Teacher-in-Residence at Slide Ranch (Muir Beach, CA)
Slide Ranch Mission:
Slide Ranch teaches visitors the impact our choices have on food, health, and the environment, through hands-on activities and independent exploration of our farm and coastal wild lands.
Every bite of food connects us to the soil, sun, water, and air, and to the people who work to feed us. Slide Ranch teaches respect and responsibility for sustaining these connections.
Organization:
Located on the Pacific Coast a thirty-minute drive north of San Francisco, Slide Ranch is situated in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Close to the urban Bay Area yet surrounded by wildlands, Slide Ranch is a beautiful isolated homestead perched on the rugged coastal edge of the continent.
Program participants learn to care for farm animals and gardens, explore miles of wildland trails, discover ocean tide pools, and sometimes camp overnight. Our Teachers-in-Residence customize each program to meet the learning needs of groups of all ages, ethnicities, and cultures, focusing particularly on elementary school-aged children. Approximately one-third of our programs support under-served populations.
Position:
This is a residential "live-on-the-ranch" position - housing and food provided plus monthly stipend.
Apply yourself for 10-1/2 months of work that challenges you to grow as a person and as a professional educator. You will gain valuable hands-on experience in agricultural and environmental education while living and working with a group of people in a rural setting. Teachers plan and lead experiential educational programs that include the exploration of our farm, garden, trails and tidepools.
The work week typically involves 5 teaching days. About once or twice a month during the school year, a Professional Development Day replaces a teaching day. Teachers are responsible for daily ranch chores outside of the 8-hour work day. Afternoon sessions include teacher meetings, gardening, and facilities maintenance/farm labor. Several teacher observations throughout the year complement the position. Community-related responsibilities include weekly chores, cooking dinner for fellow residents twice each month, and monthly resident meetings. The central focus of this position is on teaching. Teachers-in-Residence will leave having taught students from a great diversity of backgrounds.
Desired Qualifications:
Prior experience in education or working with children. Flexibility, being a team player, and having a positive attitude and sense of humor. Gardening, animal care, environmental education, multiple-language, art, music, performance, and community living skills. Excellent communication skills and the ability to accept supervision and guidance. Love of children and nature. Work can be physically demanding; will include manual labor such as shoveling, lifting up to 40 lbs., and farm chores outside of an 8-hour day.
This position requires patience and trust working with a team of teaching peers and organization staff. The successful candidate will possess a good attitude and strong motivation to experience all facets of the work as important to one’s learning and development.
To Apply:
No phone calls please. Mail, email, or fax resume, contact info for 3 references, and a personal statement by September 28, 2012. In the personal statement, indicate why this position is of interest to you. Describe any relevant experience in education, additional languages to English, and previous experience living in a community. We are also interested in any farm or garden experience you may have had. Please indicate in your application where you saw this internship posting. We will begin reviewing applications in October.
Visit www.slideranch.org for more information.
Dates of Session: late January, 2013 – mid-December 2013
Compensation: Housing, healthy food, monthly stipend of $500, health insurance, potential additional scholarship funding, and an opportunity to live w/ a group of people in a beautiful rural setting. Applicants must be comfortable living in rustic accommodations.
Contact: Slide Ranch
Attn: Program Manager
2025 Shoreline Hwy. Muir Beach, CA 94965
Tel: (415) 381-6155 Fax: (415) 381-5762
Email: admin (at) slideranch (dot) org
*Please note that Slide Ranch emphasizes diversity in both our programs and our staff. People of all colors, cultures, class, age, genders, and sexual orientations are encouraged to apply.
