Steven Tito Academy (STA) is a small, charity-funded, English-medium primary school that serves a very special population of students in Bagamoyo—those who have displayed a high aptitude for learning but who cannot afford the tuition of a safe, quality primary school.

Position

We need passionate, enthusiastic, hard-working, flexible volunteers to assist our teachers and students. We need volunteers who believe that all children deserve the very best education and have a right to quality teachers and quality learning in a safe and encouraging environment.

Responsibilities

• Read one-on-one with students every day
• Work with small groups of students to extend and support their learning
• Attend a weekly meeting
• Complete administrative duties
• Teach from 8 am until 4 pm, Monday-Friday
• Occasionally, use STA curriculum to plan lessons and units of work in collaboration with other teaching staff
• Use assessment to inform teaching
• Collaborate with other classroom teachers to improve teaching practices to meet the needs of all students
• Know the school values and foster these values in the students

Optional - if a volunteer has a special skill or interest, he/she may be able to instruct small or large groups of students in that area. This will be decided after consultation with STA staff.

Qualifications

Preferred, but not required:

• Degree/Diploma in Education
• At least 1-2 years teaching experience
• ESL/EAL teaching certificate

Remuneration

You will not receive any living allowance. You will be provided with lunch when at school on school days.

Depending on your length of stay we may be able to offer you shared accommodation (up to 3 people) with other volunteers in a circular 'banda.' The banda is basic with a shower and 'squat' toilet. There are occasional water and power outages. Volunteers may wish to find their own accommodation in town, with costs incurred by the volunteer.

Volunteers will need to cover their own airfare, travel/health insurance, and visa costs. We can provide some assistance in making these arrangements.

Duration

For this position, we require a commitment of at least 3 months, with a flexible start time. From past experiences, we have found that this is the minimum period of time to ensure that the post is beneficial to both the volunteer and the children and staff of Steven Tito Academy and The Baobab Home.

Challenges

Flexibility - Tanzanian culture is very different to that of Australia, the US, Canada or the UK, and as such teachers need to be flexible and able to adjust lesson plans and whole planned days at short notice. At STA we try our best to avoid last minute changes and minimize disruption to the school's programs and daily structure; however, as is the case in many schools, unexpected changes and events can occur. Teachers at STA also need to have flexibility when teaching to ensure that they are meeting the needs of the students.

Living Conditions - Living conditions in Tanzania will most likely be very different from what you are accustomed to at home. The food is different, with the staples being rice, beans and ugali. Accommodation is very basic and sometimes may not have electricity and running water.

ESL/EAL - All of the students at STA are learning English as a second language. For many, school is the only place they are exposed to English. As such, teaching at STA is very different from teaching at other schools. The students are very enthusiastic and love learning English, but require a lot of scaffolding and oral language support. Teachers at STA need to have patience as well as respect and empathy for the students on their road to English language acquisition.

Resources - Many teaching aids that you may be used to are not readily available in Tanzania. While we do our best to equip our school, often by sourcing items internationally, there remain many teaching and learning resources that we do not yet have. At STA, we do not let this restrict our teaching or the learning of the students. However, teachers must work hard to provide quality instruction and facilitation with limited resources.

Ready to Apply?

Send the following to [email protected], with 'Teaching Assistant' in the subject line:

• Resume/CV
• Cover letter
• Proposed dates of volunteering

We will only contact people who send us a resume/CV, cover letter and proposed dates of volunteering.

There will be many varied opportunities for dialogue, so candidates can learn about the school, the responsibilities of the position and the community it helps to support. We look forward to hearing from you!