Alternative Teaching Opportunities

Peace Corps

http://www.peacecorps.gov/  (note: On average the process from application to invitation takes from six to twelve months).

What: The Peace Corps works in countries from Asia to Central America, and from Europe to Africa. In each of these countries, Volunteers work with governments, schools, and entrepreneurs to address changing and complex needs in education, health and HIV/AIDS, business, information technology, agriculture, and the environment. Education Volunteers introduce innovative teaching methodologies, encourage critical thinking in the classroom, and integrate issues like health education and environmental awareness into English, math, science, and other subjects.

Stipend:

Pay and living expenses: During service, Peace Corps Volunteers receive pay to cover living and housing expenses, earn money for their transition after service, get vacation time, and have options for possible deferment or partial cancellation of student loans. Peace Corps covers the travel costs to and from the country of service. Unlike other international volunteer programs, there is not a fee to participate in the Peace Corps.

Transition Funds: Returning from overseas requires some adjustment. To assist with the transition back home, Volunteers are paid $7,425 (before taxes) at the close of 27 months of service. This money is yours to use as you wish: for travel, a vacation, making a move, or securing housing.

Cancellation of Student Loans: Only Volunteers with Perkins loans are eligible for a partial cancellation benefit. Fifteen percent of your Perkins loans can be cancelled upon the completion of each 365 days of service during your first two years of service, and 20 percent can be cancelled upon completion of each of the third and fourth years. Therefore, four full years of service would equal a 70 percent cancellation of your existing loan.

Americorps

http://www.americorps.gov/

What: Americorps offers a wide variety of year-long programs throughout the United States that involve service with non-profit organizations including many opportunities that involve teaching.

Stipend: Most positions come with a small living stipend and and education award that can be used to pay for educational expenses such as paying off qualified student loans.

Student Conservation Association

http://www.thesca.org/

What: The SCA has a number of opportunities for college student and recent graduates through their internship program. Internships run 12 to 52 weeks. Interns can work in education, interpretation, youth, or living history programs at parks, museums, and other kinds of sites around the country.

Stipend: Internships include travel to and from the site, housing, and a living stipend, and in some cases insurance. Interns may also be eligible to receive Americorps educational awards.

CIEE Teach Abroad Program

http://www.ciee.org/#teach

What: CIEE offers programs in Chile, China, Dominican Republic, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam for recent university graduates. Programs vary in length from a few months to multiple semesters. Most are focused on teaching English.

Stipend: Amount and benefits vary by program, but most include housing and compensation, and in some cases, additional benefits like insurance or TEFL certification.

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship

http://us.fulbrightonline.org/thinking_teaching.html

What: English Teaching Assistantships are available in many countries worldwide. The details of each program vary by country, but generally ETAs are placed in schools or universities outside of capital cities where they work with student on their English skills and knowledge of the United States. Some programs may also allow ETAs to complete independent research projects simultaneously. Programs generally run 9 to 12 months.

Stipend: Amounts awarded vary by country, but are designed to cover travel to and from the host country, living expenses for the duration of the assignment, and some health benefits.

Franco-American Teachers-in-Training Institute (FATITI)

http://www.uakron.edu/education/community-engagement/fatiti/us-participants.dot

What: (FATITI) is an international teacher exchange program designed to explore the evolution of education's best practices, social and education policy and the political institutions of schooling from a comparative lens. It is funded by the U.S. Department of State in collaboration with the Franco-American Commission for Educational Exchange (Fulbright Commission) and the French Ministry of Education.  French and American teachers-in-training participate in a seminar examining history, language, culture, education and politics, followed by a teaching practicum.

Stipend: Airfare to and housing in France are provided as well as a stipend for living expenses.  Travel to and accommodations in Akron are also provided.  Health insurance while in France is provided through the Department of State’s Accident and Sickness Program for Exchanges (ASPE).

back to top

Professional Development: Summer Programs for Teachers

National Endowment for the Humanities:

http://www.neh.gov/projects/landmarks-school.html

What: NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops provide the opportunity for K-12 educators to engage in intensive study and discussion of important topics in American history and culture. These one-week programs will give participants direct experiences in the interpretation of significant historical and cultural sites and the use of archival and other primary evidence.

