YOU TOO CAN TEACH ALL AROUND THIS WORLD
LICENSING THE ALL AROUND THIS WORLD CURRICULUM
HURRAH! You are interested in becoming an All Around This World teacher. That's a wonderful thing. You understand that teaching children to open their minds to this great wide world is essential, and that what we teach our children MATTERS. You will soon be able to access the tools All Around This World has developed to introduce kids to the world using music, movement and FUN.
Once you're a licensed teacher you will be able to share the All Around This World curriculum far and wide, opening up more and more pathways to connect with kids, bringing positive cross-cultural learning to children in schools and beyond.
WHO IS QUALIFIED?
All Around This World is starting our licensing program by connecting with teachers who already know how to make music with kids and have a sense of how to connect with schools or other organizations to find places to teach.
As an experienced music teacher you will likely already know how to play a mobile instrument like a guitar or ukulele, which is a substantial plus. (see the "Do you have to play guitar?" section below.)
Beyond having some experience teaching, you just have to be yourself -- anyone from anywhere may apply.
WHY IS ALL AROUND THIS WORLD CURRENTLY SEEKING TO LICENSE EXPERIENCED TEACHERS?
At the moment All Around This World is starting our licensing program with what we know, seeking teachers who already have experience sharing music with kids in classrooms. You definitely don't have to be a full time music teacher or even have a full slate of music specialist gigs, but right now we're not training entirely new teachers from scratch.
If you're not an experienced teacher you can still get with the program! All Around This World's created the weekly online subscription with special consideration for teachers who don't play music at all, providing not only teacher training videos for each song and cultural experience but videos of Jay performing all the songs so teachers can share them directly with students in the classroom. If you'd like to share the materials with your students but don't have experience teaching music, you can absolutely subscribe or, more ideally, have your school subscribe, and share the materials with your students as you like.
If you've never worked with kids before and intrigued by the idea of someday becoming an All Around This World teacher, please do be in touch. There will be possibilities.
WHY TEACHERS FOR CLASSROOMS AND NOT INDEPENDENT PARENT/CHILD CLASSES?
Currently All Around This World is most eager to connect with teachers who are planning to teach the material in school classrooms (daycare/preschool/kindergarten/elementary school) and isn't seeking to train teachers to develop their own parent/child classes. This is because training will primarily take place using the teacher training videos, which we're comfortable doing with experienced teachers who will share the material in classrooms. The training teachers need to work with parents and children in their own classrooms is more extensive, and we don't feel comfortable providing that training exclusively online. Plus we're currently not able to provide the business advice new teacher may need to build up their own parent/child classes.
On the other hand, if you're already an established parent/child teacher and you want to teach All Around This World's material, either as a supplement to or instead of your current program, let's talk. The licence fee structure is different than for classroom-only teachers and the relationship will be different, but we should still connect.
DO YOU HAVE TO PLAY GUITAR?
All Around This World classes thrive on the interplay between teacher and students, especially when the teacher is playing an instrument and singing with the class. While we do many cultural dances along to recorded music, teachers perform the curriculum songs rather than lip synching or singing along with the CD.
All Around This World classes are very active. Teachers should ideally be able to play a mobile instrument so they can get up with the kids and move around the classroom. (Guitar is best, ukulele is easy, an accordion could work, or a small harpsichord....) As an All Around This World teacher you should be able to be flexible and free, moving where you have to move around the room to best interact with your class.
DO YOU NEED YOUR OWN INSTRUMENTS?
Jay uses instruments while teaching -- shaker eggs, rhythm sticks, hand drums, gathering drums etc. As an experienced teacher you may already have your own set of instruments, but if you don't, don't fret. Getting your hands on some would be fine, but if you don't, you can make your own or simply use your imagination.
The instruments are fun and do help the class, but All Around This World songs don't rely on "gear" to make the material work.
