Young, beautiful, and unemployed

November 27, 2008 4:05 PM

Summer teaching jobs in Portland?

I have a year and a half of teaching experience under my belt (TAing and teaching writing), and am looking for a summer job while I work on my orals in the Pacific Northwest. Ideally, teaching high school age students reading and writing (my arithmetic's OK, but beyond that the math skills are a bit fuzzy). Right now I study literature at a well-regarded grad program. I've taught kids before, but not much -- and now that I've got some experience under my belt, I'd really like to do more.

Any thoughts? Summer camps? Summer SCHOOL? Age, location, and context are all pretty flexible. Basically, I'm looking for something interesting and fun, that's going to make me a better teacher and let me interact with people before I hole up and start writing my dissertation.

This, with the understanding that Portland's economy is not so hot right now -- also, that Portland is a haven for the young, beautiful, and overeducated, all feverishly looking for work. But that's where I plan to be -- so it's where I'm looking for work.

posted by puckish to Work & Money (1 answer total)

I think you will have a REALLY hard time finding something if you aren't already in the Portland Public School system. A lot of teachers/staff were laid off last year and they are taking up ANY extra teaching/substitute jobs. It's really a horrible situation and the stability isn't what it should be for teachers. I know a lot of elementary school teachers who are taking any summer job they can get.

With that being said...I have a friend who works for "Art 4 Life" (non-profit) during the year and with their summer program. Apparently the summer progam is really fun and it's not totally art based. I think it pays pretty well. So yeah, look up "Art 4 Life Portland, Oregon" in google and you should find it.

Good luck!!
posted by pdx87 at 11:27 PM on December 25, 2008