While your teacher may fit the stereotype from the movies with the gray hair, big glasses and mean attitude, art teacher Malinda Pierce is far from that. Her level of creativity and work ethic make her stand out.
What people love about Pierce is her creativity and style. She is always dressed head to toe in the coolest outfits, sometimes even matching her earrings to the upcoming holiday. Pierce is consistently in a good mood and filled with energy making her classroom environment fun and welcoming. “Mrs. Pierce is funny and has a great sense of style. She makes me laugh during class and always asks for my opinions on things. I enjoy talking to her and love seeing new things she has created,” sophomore Addison Purvis said.
Pierce’s favorite artwork that she has created has to be the costumes made for her kids when they were growing up. She would design and make the outfits for her kids’ middle school plays. One piece that holds a place in her heart is the “Lion King” costume she made.
Teaching and art has always been a passion for Pierce. When Pierce was growing up, she and her siblings would play school over the summer, “I remember I would take the extra copies from my teachers while they were cleaning out their classrooms and make my siblings do them, it was always fun for me. Then when I got into college and really started entertaining art everything kind of came naturally for becoming a teacher,” Pierce said.
Pierce’s teaching style is simple, she is fond of a quiet and concentrated classroom. The low voice levels create a positive atmosphere for learning and improving. It allows students to express themselves with artwork rather than words, “Grace Buas, a teacher here when I first started, I admired her teaching style, you could walk into her room and everything was so calm, that’s how I wanted my classes to be,” Pierce said.
One-on-one attention is often given in the fashion and ceramics classes. Pierce loves to sit down with her students individually and show them how much they can do. It’s one of her favorite types of teaching and brings a smile to her face to see her students improve. “I spend a lot of one on one time with Mrs. Pierce during class. She is always there to help me with my work when I’m struggling. She is like a friend as much as a teacher can be and has taught me so much about myself. I feel comfortable talking to her when I’m confused about an assignment or am lost, ” junior Ashley London said.
Outside of school, Pierce has lots of interests. She spends the majority of her time outdoors whether it’s gardening, hiking, traveling, or even identifying birds, “I’ve always loved animals and I’ve always had pets, so being outside in nature is truly something I enjoy,” Pierce said.
