07/25/2019
Call for Applications - Inner Arts Initiative / Play Music Teaching Fellowship
Inner Arts Initiative is a not-for-profit corporation envisioning a creatively integrated world, in which expression is fully enabled in service of personal and collective well-being. Play Music is our flagship music education program for young people and their families. Our lessons focus on helping students connect with and fully express themselves through music. Listening awareness, both inward and outward, is the central component of our holistic approach to teaching. Through this, we aim to dismantle oppressive systems and constructs that stifle creativity and expression. We take a joyful approach to music making and believe that all students, no matter what their age, ability, or access to resources, can learn to play music and benefit from the process.
We are seeking an individual who:
- has a love for teaching music
- has a deep interest in decolonizing music education
- loves working with children and respects their wisdom
- plays piano and reads music notation, including chords / lead sheets
- improvises and composes as part of their artistic practice
- has strong interpersonal communication skills, including ability to email in a timely fashion
- is well-organized, can keep a schedule, and be consistently on time
- is willing to be trained in a collaborative on-going process that will result in teaching work and
supporting a larger movement of decolonizing music education
We are offering a unique opportunity for a paid teaching fellowship with extensive year-long training through direct work with our directors and students. Training will be broken up into three parts. The first part is a month-long intensive in August that prepares teachers to start direct work with students. The second part is a trial period from September through December in which the teaching fellow will work directly with students under the guidance of our staff. After a review, the third part of the training is a more independent process of fellows developing their own personal teaching style within this approach and understanding their strengths as teachers during the spring semester. Overall, the training process will provide a thorough understanding of how to teach in our methods and how to create and build a sustainable teaching practice. Fellows will build a teaching roster with us in the process, and upon review will be offered a position to join our staff after completion of the fellowship.
During this fellowship, teaching fellows will:
• decolonize their musical training and artistic practices
• learn a holistic approach to teaching music
• gain understanding of childhood development and specialized learning needs/preferences and
how to plan lessons to accommodate these needs
• develop the ability to assess student needs and lifestyle for planning lessons
• understand parent’s role in the teaching process and learn how to work with parents
• learn to create a teaching schedule, manage attendance, and how to maintain policies that
support teacher wellness
• learn to plan lessons and create supporting materials
• have access to staff support, training, and regular check-ins
• build a teaching roster of students
• develop your own unique style of teaching and understand your strengths and areas of growth
• learn to foster a sustainable teaching practice in every aspect from policies to planning to implementation
To apply, please follow this link below to fill out our online application form: https://form.jotform.com/91686920792167
There will be two rounds of interviews that follow. The fellowship will begin in August. We look forward to learning more about you.
