Freelance Instructors - The Moth's Education Program

Instructors - The Moth Education Program

The application for this position can be found here. The deadline to submit is January 2, 2024.

The Moth Education Program 

The Moth Education Program works with young people (high school and college-aged students) and educators to build community through our innovative storytelling workshops and curriculum. We believe that listening to stories can broaden our perspectives, cultivate empathy, help build confidence, and communication skills.. We designed workshops that are accessible and inclusive spaces for story sharing for high school students, college students, and teachers.

To learn more about The Moth and The Moth’s Education Program, please visit our website.

What we're looking for:

We are looking for engaging and empathetic facilitators with a passion for storytelling. Our instructors are able to prioritize participant agency as they create a thoughtful, fun and supportive space for young people and educators to engage in the often vulnerable work of true, personal storytelling. 

Commitment: 

  • This is a freelance contractor position with an expected workload of 2-3 Education workshops per semester. Workshops are either in-person or online. This is variable by instructor, but can range from ~32-150 hours annually. See info below on the range of time commitment for those workshops.

  • In the Education program, we primarily facilitate high school residencies, college workshops, and professional development training for educators.  

    • High school students join us for an after-school residency program for ~2 hours, once a week, for 7-10 weeks. The workshop culminates in a story SLAM.  Instructors must be able to commit to at least one residency per semester (about 16 teaching hours plus paid planning time). 

    • College students join us for either a 7 week residency or a weekend intensive (about 14 teaching hours plus paid planning time + travel expenses when appropriate). 

    • We hold 2 Teacher Institutes per year for 5th-12th grade educators (~15 total hours) plus occasional one-off workshops and Intros (~3 hrs) for other educational organizations.

  • Instructors are invited to participate in (and sometimes to lead) regular, paid PD and training opportunities throughout the year.

  • Pay is variable for lead and co-instructors: on average, including paid planning time, teaching rates come out to roughly $126/hour for leads and $76/ hour for cos. This is based on an hourly teaching rate of $42/hr for leads and $38/hr for cos with leads paid on a 2:1 planning to teaching ratio and and cos paid on a 1:1 ratio.  There is also additional pay for in-person work and a paid training and observation period. Instructors are also given free tickets to a variety of Moth events. 

Our Onboarding Process:

  • Newly hired instructors will attend a series of required paid training sessions in the spring concurrent with observation of our Education spaces before being placed as a co-instructor (paired with a more experienced lead instructor) in a Moth workshop. TBD whether these will be virtual or in-person. 

  • Training Dates:

    • Training #1: Thursday, February 22nd, 2024, 3pm-6pm ET

    • Training #2: (Instructor ‘Retreat’) Sunday, April 21st, 2024 10am-3pm ET

    • Training #3; Thursday, June 13th, 2024, 3pm-6pm ET

  • Observation Overview: 

  • The Spring 2024 paid observation period will include 3 EDU workshops (2 hours each), 1 EDU SLAM + 1 EDU Intro or Alumni workshop scheduled with your availability in mind

  • New hires who have completed their training and observation will be invited to join us for our August Moth Teacher Institute as co-instructors.

Responsibilities include:

  • Facilitate Moth-designed curriculum

  • Reflect critically with co-instructors and supervisors on teaching practice

  • Communicate regularly with partners, participants and program managers

  • Attend paid instructor trainings and adhere to safety protocols

Qualifications:

  • Most Instructors live in the immediate NYC area with rare exceptions.

    • The Moth EDU Program is expanding to the Detroit and LA areas and will be hiring a limited number of instructors based in those locations. 

  • At least 2 years prior experience leading groups as a teacher, teaching artist, facilitator, social worker, or comparable leadership position.

  • Previous storytelling (facilitation or performance) experience preferred.

  • Cultural sensitivity and the ability to connect with diverse groups of people.

Also appreciated:

  • Knowledge of Moth storytelling

  • Proficiency in language(s) other than English a plus

  • Proximity and/or willingness to travel between boroughs for in-person workshops, particularly in the Bronx, Queens and farther east in Brooklyn to neighborhoods like East New York and Canarsie.

Commitment to Diversity:

The Moth is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally vibrant team and strongly encourages applications from people of diverse backgrounds. The Moth seeks to hire staff who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. All positions at The Moth are filled without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, HIV/AIDS status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. The Moth brings storytelling opportunities to people from a variety of communities. Candidates with a commitment to supporting diversity are strongly encouraged to apply.

The application for this position can be found here. The deadline to submit is January 2, 2024.