The Ph.D. Program in History

at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Job Opportunities

Legal Outreach: The Saturday Writing Classes (SWC)

Type: Part-time (every other Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)

Wage: $18.75/hr Contract: Dec 2017 – May 2018
Location: Long Island City (10-15 min from Midtown Manhattan)

 

Organization Description: Legal Outreach is a non-profit organization that prepares urban youth, grades 9-12, from underserved communities to compete at high academic levels. Our mission is to foster vision, develop academic and professional skills, enhance confidence, and facilitate the pursuit of higher education. Please see www.legaloutreach.org[legaloutreach.org] for additional information about our services, and view our website prior to applying for the position.

Saturday Writing Classes: The Saturday Writing Classes (SWC) are a core component of Legal Outreach’s College Bound, a rigorous academic program that prepares students for admission into and success in competitive colleges and universities. We are seeking writing instructors with experience teaching or tutoring at the high school and/or college levels who can set high expectations for and inspire underserved minority youth.

Job Responsibilities:

  • Attend paid staff training dates in Nov. or Dec. 2016.
  • Lead one class of about 10 students through the process of writing a 10-page college-level research paper on material culture.
  • Attend staff meetings following Saturday Writing Class (3 p.m. to 4 p.m.).
  • Provide formal, edited feedback on essays following a rubric.
  • Provide end-of-the year evaluations of students’ writing progress.
  • Commit to attending each and every one of the following class dates. Please do not apply if you cannot attend class on these dates.
  1. 1/6/2018
  2. 1/13/2018 (Metropolitan Museum Visit)
  3. 1/20/2018
  4. 2/3/2018
  5. 2/24/2018
  6. 3/3/2018
  7. 3/17/2018
  8. 4/7/2018
  9. 4/28/2018
  10. 5/12/2018

 

Curriculum:

The Legal Outreach SWC curriculum follows a progression: Freshman Grammar, Sophomore Introduction to Essay Writing, Junior Thesis Development, and Senior Research Paper. Seniors spend September – December focusing on college applications.

Seniors will plan, write, and revise a 7-10 page college-level research paper over the course of 10 sessions. The topic will be material culture. Students will start with a text that introduces them to basic ideas about material culture. They will visit museums in NYC and choose one object (not a work of “fine” art like a painting or modern sculpture) to research and write about in context. They would then research the object and discuss its importance in context, answering such questions as: When/where is it from? Who made it? What was it made for? What role does it play or what does it represent in that culture?

This is a relatively new topic for Legal Outreach, but we will provide instructors with as much curriculum as they need to lead their students through the course: weekly assignments, worksheets and exercises, a syllabus, a method for writing the paper, etc.

The pedagogical goal of the Senior Research Paper is to prepare students for the types of research-based writing they will be expected to perform in college. Students who successfully complete the Senior Research Paper with B’s (85) or higher will be eligible for $750 – $1000 college scholarships from Legal Outreach.

 

Applicants:

Instructors must be conversant with the fundamentals of expository writing and the research process, and they must be able to implement writing pedagogy creatively and rigorously in the classroom. Teaching applicants must be college graduates with professional experience in writing, teaching, editing or a related field who want to make a difference in the lives of New York City youth.

Because of the subject matter of this assignment, we particularly seek applicants with backgrounds in Anthropology, Sociology, Art History, Museum Studies, and related fields, although we will consider applicants from all formal disciplines who are comfortable leading students through the research paper.

Legal Outreach is an equal opportunity employer, and women and minorities are encouraged to apply as are all candidates with experience working with diverse student populations.

 

How to apply

Send an email to dbautista@legaloutreach.org that follows the guidelines below:

  1. Use APPLICATION FOR SENIOR SWC INSTRUCTORas your subject.
  2. Attach a cover letter, references list, resume (1-2 pp. only), and writing sample (3-5 pp. only) as a single Microsoft Word (.DOC) or Acrobat (.PDF) document. No applicants will be contacted who do not submit a cover letter and writing sample.
  3. Confirm that you can commit to attending every single class date listed in the job description.