BECOMING AN ALL AROUND THIS WORLD LICENSEE
An All Around This World LICENSEE will boldly share the All Around This World curriculum with students in any educational setting, joining the All Around This World teacher community and advancing the mission to introduce kids everywhere to the world.
Once the LICENSEE has completed the LICENSEE training, they will be able to market as an All Around This World teacher and use the All Around This World logo in promotional materials. The LICENSEE will be able to identify as an All Around This World teacher in a school/organizational setting and play All Around This World birthday parties/concerts/events.
The LICENSEE will pay a 15% licensing fee for teaching "All Around This World" classes.
In addition to having access to the All Around This World songs and lessons through ExploreEverywhere.com, a LICENSEE will have access to all other available All Around This World materials (musical notation and other song information, extra lesson plans, teacher training videos, etc.).
The LICENSEE will be welcome to join the All Around This World teacher discussion group and e-mail list, receive regular teacher updates from Jay, be invited to participate in any online LICENSEE video hangouts or meetings, and communicate with Jay and other All Around This World teachers to get teaching advice.
BECOMING AN ALL AROUND THIS WORLD ASSOCIATE
An All Around This World ASSOCIATE is teacher who gets to know the All Around This World materials and uses them occasionally in his or her teaching -- adding some songs to an existing curriculum, sharing some of the dances with students, perhaps using some videos as teaching aids and following along with the online classes. An ASSOCIATE is not able to publicly market as "an All Around This World teacher" when promoting to schools or other organizations, nor market "All Around This World" birthday parties or events, but can let schools and families know they teach or perform All Around This World material.
An ASSOCIATE will subscribe to All Around This World's online program through ExploreEverywhere.com online program at the $5/week level.
With an active weekly subscription the ASSOCIATE is welcome to share the All Around This World materials that are available to individual subscribers in any teaching environment.
The ASSOCIATE will be welcome to join the All Around This World teacher facebook group and e-mail list, receive monthly teacher updates from Jay and communicate with Jay and other All Around This World teachers to get teaching advice. '
DO YOU HAVE TO AUDITION?
If you're interested in being either an ASSOCIATE or LICENSEE, start by sending a message to All Around This World introducing yourself, telling us about your background and letting us know how you would like to share the All Around This World material. Please also send an initial introduction along with a link to a video of you teaching music to children. The video doesn't have to be extensive -- a couple songs will do -- and you don't have to worry about production values. You can just point the camera at yourself and not capture images of children on the video, but you can also assure students the video will be for private training use and will NOT be posted or shared.
All Around This World will review the video and, assuming you pass the audition with flying colors, you will be able to attend a ASSOCIATE training. Those who "graduate" from the ASSOCIATE training will be eligible for the LICENSEE trainingc (details TBD). After successful review, ta da!, you will be approved as a LICENSEE!
After you have completed an entire three year cycle of the curriculum, now familiar with all the All Around This World core curriculum songs and cultural experiences, All Around This World will conduct a review of your work and, assuming all is good, may confirm you as a MASTER TEACHER.
WILL TRAINING COST AN ARM AND A LEG?
No -- just an arm. The top price for an iniitial 6-class ASSOCIATE training is $150. (Scholarships and ample sliding scale/discounts are available.) You won't have to pay anything to train to be an All Around This World LICENSEE. (training details to be determined.)
All Around This World may offer specialized optional trainings for licensed teachers for a reasonable tuition that you may choose to attend to enhance your teaching.
ARE THERE ANY HIDDEN COSTS OR FEES?
Nope, no sneakiness. You're not required to buy extra course materials or buy kits with proprietary instruments.
If you want to purchase physical All Around This World CDs to have available to sell at birthday parties or other events you can buy them directly from All Around This World at 1/2 the retail price, plus shipping.
WHAT MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE TO ASSOCIATES, LICENSEES and SCHOOLS?
All Around This World's curriculum is vast. As an active ASSOCIATE or LICENSEE you're welcome to teach any All Around This World materials you can access in accordance with your licensing level. You can print lesson plans, stream all videos and impart any of the material.
