One of the many new faces on campus this year is Paul Leshinski, a new Human Geography teacher and assistant soccer coach. Wingspan got the chance to sit down with him and talk about his daily job, teaching and coaching.

Wingspan: What made you want to come to Frisco?

Leshinski: “Well, I have been trying to get into the Frisco District for a few years, and the opportunity to coach opened up, so I have coaching friends within the district and they said this was a good location and I applied and fortunate to get it.”

Wingspan: Where did you previously teach before?

Leshinski: “I’ve taught all over, the past few years I was at Burleson High School, home of Kelly Clarkson, I’ve taught in a bunch of districts all over the metroplex, Denton, Dallas and I taught in Arkansas.”

Wingspan: When you were in Arkansas did you still teach high school?

Leshinski: “College soccer for three years.”

Wingspan: Have you always had a love for history, or had you wanted to teach a different subject originally?

Leshinski: “I’ve always been interested in history, I have taught social studies, a lot of the social studies classes, psychology, AP psychology, sociology, mostly I have taught world history, and kinda fell in love with the idea of being able to go see locations that I talk about and teach about. And seeing the history behind it, it’s been exciting the past few years teaching.”  

Wingspan: So you enjoy traveling?

Leshinski: “Yes, me and my wife travel a lot, at least I travel over the summer and have traveled internationally because everyone looks at the United States being what 300 something years old, but then you go over to Europe and seeing stuff that is thousands of years old and it puts it in perspective with history.”

Wingspan: To you what is one distinct difference from coaching on the field and teaching in the classroom?

Leshinski: “Well, with I think coaching on the field, I coach girls. Who I am just dealing with one gender, but then sometimes you have drama to deal with coaching females, in the classroom it’s a tighter smaller space, you have a mix of boys and girls, so you kinda get that drama. So you have to be on your toes a little bit more in the classroom, with it being a tighter situation.”

Wingspan: To you what is one of the greatest rewards of teaching everyday?

Leshinski: “I think one thing I like is just when the lightbulb comes on, you know when the kids kinda enjoy the topic we are dealing with, it being social studies, a lot of people think why do we need to learn this. So when there is a topic that’s interesting that they do pick up on. You know my big thing is to, they don’t have to like history when they leave in the year, but at least they can appreciate it and there be some parts of it that they like. You know there are parts of history that I don’t like talking about, but there are some parts that I really like.”

Wingspan: How would you describe the environment here?

Leshinski: “So far, a week and a half it’s been good, it’s been very interesting. It’s very diverse, and I think that does well for the student body.”

Wingspan: What would be one piece of advice that you would give to people pursuing to become a teacher?

Leshinski: “Well what age group would you wanna teach is what I would ask first. I would definitely, it is changing, education is changing. It’s very political now, but you know people talk about pay. I’ve never been, me and my wife are still able to travel, because we don’t have kids, so I don’t have that aspect of it. It’s doable if you manage your money right, if you like vacation. What I would say is definitely when you have the opportunity you can substitute, get out there and see if you like and can handle it. I would also, can you handle a crisis situation and classroom management stuff, kids talking, that aspect of it being loud at times, disrespectful, real active. And if you’re ok with that and you like that type of environment, sometimes it might look chaotic, then I would say go for it because it is very rewarding, you know you have your good days and bad days, but you know elementary school teachers are a different breed, they do a lot of work, I would job shadow to really see if that is what you want to do. Because I changed my degree three or four times before I decided what I wanted to do and just get that experience.