Every year, Hillsdale College and Career Services host the annual Classical School Jobs Fair – an event for students attracted to education and teaching careers.
This is the fifth time the college has hosted the jobs fair. It will take place today in Grewcock Student Union from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This Career Services sponsored features 30 classical schools which flock to Hillsdale from all over the country in order to encourage students to take teaching positions at classical school and inform Hillsdale students about possible jobs after graduation.
Daniel Coupland, associate professor of education, encourages all students who are interested in education and teaching, not just graduating seniors, to take advantage of the event. “I hope that every student – even underclassmen – who have even the slightest interest in teaching will stop by that fair and learn about these incredible schools,” Coupland said.
These schools – approximately half private and half charter schools – have philosophies similar to Hillsdale’s, Coupland said.
Among the ranks are Benjamin Franklin Charter School from Arizona, Founders Classical Academy from Texas, James Irwin Charter Schools from Colorado, and many more.
Coupland said that, because of the similar ideals and training in a liberal arts education, “Hillsdale graduates should be able to make an easy transition to working in these schools.”
The schools send employers to campus for the purpose of recruitment. At the fair, students can meet the school representatives, learn about the different institutions, and schedule interviews for open positions. These interviews take place the following day in Curtiss Dining Hall.
Some schools look to hire for single positions, while others look to fill multiple positions before the beginning of the next school year.
Senior Greg Barry would like to teach English at the high school level after graduation. He said he anticipates that his visit to the job fair will give him a better idea of a school where he would like to teach and a “chance to live in something other than a cardboard box come August.”
Barry said his visits to the fair in the past have been a great experience.
“All the representatives were extremely helpful in describing their schools and clearly dedicated to their mission of providing their students with a quality classical education,” Barry said. “It was encouraging that so many institutions made the effort to come to campus and talk with us about their ideas.”
Coupland encouraged all students to stop by the job fair any time during the course of the day and take advantage of this valuable opportunity.
