Faculty Focus is a student life series featuring a faculty member at Coppell High School, rotating by department each week.
Coppell High School Outdoor Adventures teacher Jacob Benavides strives to teach students various skills to thrive in the wilderness. Benavides is in his first year of teaching at CHS, after teaching Physical Education at the Catholic Diocese of Dallas.
What inspired you to become an educator?
The coaching aspect inspired me to pursue this role. I wanted to give back, help guide and give easy ways to do certain things to students, or just tips and tricks on it all.
How would you describe your approach to working with students?
My approach is to not come off as a dictator, not being super strict. However, I still know what stuff needs to be done and help students achieve it. I try to be a little more relaxed. I know it is different from in the classroom to physical education – it is more of a class to be actively involved in and we learn together. It has that hands-on type of learning.
What is a memorable moment from your time at CHS?
It is my first year here, so I have not seen a lot. I would say the cross country season was fun though. A lot of the outdoor education is new to me, so it was memorable to learn and I enjoyed archery. We also caught a whole bunch of fish, which was pretty fun.
What do you love most about working at CHS? What are your goals for this school year?
[CHS Principal Laura Springer] is pretty cool and she makes the staff feel nice and at home. It is a comfortable spot to work. My goal would be to learn as much about the outdoors as possible and to teach more about fishing, archery and outdoor cooking. Also to get comfortable with this content topic, because this whole topic is new to me.
What advice would you give to new staff members at CHS?
Take it one day at a time. I know for me, you teach yourself. Coming this year to a new public school, there are a lot more kids than my past school, so you just have to take it one day at a time. Do not stress too much about everything; just take it slow and breathe.
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