After 15 years of being an administrator at the secondary education level, Jim Foil decided to broaden his experience by becoming an assistant professor of education at Baker University.
“This is my dream job,” Foil said.
Foil began his teaching career aspiring to be a high school football coach but fell in love with teaching in the process.
“After teaching for several years I moved up into an assistant principal position at the middle school level,” Foil said. “If I were smarter I probably never would have gone into administration because even though I enjoyed it, I really loved teaching and missed it during that time.”
Foil began to look for opportunities to teach again and found part-time work teaching courses at the University of Kansas in Lawrence while also conducting research; but then a vacancy at Baker opened up.
“One of my goals has been to teach full-time at the college level,” Foil said. “I’ve had friends that went to Baker and knew administrators that went through the Baker graduate program, so I heard that there was an opening and got pretty excited about it.”
Amy Wintermantel, associate professor of education, said Foil has been an excellent addition to the School of Education faculty.
“We needed some secondary experience on staff because most of us that are here have only taught at the elementary level and he had administrative experience,” Wintermantel said. “The students are probably glad there’s a male on staff as well and when he happened to be a K-State fan, that sealed the deal for me.”
Foil has also gotten good reviews from students. Seniors Jake Green and Hayes Farwell are enrolled in two of Foil’s courses this semester and said they enjoy his teaching style.
“He’s pretty laid back and relaxed but really encourages student participation in the classroom,” Green said.
Farwell said that Foil relates a lot to the students as well.
“I like him because he’s down to earth and normal and forgets stuff sometimes, just like we do,” Farwell said.
Foil hopes to be able to use his extensive experience to educate students on what it will be like for them once they have full-time teaching jobs.
“With my experiences as an administrator, I’m able to help them see a bigger picture but also a real world picture, which I think is important,” Foil said. “I’d like to help them see that what they’re learning here is important and they’re learning a lot now that they’re really going to need in the classroom as an educator.”
While the position Foil was hired for was only a one-year position, Wintermantel said other vacancies within the education department will hopefully allow Baker to keep him around.
“My intent is to be here as long as possible,” Foil said. “I think Baker really is a hidden gem; the students here are so lucky and the professors here are so lucky. This place is really allowing me to live my fantasy.”
