Internships
Who Are We Looking For?
We look for people who are intellectually curious, self-disciplined, energetic, personally stable, and enjoy challenging work. Interns must be open to new ideas, willing to question, challenge and listen. Experience with children is helpful, but not necessary.
The Learning Process for Interns
The intern experience at Play Mountain is deeply meaningful and often life changing. An intern's learning path parallels that of the student's: you learn by doing and experiencing, by self-reflection and self-determination, at your own pace, setting your own goals. Working alongside experienced teachers provides modeling of Play Mountain skills and philosophy. After-school meetings help you integrate intellectually and emotionally what you are experiencing in the program with the children.
What An Intern Does
Through participation in daily activities, the intern receives intense training in the following areas. The program includes weekly seminar, weekly staff meeting, a monthly-facilitated process meeting, and a four-session communication skills workshop. Staff meet to plan the children's program and the parent education program, which includes conferences and parent meetings.
For internship opportunities, please contact us at 323-870-4381 or info@playmountain.org
For internship opportunities, please contact us at (323) 870-4381 or info@playmountain.org. Play Mountain Place has provided a humanistic learning environment in Los Angeles since 1949 and is one of the earliest humanistic alternative schools in the U. S.
What this looks like in practice
An intern's day follows the children. You work alongside experienced teachers, joining the play, the projects and the outdoor time as they happen. After-school meetings give you space to talk through what came up. Weekly seminars and staff meetings build the skills, with time on child development and school philosophy. You set your own goals and move at your own pace. Experience with children helps but is not required.
Because interns practice listening, setting limits without punishment or blame, and non-authoritarian conflict resolution, children get more adults who respond calmly and consistently. That steadiness shows up at home in how a child handles frustration and talks through a problem.
