Charles Van Deursen
Music Teacher
cvandeursen@metter.org

Originally from New Jersey, Charles spent the ensuing forty-five years of his life in West Palm Beach, FL. He graduated from Palm Beach State University (A.S. 1983), Palm Beach Atlantic University (B.A. 1989), and after moving to Georgia he graduated from Liberty University (M.A. 2013).

He successfully taught general elementary music and a performing chorus for thirteen years in Palm Beach County, twice representing his school as the teacher of the year but resigned in 2005 to take a position outside of the field of education.

When that adventure failed to deliver to him what had been promised, in 2007 Charles moved his family to Claxton, GA. While waiting for a music teaching position to open up he filled several positions as a classroom substitute, school bus driver, and truck driver. Then in 2012 he returned to substitute teaching in three local counties. One day at Metter Intermediate School after serving Ms. Kendra Howard's fifth grade math class while playing a guitar, Ms. Gwenda Rotton (retired principal) offered him a position as a teacher's aide to be shared among five teachers where she also arranged for him to teach music in the cafeteria during the morning Tiger Time period (assisted by Coach Eric Verbel), to a weekly rotation of students.

After a year of personal observations, Superintendent Dr. Thomas Bigwood (retired) concurred with Ms. Rotton's vision of increasing the middle and high school band membership via this developing feeder program. Upon his recommendation, the school board of Candler County promoted Charles to the position of fulltime music teacher.

Charles Van Deursen is involved in many creative, musical, crafting, and Christian activities. Charles plays multiple instruments for all the services at Rehoboth Missionary Baptist Church. Many of his songs can be streamed. His personal website is www.InTuneWithYou.org. The most popular of his many online videos is "Nobody Likes Me (The Worm Song)." Charles' latest project is a podcast show named: "Bible Read Me" where he summarizes daily chronological readings of the entire Bible in ten-minute episodes.