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Personal statement for becoming a teacher
Personal statement for becoming a teacher
Personal statement for becoming a teacher
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Growing up, I contemplated a future in the education field; I enjoyed my experiences volunteering with children and I have always been intrinsically motivated to learn. When I started college, I decided to delve into the social sciences, but I never forgot about my interest in education. The summer of my freshman year, I joined the education team through the University of Arkansas’ community development program in Belize. I worked with my co-teacher (a senior education major), and education and literature professors to create creative writing lesson plans and methods to improve literacy for underperforming children. In Belize, my co-teacher and I facilitated daily literacy skill small groups for 2nd and 3rd graders and taught creative writing lessons with 4th and 5th graders. This experience not only strengthened my desire to work in education, but also awakened my awareness of how different levels of educational privileges affect students. I recognized, however, that while I was energized by this experience, I still lacked the skills and training that would allow me to most efficiently help …show more content…
I contemplated attending graduate school for School Psychology or Educational Administration after completing my undergraduate degree, but I feel that classroom teaching experience will be absolutely vital for success in any career in education. I believe that classroom experience will provide me the exposure and knowledge that will allow me to not only become a professional and successful teacher, but also help to solidify the path I should take for my own education. As a person who enjoys continually learning and growing, I can see myself using the understanding I gained from working in the classroom to shape my future educational goals. I am open and excited for any possibility that opens up as I continue to explore this
Deborah Brandt (1998) wrote “Sponsors of Literacy”, a journal where she explained her findings of the research she has done on how different people across the nation learned to read and write, born between 1900, and 1980 (p. 167). She interviewed many people that had varying forms of their literacy skills, whether it was from being poor, being rich, or just being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
As an Assistant Teacher in a public school, I was assigned to a fifth grade student who was having problems with reading and writing. John came to me late in the school year and his reading abilities were that of a first grader. I became disheartened because I thought it was unfair to me given his situation and the time factor. Instead of immediately think of ways to move him forward, self got in the way and I became overly concerned about what my peers would say about my abilities if John did not advanced. Because I was seeking self praise, I lost sight of the main objective and as a result the child suffered. I was backed into a corner and had no answers or solutions to the problem. It was not until late March, two months later, that I realized that I needed to shift gears. I...
In some classrooms, teachers’ subconsciously use their language to establish negative relationships with literacy. For example, some teachers use reading and writing as a punishment or reference it as work instead of fun. Johnston (2004) said “ the way a teacher talks can position students differently in relations to what they are doing, learning, or studying” (p.9). In my opinion, this means that language has the power to influence student’s perception. Therefore, what teachers say and how they say it impacts how students feel about themselves and the world. But, some teacher may not realize how their words and tone towards literacy influences how children feel about it. In general, I think children in urban schools need to be exposed to language and literacy experiences that are positive and engaging. Instead of using reading and writing as a consequence, it could be used as a reward, or make it an option during free time just like any other fun activity. In general, I believe some teachers subconsciously use language to create negative relationships between students and literacy, but if teachers would be more mindful of the undertone of their language, children would perceive literacy differently (Johnston,
My goal to be a Teach For America corps member was instigated by my family background and experiences in the Waco community as a volunteer tutor. My aunt, who taught high school English in a low-income community in Michigan for over 30 years, has inspired me to teach in order to fight against the inequalities facing low-income students. Her commitment to nurturing and developing students, regardless of the circumstances they were facing, led me to pursue service opportunities in Waco that would allow me to emulate her. Specifically, volunteering at an elementary school in the center of Waco gave me the chance to work and grow with the type of students that my aunt dedicated her life to. In continuing her efforts, I want to help counteract the education inequalities facing our nation.
Volunteering at a children’s crisis treatment facility, volunteering with Special Olympics, coaching children’s sports teams for 10 years and working as a substitute education assistant has increased my understanding of childhood development. Grandmound Elementary School provides me with opportunities to strengthen my leadership and collaboration skills, through teaching art (as a volunteer) to the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade and serving as PTA president. I was able to implement many enriching opportunities for students in areas of art, science, and reading. I learned to work as a team, set targets, achieve goals, give and receive guidance. Participating in these activities has confirmed that working with families and particularly children are my purpose.
At this time, I became a group leader in an after-school program for a 3rd-grade class. This was my first time working with children and as imagined, it was a tough transition. The students were Latino and African American, living in poverty stricken neighborhoods with a dysfunctional home life. The program focused on students who were at risk of retention. A large number of students were below average and had been recommended to receive extra academic support. As a result of my time spent working and learning with the students, I choose an educational path.
