Faculty Focus is a student life series featuring a faculty member at Coppell High School, rotating by department each week.
Coppell High School Spanish teacher Dr. Maria Delgado approaches teaching with an empathetic attitude. She draws her love for teaching from past experiences in tutoring and student teaching.
What inspired you to become an educator?
I was very successful at doing it. I began when I was 18, and I started teaching after school classes. At that time, I was doing music, and it was easy for me to connect with the students and make them enthusiastic about what I was teaching. Obviously, I didn’t know I had it. Until you try something, you don’t know whether you have the talent, right? So, when I began teaching these classes, I discovered that I was enthusiastic and patient as a teacher. From there, no matter what I have been doing in life, and I’ve done many other things, I have always been teaching.
How would you describe your approach to working with students?
First, before doing any teaching, to recognize that we are all humans and to remember that all the time. We often think of teachers and students as two different roles. Being a teacher is a role, but I really think that I am a person who has acquired certain knowledge, and I’m sharing it with another person. It has to be humans first, and it is important to keep that humanity. I don’t know what is going on in the student’s life. So, very often, it’s not that they don’t want to work; it’s just that they are having a bad day. I think it’s important to keep in mind that emotional things and personal issues are going on in their lives that are more important than what I am teaching that day. It’s important to take care of each other as humans.
What’s a memorable moment from your time at CHS?
It has been pretty short, but I’ll say this was very recent, and it really struck me. Last week, students were telling stories in Spanish. Normally, the stories are short, and I was so surprised at the capacity of some students to really tell very, very long stories. Sometimes, as a teacher, I’m always worried about the next step, and I don’t see the big picture. You’re seeing it piece by piece. But then, all of a sudden, when you step back, you can see so much more. That happened last week with a student. I was like, “Wow, he can talk and talk.” His story was very detailed. In terms of students, that was very surprising and, in a sense, memorable, because I don’t remember that happening so clearly in other situations where I’ve been teaching.
What do you love most about working at CHS? What are your goals for this school year?
First, the administration respects my expertise and trusts it. They know I know how to do this, and they are not checking on me all the time. I have the freedom to decide what to do because they trust my judgment. That is very unusual, because most of the time, even when you know exactly what you’re doing, somebody is constantly checking whether you’re doing it this way or that. That doesn’t happen here, which means I can breathe. I can decide that I’m going to change this because I think it will work better, and I don’t have to always justify everything I do. The trust they give is amazing. The other thing that is very refreshing is that students want to learn. There are many students who want more. It’s like, “How do you do this, and why is that the way?” That spirit of inquiry is wonderful for a teacher because you can establish a dialogue that in many other situations doesn’t happen.
What advice would you give to new staff members at CHS?
Trust your team. One very, very good thing is that, at least in the world languages department, people are there to help you. When things get overwhelming, because sometimes the amount of work is overwhelming, trust your team and ask for help, because they will help you. The team and the administration are there to talk to people. Do not stay in your little corner suffering, thinking, “Oh, I cannot do this.” They are genuinely going to try to help you. Count on the help of others, because it will be there when you need it.
Follow @CHSCampusNews on X.
