Personal Statement
As long as I remember myself, I have always valued knowledge of any kind. Probably, my parents were the first people who instilled that passion for learning new things in me. In my childhood, my mother was teaching me different facts about the surrounding world while we were walking in the street. Owing to her, I knew the names of seemingly all the animals and birds that inhabit my native country India. Furthermore, I eagerly wanted to share my knowledge with other children in the neighborhood. I was never tired of giving the answers to our little neighbors. That is how I discovered my passion for teaching and decided to make it my main destination in life. I still believe that being a teacher allows me both to continue to deliver exciting lessons and share knowledge with others.
Luckily, I have received an opportunity to put my passion for teaching into practice through the completion of my PGCE course at Anglia Ruskin University and NQT at Colchester County High School. These courses provided me with the basic skills necessary for the person intending to work in the educational field. These skills include planning, carrying out assessments, monitoring and evaluating, together with providing feedback, teambuilding, record keeping, and collaborating. Indeed, these abilities have established a sufficient ground for pursuing my teaching career in the coming years.
Having taken courses at Anglia Ruskin University and Colchester County High School, I pursued the career in the educational field through teaching Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. I have taught Biology up to A levels, Chemistry at KS3 and KS4, as well as limited number of Physics courses at KS3. Due to my first work experience, I have developed a detailed understanding of teaching sciences. What enhanced my teaching skills even more was the participation in a number of INSET programs, covering topics such as behavior management, assessment for learning, child protection, differentiation, working with gifted students etc. Acquiring knowledge on these topics became crucial in my lesson preparation as they shed more light on the teaching process and the interrelationship between the theory and practice across sciences.
Furthermore, my educational progress was not left unnoticed. The improvement in these areas had been recognized through lesson observations, and the feedback from the school and university teachers has been very positive. Lesson observation feedback revealed that students were well engaged in my lessons, which they considered to be good learning experiences. My lessons featured a range of teaching techniques to allow students the opportunity to access the material delivered to them. They also showed a wide variety of activities and differentiation techniques to facilitate this process.
To tell the truth, I found differentiation one of the most important and challenging aspects of teaching. My placement schools and present school had different experiences to offer in this area. One of the schools had mixed ability classes, which required me to develop techniques to include children operating at very different attainment levels. There, I practiced setting tasks at different levels for group activities to accommodate all needs. To add even more, I managed to do it unnoticeably in order not to offend students. Another school had set classes, which required a different approach from me. There, I implemented activities designed to facilitate autonomous learning and critical thinking. To boost students achievement, I often organized a starter activity to provoke independent thinking about the topic and mold the feedback from the activity to link with the learning objectives of the lesson. Two different environments benefited me as a teacher as I developed flexibility and discovered how to adjust to different students and deal with factors that can inhibit ones ability to learn.
Get expert assistance from seasoned personal statement writers!
During my previous work, I have come to understand the role of students learning assessment. In India, it proved to be very effective as I used to contact parents to give positive feedback regarding a students work. I also instigated an Award System for outstanding performance in lessons or homework assignments to give recognition to extra effort or attainment, and these awards were on display in the classroom. Good marks inspired my students to try even harder, and their progress encouraged them to make the best of their learning abilities. To add even more, I kept detailed records of attainment on tests and examinations, using Microsoft Excel to ensure accuracy. Apart from that, I took responsibility of delivering a series of internal examinations (namely Pre-Board exams) for the equivalent of GCSE exams in order to judge progress in the final year. All these activities contributed to my view that positive assessment and recognition enhance students willingness to learn and encourage their academic progress during the year.
Dealing with difficult students is also another skill that I mastered as I had handled learners involved in unacceptable behavior. I learned that ignoring misbehavior does not help to deal with it. Besides, I realized that differentiating regular students from hardened ones is crucial in administering discipline. Finally, I understood that following the classroom management plan as it is written is the best solution, together with good relationships with every student in the class. I try to do my best so that difficult students in my classroom admire me. Therefore, we can reach an optimal environment to inspire their good behavior.
In addition to my role as a teacher, I see extracurricular activities as important and integrate part of school life. In particular, I organized such interschool events as football tournaments, science quizzes and science-related debates in India. It is my belief that extracurricular events help to build the class and contribute to the team spirit among the children. Besides, I involved the students in the school trips to the science museum to enhance their knowledge and widen their horizons.
Unfortunately, I had to intermit from the second placement school course on health grounds. When my personal problems were solved completely, I recommenced the course in September 2009 and completed it in March 2010. Since April 2010, I have stayed at home and gave birth to a baby. During the time out of schools, I kept up to date with current educational issues, regularly visiting the TES website, watching Teachers TV, etc. I also volunteered to parent-teacher association at my daughters primary school and the local parish council. Besides, I have taken up a course in Leadership and Management, which I believe would be an advantage in teaching profession. I have also been involved in supply science teacher job in various schools since January 2013.
Now, I am well-conditioned and willing to work with full dedication. I feel that my background of working as a teacher in various places would help me to become a part of your school. Apart from being a trained teacher in different scientific fields, I am a passionate and enthusiastic person whose love for education is inborn. There is a saying that, Knowledge without practice is worthless, and I truly felt rewarded for making the difference in students lives and above all, in my life. I have good verbal communication and team working skills, which I have particularly demonstrated throughout my previous work experience. Moreover, I have knowledge of other languages such as Hindi and Urdu, which would be an extra advantage in work with pupils for whom English is a second language. In light of my skills and abilities, I believe I have the necessary credentials to make a meaningful contribution as a teacher at your school.
