard is also a coach for athletic and robotics teams at DeRidder High School.

He serves as the defensive coordinator for the football program and is head track and field coach for boys and girls track. The boys track team won district last season.

He coaches 3 Vex robotic teams and 3 aerial drone competition teams. Two of these teams competed in the Mississippi Region of the World Championships last spring.