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Village High School in Ventnor, Australia, is seeking an inspiring Curriculum Leader / Mentor

Village High School is seeking an inspiring Curriculum Leader / Mentor

Village High School (VHS) is a new alternative high school opening in January 2019 on rural acreage in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. VHS is based on an innovative model of schooling that has been developed at Koonwarra Village School (KVS) and Phillip Island Village School (PIVS) over the last seven years. We aim to create educational pathways that support the development of creative, empowered individuals with the capabilities, motivation, inspiration, and confidence to generate positive and lasting change in the world.

VHS will open with a cohort of up to 20 Year 7 students. The intention is to keep the school numbers at a human-scale, with a maximum of 120 students at full capacity (years 7-12 in 2024). This will to preserve the informal, family-like atmosphere and facilitate the connections between people and depth of relationships that this size allows.

We are looking for an educator who cares passionately about Democratic Education models and Social and Emotional Learning, and who is self-motivated, adaptive, adventurous, resilient and playful.

Alongside these qualities, you will also need:

  • Registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (or another State/Territory body in Australia).
  • A Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Secondary and/or Primary Education
  • An ability and keen desire to teach in an alternative or holistic school setting.
  • A deep respect for all students and a clear personal teaching philosophy that matches with the Philosophy and Guiding Principles of Village High School.
  • A passion for life-long learning, a demonstrated growth mindset, and well-developed executive skills.

If you have varied life experiences and thrive in indoor and outdoor teaching settings, we would love to hear from you! Please see the Join the Team page of our website: villagehighschool.org to apply by 01 October 2018.

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homeschool co-op in PA seeks teacher.

ISO: Energetic, self-motivated, radical teacher for non-traditional homeschool co-op teaching position. We are a collection of homeschooling parents in search of a teacher to lead our preschool co-op program.

  • Two to Three Days per week, 6 school hours each day
  • Working with preschool age kids with the possibility of including younger children with parental assistance
  • Planned Vacation weeks and scheduled breaks
  • Location will rotate between homes in Bellefonte, Centre Hall and Spring Mills, Pennsylvania
  • We are looking for a one year commitment with a 6 month evaluation- for teacher and parents

We are inspired by nature school, aspects of Montessori and Waldorf, along with aspects of unschooling. Our current vision involves a child lead, play based, non-academic experience in which the children spend a great deal of time outside year round. We envision a focus on nature, community building and collaboration. Meeting those focuses with play both inside and outside, as well as time for exploring art, music and practical skill building. Within that vision there is a great deal of room for an individual teacher to explore and bring to life a day to day rhythm that they feel excited and passionate to share with the kids.

Qualified candidates will have experience and/or education in early childhood development and the desire to explore radical alternative models of education for young children.

The “school” will rotate on a set schedule between different families’ homes and our current vision is that each day a parent or family member will serve as the “assistant teacher”. Each family member will bring their specific passions and knowledge to their day and ultimately they will follow the lead of the teacher and the consistent rhythm of the day established by the teacher.

The teacher will be responsible for designing and executing the both day to day and overarching practical vision. Parents will approve structure and the teacher will have freedom to fill the day to day details as they see fit.

The teacher will be an independent contractor paid a pre-agreed upon monthly stipend with potential rate increase based on enrollment. This rate will take into account time spent preparing plans and activities. Parents will also purchase needed supplies under the guidance of the teacher. Competitive pay.

If you are passionate about holding open hearted space for young children to grow, learn and explore lead by their innate wisdom, passion and curiosity we would love to hear from you.

We would love to being as early as late fall 2018.

Please send relevant job history and cover letter to gingerwolken@yahoo.com no later than 10/15/18, applicants will begin being considered as soon as they are received.

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Harmony School, a small, independent school in Bloomington, Indiana, seeks a permanent secondary science teacher to start on January 1, 2019

Harmony School, a small, independent school in Bloomington, Indiana, seeks a permanent secondary science teacher to start on January 1, 2019. The ideal candidate will relish the challenge of designing their own curricula in environmental, biological, and physical sciences. They will love working with young people inside and outside the classroom and appreciates the variety of ways that students learn. Harmony utilizes a project-based, holistic educational approach, which requires personalized involvement in the academic, social-emotional growth and development of our students. Looking for qualified applicants, certification not required, with experience teaching science and enthusiasm for working with adolescents.  Please send resume to P.O. Box 1787, Bloomington, IN 47402 or officemanager@harmonyschool.org

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Annual Meeting of the Modern School at Rutgers University in NJ to Feature Unique Performance This Year!

The Modern School was the first significant democratic school of the 20th century, predating Summerhill. It was based on the work of Francisco Ferrer of Spain. After he was unjustly executed in 1909, Modern Schools were started all over the world in his name, including one that started in 1911 in New York City. Even though the last Modern School in the USA closed in 1958, its attendees were so profoundly affected by it that they continue to have reunions every year, although they are now called meetings as their numbers dwindle.

I first heard about the Modern School from Nellie Dick, a former teacher there, when she was 96 years old, in 1989. I’ve attended most of the annual meetings since then and have met many truly remarkable people there. For example, one was Alfred Levitt, who was 100 years old when I met him there. He was an immigrant from Ukraine, His teacher was Will Durant and a fellow student was Ariel. They became a famous writing couple selling millions of their books on philosophy. Meanwhile Levitt studied art with some famous Dadaist artists who dropped into the school. I attended a special event at Ellis Island to honor Levitt, at age 103, as one of the most important people to pass through there. They displayed 20 of the paintings he had made, borrowed from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You can see a video of it hereYou can read some of the history of the Modern School here. One of the pictures from 1911 is of Durant, and I assume Levitt was one of the students in it.

Following is the official announcement of the Annual Meeting. Rutgers houses the archives of the Modern School. If you are nearby you should go!

The Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Modern School this year will again be co-sponsored by Rutgers Libraries. The gathering will begin with a musical theater performance followed by a speaker and refreshments. This year will mark our 46  th annual gathering of the Friends . It will be held from 1 2:00 to 4:00 PM on Saturday, September 15, 2018 in the Remigo U. Pane Room in the Alexander Library, Rutgers University. The building and room are accessible for the disabled . Directions and parking availability are given on page 2. There is a $20 entrance fee to cover the cost of the presentations and refreshments.

The play is called Mother Jones in Heaven featuring a musical theater performance by Vivian Nesbitt. ED
More information and directions here