Job Listings

Tutor

Company:
St. John's College
Job Location:
Annapolis, Maryland
Category:
Tutors and Learning Resources
Type:
Full-Time

he academic program at St. John’s College consists of integrated classes in which the texts studied, the organization, and the mode of teaching and learning serve to promote comprehensive, serious, and reflective inquiry. All classes use primary sources from the western tradition, including works inmathematics, natural science, literature, philosophy, music, religion and theology. We study original texts rather than commentaries or subsequent interpretations. We approach the texts in complementary ways through the organization of our classes—sustained, exploratory discussions in seminar, in addition to detailed examinations of their elements, teachings, practices and inter-relationships in laboratory, and music, language and mathematics tutorials

Teaching members of the faculty at St. John’s, called “tutors,” are accountable for contributing to students’ successful learning experience by providing instruction and guidance, evaluating the progress of both individuals and classes, assigning and evaluating coursework, and submitting grades and student reports in accordance with College standards. Tutors must be inquisitive, eager, and committed to learning, as are our students. They are expected to teach in all parts of the academic program, as opposed to one strict discipline, and they must acquire progressive increased understanding in subjects that may be outside theirareas of specialization. 

Tutors engage the intellectual and imaginative powers of students—and one another—as they think through texts in the program. The tutor is often said to be a model learner, whose role is to lead primarily in that way: to guide and promote inquiry, to moderate, initiate and facilitate discussion with attention to the individual student and to the class. Tutors discern and follow the contours of a discussion, guiding it in more fruitful directions, without shaping or steering it to a preconceived conclusion.

The normal teaching load is three classes, one seminar and two other classes, chosen from among language, mathematics, and music tutorials and laboratories, each of which meets three times a week. Seminars are co-led, and tutors are required to attend weekly meetings with colleagues teaching the same tutorial or laboratory for discussions regarding substantive developments and student/class progress. 

With few exceptions, all appointments are tenure-track. Candidates are reviewed for reappointment in the fall of their first, second, and fourth years, with a tenure decision in the spring of the sixth year. 

In addition to teaching, tutors are accountable for:

  • Attendance and participation at convocation and commencement ceremonies; 
  • Service on assigned committees; 
  • Administering oral examinations;
  • Attending a weekly formal lecture and question period (Friday evening);
  • Participating in Faculty seminars and study groups;
  • Conferring with students and colleagues
  • Overseeing and guiding any assigned student workers

All of these may involve attendance at evening or weekend events.

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Criteria for reappointment and tenure are, in order of importance: 1) excellence of intellect and imagination; 2) serious engagement with the St. John’s Program, as shown by learning in the areas which it encompasses, a deepening understanding of the questions arising from it, and active contribution to the learning of colleagues and students, both inside and outside of the classroom; 3) excellence as a leader and co-leader of small discussion classes, shown in part by being a model learner, a careful listener, and a resourceful guide to student inquiry; 4) ability and willingness to teach throughout the St. John’s Program (interdisciplinary); 5) collegiality and civility as a member of the St. John’s community, and responsiveness to its needs. The criteria are applied with increasing strictness with each successive appointment.

Other requirements include: Preparation for and punctual attendance at all assigned classes; attendance and participation in oral examinations, Don Rags, Convocation and Commencement ceremonies; increasing competence in all areas of the academic curriculum; availability to students for paper conferences and academic advice; ability to actively and regularly contribute to the intellectual life of the College (for example, leading college-wide lectures, leading and participating in study groups, making academic recommendations based on a deepening understanding of curriculum, etc.); ability to maintain confidentiality of student records and other information of a confidential nature; ability to fairly and consistently evaluate student intellectual progress against academic standards and develop student’s imagination and thinking skills; ability to follow instructions and safely use and maintain materials and components of laboratory exercises (including equipment, instruments, and chemical and/or biological material). 

Work Environment:Tutors work predominantly in a classroom environment and occasionally in instructional labs. They may be required to maintain equipment and apparatus within certain guidelines, or to transport and set up equipment, involving moderate physical effort. Tutors may come into occasional contact with cleaning solutions and combustible material. 

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