Aaron Schepps `14 experienced the highlight of his first year of teaching when one of his seventh-graders responded with meaningful observations in his middle school literature class last Friday. Schepps, a teacher at the Barney Initiative’s newly founded Atlanta Classical Academy, has been struggling all year to connect with a student who deals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder, Autism, and Asperger’s syndrome.
“He’s kicking and screaming coming to school, literally. It’s been a lot of that this year — trying to get him to do homework and participate,” Schepps said. “Twice he raised his hand and gave minute-long responses both times, saying ‘I think Tom Sawyer really does love Becky Smith in this scene because he sacrificed for her,’ and that sort of thing. It was hard to not cry right there.”
Schepps, who realized his call to teaching as a high school student, is a member of the 15 percent of last year’s graduating class to go into teaching, predominantly at classical and charter schools around the nation, according to the recently published Graduate Placement Report. Hillsdale has seen a dramatic increase in graduates becoming teachers in the past three years, despite the phasing out of teacher certification between 2009-2013.
When the state certification program existed, only about 10 students every year graduated with that degree, Associate Professor of Education Daniel Coupland estimated.
Today, many more will likely begin the process of joining Hillsdale’s alumni teacher corps at the Classical School Job Fair, sponsored by the Career Services office, the classical education department, and the Barney Charter School Initiative. An all-time high of 44 schools will be present from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today in the Grewcock Student Union, where any student is welcome to drop resumes with any of the various institutions.
“The reputation of our school has been great,” Coupland said. “Also, schools have come year after year, and they’re recognizing that they’re trying to offer the same education at the K-12 level as we are here, so they’re realizing they have to get teachers who understand the liberal arts and a rigorous education. The popularity has been a result of schools hiring our graduates and them doing well, and then coming back to hire more, and telling other schools to hire Hillsdale graduates. In the past few years we haven’t had to advertise at all for it.”
The graduates between the years of 2012-2014 have gone onto 104 different schools, institutions, and teaching initiatives, ranging in location from Korea to Detroit to Phoenix to Brooklyn.
According to statistics from Career Services, the most Hillsdale students — 13 — teach at Benjamin Franklin Charter Schools.
Graduates go into the teaching field for a number of reasons. Many, like Schepps, feel a calling to teach — a decision made before the decision to attend Hillsdale. Schepps had been a Best Buddies program leader and tutor while at Hillsdale, and a summer employee of Great Hearts, his high school alma mater.
Many students pursue the classical education minor, which includes an apprenticeship.
Others stumble upon teaching as a result of their experiences while at Hillsdale. Lauren Burt `13 said she fell in love with the children of Mary Proctor Randall Preschool once she started volunteering there, and began taking education classes as a complement to her history major.
Burt worked at a public charter school in Colorado for one year before moving to an independent, private school in Louisville, Kentucky, where she currently teaches first grade. She said the biggest challenge she has faced has been working with all the different personalities of the parents of her students.
“People ask me all the time what majoring in history has to do with teaching little kids. It’s about loving people, their stories, and our country,” Burt said in an email. “The 6-year-old who put glue in his own hair today will be voting someday, and I want to help him know what it means to have good character and be a good citizen before then. Studying history at Hillsdale helped me look at the big picture and see what it means to be a good person in an increasingly crazy world.”
Coupland explained that other students use teaching as a transition time to figure out their vocation, or to earn money before attending graduate school or something similar.
“That’s a wonderful thing, and especially for Hillsdale’s curious intellectuals, they come to view it as an opportunity to keep learning and doing what they loved at Hillsdale for their jobs,” Coupland said. “It will be interesting to see who stays for 20, 30 years. I think we’ve had a pretty good record for preparing students to stay in the field.”
Carson Pierse `14 joined the education field after graduating in December, but not as a teacher. Pierse, who will be in attendance today representing the BASIS.ed school system, works as a recruitment coordinator for the institution, from which she graduated. Pierse cited flexibility, passion, and humility as three qualities essential for BASIS teachers.
“What I think sets BASIS apart is we value the teachers that are going into the classroom,” she said. “We know our teachers, our schools, and we know what’s going to work in each school. We can zone in and get a great collaboration of teachers to get that spark in the eye of the students. They work you hard as a student because they know you can do it. It’s not about putting limitations on people, it’s about giving expectations and watching them surpass them.”
Most schools will invite select students back to meet for interviews on Friday, but some, like BASIS, wait to conduct interviews until after the fair, when students can give a teaching demonstration in an actual classroom setting. Over 125 students attended the fair last year, Director of Career Services Joanna Wiseley said.
When asked what’s important to know about teaching, Schepps said that a big challenge for him has been convincing his middle schoolers to buy into the mission of the liberal arts.
Coupland explained that prospective teachers must eliminate the risk associated with hiring a non-education major by sharing joyful experiences you’ve had when working with kids.