The only restriction is that, because All Around This World has to pay licensing fees for some songs, calculated based on each copy of a song either sold or freely distributed, you must have your school or students pay for CDs or digitial mp3 downloads.
The All Around This World curriculum consists of TWELVE THREE-MONTH SEASONS of International songs, cultural dances, interactive lesson plans, maps and all sorts of background information.
HERE IS THE ONLINE COURSE SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAM
HERE IS A SAMPLE INTERACTIVE PDF LESSON.
HERE IS A SAMPLE WEEKLY ONLINE CLASS.
ALL AROUND THIS WORLD'S STUDIO CDs
All Around This World currently has three excellent studio CDs, recorded with international musicians -- AATW: Latin America, AATW Africa and the soon-to-be-released AATW South and Central Asia. CDs for the other regions are in the works, but may be long in coming. For regions without a studio CD, Jay will provide you with mp3s of him performing the songs.
Students really benefit from listening to the mp3s between classes! Your students are are welcome to stream mp3s of the season's online through the All Around This World website or the active-subscriber Dropbox file anytime. You will also be able to make digital mp3s available to your schools and students for permanent download at a reasonable cost via digital download codes. Physical CDs are more complicated, but we'll work out the details to enable schools and students that want physical copies to buy them at an educational discount. You, as a teacher, won't have to put forth a lot of money to buy boxes of CDs just to keep them as inventory.
If you want to include the mp3s as part of your class tuition or charge a families or schools an extra seasonal "activities fee," that's fine. We'll work out the details.
HOW WILL YOU PAY YOUR LICENSING FEE?
ASSOCIATES who are just using All Around This World music and lessons occasionally in their classrooms will pay through their $5 weekly subscription through ExploreEverywhere.com. (An associated school or other entity may pay the ASSOCIATE's fee.)
LICENSEE payment systems are still in development.
HOW WILL YOU ACCESS THE MATERIALS?
All of the All Around This World materials will be available to you online. All Around This World uses Dropbox for hosting documents and mp3s and primarily uses Vimeo.com for hosting videos. Many of the lessons will come your way as PDFs, most of which will include a one-page printable summary of the song or lesson to share with you students. You are welcome to print all lessons and materials and share them with your students.
DO YOU NEED TO CARRY INSURANCE?
If you're an ASSOCIATE, just using All Around This World songs every so often in your classroom, no. (Though being insured is a really good idea. You should do it.)
If you are a LICENSEE marketing yourself as teaching the All Around This World curriculum, yes. You'll need to keep a current liability policy.
All Around This World keeps a policy through Specialty Insurance Agency and it has been good so far -- not expensive, and they've been responsive to every need.
DO YOU NEED CLEARANCES?
If you're an ASSOCIATE just using All Around This World songs every so often in a school classroom -- not marketing yourself as an "All Around This World" teacher -- you don't need to send proof of clearances. Keeping clearances current is good practice and if schools require them and you want to send along copies, that can't hurt.
If you are a LICENSEE marketing yourself as teaching the All Around This World curriculum, yes, you need to send a copy of your current child abuse clearance and criminal check -- you must obtain whatever clearances are required in your state. You must keep your clearances current, renewing every 36 months.
THE FUTURE
What will happen in the future? All Around This World is looking forward to owning a hover car and having a refrigerator that can also do our taxes. Oh, you mean for the music program? All Around This World is working toward opening up the licensing process for teachers who are new to working with children, providing satisfying in-person training to get teachers started off right and also to working with those who want to teach parent/child classes, providing enough business support to give new teachers a boost at they develop their own class locations. Until then we'll spread the joy by working with you, our veteran teacher friends. We look forward to it!
We hope this introduction was enough to inspire some thinking. We're sure you have more questions. Don't hesitate to ask. https://www.allaroundthisworld.com/contact, jay@allaroundthisworld.com, 215-913-2679.
