Faculty Focus is a student life series, featuring a faculty member at Coppell High School, rotating by department, each week.
Coppell High School AP European History teacher Dan Gillette uses past experiences to make his classes more engaging and memorable for students. His teaching style makes all of his students feel involved.
What inspired you to become an educator?
This is actually my second career. I was in the restaurant business for about 20 years. I managed Dave & Busters for quite a while, and I opened 13 of those around the world. Then, I came back to Dallas and worked at a fine-dining steakhouse. I enjoyed the service aspect, including taking care of people. The problem was that it was a young person’s game. It is a lot of hours you have to dedicate and a lot of physical movement. Getting up for a long day of work at three or four in the morning made me know I did not want to do this for the rest of my life, but I enjoyed the training and teaching people how to do their job. When I made quite a bit of money, I went back and finished my degree. I did not know what I wanted to do but knew I wanted the degree, so I started taking a personal inventory of what I enjoyed and did not enjoy. When I watched TV it was the History Channel, like Discovery or National Geographic, so I gravitated towards teaching history.
How would you describe your approach to working with students?
One thing I learned in the restaurant business is anticipation. I was very good in the restaurant business from watching three to four to even 10 people, and I could identify what somebody wanted without even talking to them. I used that with my students, putting myself in their position and thinking about what I would want, along with how I would want to interact with my teacher. I had a math teacher in high school, and she was just not very nice. I made a couple of mistakes here and there that I probably should not have, but she was very mean which ruined math for me, so I made it a point to never have anybody walk out of my classroom feeling miserable. I do not teach students what to think as far as politics goes, but I teach students to think and how to process information. You are the one making a decision, but I want to make sure you have an informed decision.
What is a memorable moment from your time at CHS?
I have had so many, but mainly hearing from students who come back to visit after a few years and say how my courses have helped them. I am very proud to have, as far as I know, at least four former students who are now history teachers.
What do you love most about working at CHS? What are your goals for this school year?
For one thing, I have never taught anywhere else, so I don’t have experience in other districts, but I do pay attention to the news that is going on, and this is a phenomenal district. As students, you have a one-to-one ratio with technology and pretty much anything you need. While we do have a budget crisis, for the most part, we have anything we need. We’re never hurting for anything, and we have a beautiful building, which was renovated a few years ago. That would probably be the most memorable – going through that renovation. We had to get 10 classrooms and forced them into one classroom. Everything was stacked to the ceiling and it was a shuffle, trying to get this building constructed and while also teaching. My goal is really no different than any other year, and it is to create lifelong lovers of history. There’s always the AP exams, which are a good goal. I do not base everything on scores, but I am proud to say almost 90% of my students pass our AP exams.
What advice would you give to new staff members at CHS?
Be thankful for where you are. There are a lot of other districts that I hear horror stories about. Also, embrace the process of being a new teacher. It’s difficult, especially that first year, but you have a lot of teachers around here who are more than willing to help you out at any given time, so use them to your advantage. Develop good time management skills. If you are spending a lot of time working on schoolwork and you don’t have a personal life, then eventually you are going to be no good to your students, friends or yourself. You have to find that work-life balance. Yes, teaching is a lot of work, but in the same sense, try to have a home life and a school life so you don’t let them cross over to each other.
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