By Elizabeth Sims, BubbleLife Intern
On any given day, you could walk up to Coppell High School and see students shooting arrows at targets or casting fly-fishing rods in the middle of a field.
While this may sound odd to some, it is actually a normal day for Bill Parker and the students enrolled in his Outdoor Adventures classes. This elective, offered by the school, is used to educate students about everything from boating and hunting safety to archery, fishing and camping. Since Parker took over the class, he has introduced many unique opportunities that have improved the class and caught the attention of the Dallas Safari Club and the Dallas Ecological Foundation. These organizations, which sponsor the Outdoor Adventures course, have named Parker “Educator of the Year” in recognition for what he has done to build upon the class.
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Parker and ask him about the uniqueness of the Outdoor Adventures class and his special award.
How long have you been teaching? Have you taught at other schools? Other than Outdoor Adventures, what else do you teach?
“This is my 22nd year at Coppell High School. I taught for a year and a half in Kentucky before moving here. This was a 3-A school when I got here, and then it very quickly became a 5-A. I teach Girl’s Self-Defense [and Outdoor Adventures] currently, but I have taught a whole bunch of electives since I have been here.”
Why did you decide to become an Outdoor Adventures teacher?
“I was asked to do it by the associate principal, Sharon Prince, at the time. She asked me to do this because she thought it would be a good fit for me. I had to go through the training in boating, hunter education and angler education in one summer. Then I had to go to the instructor course for each of those. I appreciated the foresight by the associate principal because it worked out nicely.”
Do you do any outdoorsman activities that you try to bring into the classroom?
“I used to go camping a lot with my son. We would backpack into someplace to do it, and we would catch a fish and clean it and eat it right there. I do not hunt, but I am okay with it as long as people do it ethically and safely. Firearms safety is a big thing for me; I think people need to know what is safe and what is not. It is just good to be outdoors. Students these days choose to stay inside and play videogames and do not get outside and do stuff.”
Give me an overview of the Outdoor Adventures classes. How do they change from year to year?
“I am always looking for some way to make it better. I came up with using the wall we have now (for archery). Now we do not have to worry about people being down range, calling 'cease fires' and dangerous situations like that. We have upgraded from the bows we used to have. They used to be what I call 'toys,' and it was insulting for students to use that kind of thing, so I gave them all to the middle schools. The bows we have now may not be the best in the world, but they are better than what we had. I also upgraded our fishing poles, and I only buy 'Ugly Sticks' because they are more durable. Some of the activities that we normally do in Outdoor Adventures I have been taken out and moved to Outdoor Adventures II, so we have something different to do.”
Tell me about the award you are receiving from the Dallas Safari Club. What exactly is it? Why are you receiving it? When were you recognized?
“I really do not know much about it. They just called me and told me I had been named teacher of the year for the Outdoor Adventures course. The Outdoor Adventures program is sponsored by the Dallas Safari Club and the Dallas Ecological Foundation, and they have been pushing to get this program in schools for years, and I think they are way over 100 schools around the state. They actually came here several years ago to make a video as an advertising thing. It was also used to raise money for Outdoor Adventures programs within the Dallas Safari Club, and they ended up with $37,000. Out of all those folks, they selected me to be the recipient. The fact that we take students to the gun range has gotten other schools’ attention, and we have led the way for them starting shooting clubs. What we do is unique.”
How much did getting this award mean to you as an outdoorsman and an educator?
“It is nice to be recognized, but like I said there are people as deserving, if not more deserving, than me. They pick somebody every year, and I guess it was my turn. I have done a couple things that probably got their attention. Going to the gun range is one that has definitely got everyone’s attention. The other is I volunteered our school to host a two-day seminar this past summer for Outdoor Adventures teachers. Another thing I do is volunteer with their safety program. This is where they take students from around the state, and they have a special shooting event. I usually do not even tell my students about it, because they only take three students per school, and I want more students to get the opportunity. There are some schools that do not have any other avenue of doing this, so I let them take my three student, and their three students, so they can take six.”