Stipend: $1,200 to cover expenses

NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes for College and University Teachers

Application Deadline: March 1, 2012

View the full list of summer programs

PARTICIPATE IN AN NEH SUMMER PROGRAM IN 2012

Each summer, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports tuition-free seminars and institutes for faculty who teach American undergraduates.  

These study opportunities allow faculty and a select number of graduate students to increase their knowledge of current scholarship and advance their own teaching and research. Participants in these two- to five-week programs receive stipends to help cover travel and living expenses. 

• James Joyce’s Ulysses
• World War I in the Middle East
• Liberty, equality and justice
• Asian-American art history
• Mesoamerica and the American Southwest
• Health and disease in the Middle Ages
• 20th-century French history
• Roman empire and comedy, Etruscans
• Visual culture of the American Civil War
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Medieval Muslim-Christian-Jewish Mediterranean
• Experimental philosophy
• Jane Austen
• Oscar Wilde
• Tudor books and readers
• American maritime history
• Contemporary African-American literature
• Consciousness from Buddhist and contemporary philosophical perspectives

For a list of the seminars and institutes to be offered in the summer of 2012, along with eligibility requirements and contact information for the directors, please visit http://www.neh.gov/projects/si-university.html.

DIRECT AN NEH SUMMER PROGRAM IN 2013

The National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for grants to direct a summer program for college faculty or schoolteachers on a humanities topic of your expertise.

Why direct an NEH summer program?

• Directors strengthen teaching and research at the undergraduate or K-12 levels.
• Directors influence their fields of expertise through intense collegial study, often resulting in participants’ publications.
• Directors join a distinguished roster of NEH summer program leaders.
• Directors engage with motivated participants from across the country.
• Directors receive compensation based on the duration of the program.
• Directors bring distinction to their home institutions.

Interested in applying? Consult the application guidelines:

• NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes

• NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops

The deadline to propose a program for Summer 2013 is March 1, 2012.

We strongly encourage you to discuss your proposal with NEH staff, who will answer questions and critique drafts. Call (202) 606-8500 or send e-mail to sem-inst@neh.gov or landmarks@neh.gov

Gilder Lehrman Institute

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/education/seminar_overview.php

What: Intensive summer seminar with a renowned American historian. Choose from 39 seminars taking place at colleges and universities across the United States and in the UK.

Stipend: The Gilder Lehrman Institute provides books, room and board for the week, and a travel allowance up to $400 to reimburse actual expenses.

Massachusetts Historical Society

http://www.masshist.org/fellowships/teacher_fellowships.cfm

What: The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) is offering at least three fellowships to public and/or parochial schoolteachers and library media specialists during the summer of 2011. Applications are welcome from any K-12 teacher who has a serious interest in using the collections at the MHS to prepare primary-source-based curricula, supported by documents and visual aids, in the fields of American history, world history, or English/language arts.

Stipend: A stipend of $4,000 for four weeks of on-site research at the MHS.

Special Note: When applying for funding in settings such as the ones listed above, your main objective is to convince the institution (via your stunning application) why their educational offerings are a perfect fit with your intellectual and teaching needs.  Demonstrate, with clear examples, how your students will benefit exponentially from their program offerings or collection holdings. They want to see how funding you will give back to the wider community.  

back to top

Resource Sites

Oberlin’s Gap Year: Teaching Fellowships

http://www.oberlin.edu/career/students/gap_year_teach.html

An excellent list of foreign and domestic teaching opportunities.

Idealist.org

http://www.idealist.org/

A fantastic resource for finding volunteer opportunities, internships, and jobs in the US and abroad with non-profit organizations.

Center for International Education University of California - Irvine

http://www.cie.uci.edu/prospective/iopother/teach.shtml

Has extensive lists of websites and specific programs for teaching internationally.

Teach Abroad

http://www.teachabroad.com/

A site that includes information on thousands of teaching opportunities overseas. Many programs focus on teaching English as a foreign language, though not all do. Not all organizations and programs listed are “verified” and further research is recommended before applying.

back to top