Join our team!

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Summary

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Are you a team-player, builder, explorer, listener, or maker? Tinkering School is looking for Collaborators (After School and Summer Camp Counselors) to join our team! Our Collaborators can curate and shape an environment that tilts us all towards engagement, but follows a child’s lead as they explore that environment.

We are looking for candidates with experience in open-ended learning environments and the challenges they present. Kids across ages hang out all day and during every activity. Ideally you can hold space for a 7-year-old’s unbelievably fascinating tangential story and talk to an eleven-year-old with the adult tone they crave and deserve. We can teach you how to use tools and you can learn to build along side the kids, but it is essential that you firmly believe children are already whole people with important things to say. Are you ready to admit you don't know what to do, then ask questions and do what a 8 year old suggests? Does the mystery of a project soon-to-be designed by kids excite you!?

We are as eager to talk to bombastic college students as we are to talk to educators with 35 years of experience. We are as eager to talk to master storytellers that can handle a crowd as we are to talk to quiet listeners that will take the time to hear the tiniest voice of the shyest camper. We seek to create a well-rounded group full of Collaborators that children of all inclinations can relate to, build relationships with, and trust. What really matters is a focus on the kids.

Who We Are Looking For

Candidates will say "That's me!" to any combination of the following skills:

- An eight to ten-year-old kid expert. Dreamers playing at the edge of possibility.

- An eleven to sixteen-year-old kid expert. Our oldest bunch this year, with a lot to share and a deep urge to be heard and seen.

- A tool master who can handle a drill press and is comfortable guiding a five-year-old through the use of our chop saw.

- A big games ring-leader, with ideas about games that can engage a wide range of kids side by side on a giant open field. Nothing builds bonds quite as fast as big games played with great sportsmanship.

- A storyteller. Starting the day, over lunch, end of day. Stories bring us together. Stories help kids focus long enough to eat their lunch. Stories teach and set examples. Stories make us a tribe.

- A provocations crafter. The good projects tell us what they look like at the end, But the very best projects simply get us excited to start.

- A listener. Some kids are shy and don’t usually get a lot of attention. You know how to find those kids, figure out what makes them tick, and can get them engaged.

Work Hours and Dates

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2023 Summer Camp Dates: June 26-August 18

Day Camp: Mon-Fri: staggered eight hour shifts between 8:15a - 5:15p

Compensation

$16.50 - $24+ (depending on experience)   

Requirements

- Incredibly flexible. Every plan is a starting place and subject to change.

- Experience working with kids ages eight to sixteen - please specify your sweet spot.

- Excellent communication.

- Experience with or a desire to teach in a setting that honors the free will and independence of children.

- Initiative! We are people who jump in when they see things that need to get done. When we have ideas we try them - instead of just talking about them.

- Additional experience with project-based curriculum design, working with gifted children, knowledge of inclusive special education theory and practice, fine arts, applied arts or any other personal superpowers are welcomed.

Apply

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. It’s easy to apply:

Please send an email to info@tinkeringschool.com with:

  • Your resume (PDF format only, please)

  • Answers to the following questions:

    • What is your experience working with young people ages 5-15? Or, if this is your first experience, tell us why you want to work with young people.

    • When was the last time you witnessed someone struggling with a task and how did you respond?

    • At Tinkering School, the plan can change dramatically, swiftly and often. Tell us about your comfort with and ability to improvise.

    • What else do you want us to know about you? Is there anything you would like to share with us?

  • Feel free to also email us photos of some cool project(s) you’ve worked on (not required)

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Tinkering School is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions based on merit. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender, pregnancy, and breastfeeding), sexual orientation (including heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality), national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, marital status, age, medical condition, genetic characteristics or information, military and veteran status, and physical or mental disability, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state or local laws.