Looking back, I believe that the correct choice was made. Obviously, I cannot know for sure until I immerse myself in the waters of a full-time teaching position. Perhaps I will come to find that the field of education is not what I expected. Maybe I will be unable to get through to my students. Who knows—these are all possibilities. I think about these possibilities from time to time, and they always scare me. Devoting four years of my life to something only to fail at that pursuit would be devastating. Despite these fears, ...
Whenever I started at Jones Junior College, I did not know how literacy is still important that made me want to learn more. Since enrolled in college, I want to further my literacy. I want to help Hispanic children that do not have the requirements in early reading and writing. While improving my skills in literacy, I would like to work for the laurel Hispanic community. Teaching families English reading and writing, so parents and children would change their views on literacy. I also know that by improving my skills in literacy at Jones Junior College will help me through my job to become a dental
...l survival in our society. I work as a counselor each summer at a sports camp in Philadelphia, and each summer I encounter very intelligent students who are placed in lower tracks or labeled as ìlearning deficientî because of their language. This disturbs me because as a speaker of both Black Vernacular speech and Standard English, I know that students can learn to use Standard English just as I have. Unfortunately, many students are not privileged enough to have the same educational opportunities that I was given by my parents, therefore, it is my responsibility to teach these students Standard English the way that I have been taught. But I must learn more about teaching students and dealing with the issues that plague the educational system, and I am looking forward to receiving more of this knowledge during my pre-student teaching and student teaching experiences.
...ollege, because I am excited to learn new subjects, just as I am given the opportunity to sign up to attend classes that contain information that I am interested in. As I began this paper, I explained the process that I went through as I learned to talk. Literacy isn’t only the experiences one has with reading and writing, it is so much more than that. My literacy story has been enhanced through my interests, experiences and life. During my high school years, I always found myself taking care of children, whether in a school setting or babysitting. I found that I work well with younger children and that it’s amazing to see how they learn. This has also always interested me as I have reflected on my own life. Therefore, my literacy story continues as my interests have developed from not only adventure and animals, but also to children and my future teaching career.
For my community involvement project, I volunteered at Memminger Elementary School for a program called “Reading Partners.” The program focuses on helping children build strong literacy skills to carry with them into their academic careers. It requires the tutor to read to the student that has been assigned and in turn the student reads to the tutor. The program assists in teaching the students valuable reading skills. Being able to read is critical to a child’s educational success. The program works with more than 100 schools within seven states. The program is geared toward students of low-income families. The statistics for children’s literacy in the United States are astonishing. “In 2011, just thirty-four percent of the nation’s fourth graders in public school could read proficiently” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The program itself has had exponential success. Principals and teacher have reported that “Reading Partners” has helped increase students’ reading levels. During my time at the program I accumulated twelve volunteer hours.
As an education major at State College, I’ve decided to become a teacher for several reasons. As I progressed through elementary, middle, and high school, many of my teachers were great role models for me. This has inspired me to become a role model for someone in the near future. My love for science and math has also influenced my desire to teach and make a difference in a child’s life. I want to teach students the subjects that I love so much. I want the feeling that I helped a child accomplish or learn something they couldn’t understand. One of the main reasons I want to become an educator is because I feel education has really lost teachers who truly love teaching and those who truly love teaching and those who have the desire to make a difference. I feel I can really help make a difference in the education world and bring back the love to teach.
Through my own experiences, and as enforced by others' opinions in the profession, I have found that teaching is one of the most rewarding careers. Not only are you placed in the position of instructing and guiding children and young adults through the life long learning process, but you are able to give back to the schools and communities which have supported your early education and experiences that opened you up to a bright future. In becoming an educator, I hope to someday share the knowledge and lend the helping, supportive hand that I was once given, allowing students to formulate their own perspectives of the multicultural society and world around them. Teaching is a career I have been interested in pursuing throughout high school, and as my experiences and study in the field expands, I feel that my desire to teach will grow stronger and develop more soundly.
American literacy curriculums focus largely on reading, analyzing, and critiquing other people’s work, but as low literacy scores show, this approach is not effective in teaching students to read and write English proficiently. The system would benefit greatly from the addition of a creative writing focus to English classes nationwide at an early grade level, since a personalized approach to teaching will engage students and allow them to learn about broader subjects while practicing their writing skills. Multiple organizations off the mainstream curriculum have already tested successful models for increasing creativity, self-confidence, and communication skills in children. These models would be beneficial to the nation’s teachers and school systems in remodeling curricula to focus on the students and their experiences to teach core subjects more effectively.
Teaching is a daunting task that I do not intend to take lightly. Becoming a teacher has been a dream of mine for several years. I always knew that teaching would be the career for me, especially when I began working in the school system as a substitute secretary. I loved working in the school environment; coming in contact with children everyday made me realize how much I would enjoy teaching a classroom full of students.