Teaching Personal Statement example

Teaching Personal Statement example Teaching Personal Statement example: It was the direct experience of working with children in a school that proved to me that my true personal interest, and consequently my career ambitions, lie in primary teaching.  I have a genuine passion for working with and for children, which really became apparent to me in my work with the “Food for Life” charity, which focuses on the education of the poorest children in India.  I was able to spend time in a school in India, teaching English, where I felt the great satisfaction of knowing that I was able to help and influence children, both academically and personally.  Although my first degree in law presented the sort of academic and intellectual challenge that I was seeking, I know that law as a career would not offer me the human satisfaction that I should find in teaching.  My own experience as a pupil has been very influential on my view of the teacher’s role, and I should hope to be able to offer my own pupils the support, encouragement and guidance that I received myself.

In a PGCE course I would hope to turn my personal commitment into a disciplined and informed body of knowledge and skills.  I believe that I already have a deep respect for children, but I need to learn about the different needs of individual learners.  I realise that cultural and linguistic diversity have implications for working in a school, and that learning is always an active process.  Primary age children need very particular sorts of understanding, and the teacher must be aware of what makes for effective teaching.  I shall need to develop specialist skills and knowledge relevant to early age pupils, and discover the ways in which preparation, planning, assessment and recording contribute to my effectiveness as a teacher.  Classroom management will call for particular expertise, as will working with parents, and with my adult colleagues.  I look forward particularly to the practical part of the course, working in a school, observing, and gaining real classroom experience, understanding how teachers cope with new pupils and seeing how relationships develop.  The prospect is an exciting and challenging one.

I believe that my experience with “Food for Life” has already given me a good basis for understanding my planned career, and I now intend to spend a year working in a school before I begin the PGCE, exploring my own strengths and weaknesses, observing different teaching techniques, and seeing what the daily life of a teacher is like.  My earlier work experience has developed some of the skills I shall need.  I believe I am a good communicator, and my part-time work in a retail business has challenged my ability to deal with all sorts of customer queries, and to explain quite complex issues to people.  I also work as a guide at a local stately home, which has called for excellent communication and clear confidence of manner.  The law degree course includes the challenge of having to present an argument orally in the face of an opposing counsel, which is fine training in clear speech, quickfire thinking, and maintaining a cool head!  I believe that I have shown my ability to work with others, that I have good skills of organisation, and that I am industrious, and willing to learn, as well as being always ready to be proactive and take the initiative.  My good academic record speaks for itself, I believe, and shows clearly my ability to deal with an advanced course.

Outside the classroom my interests include reading fiction – a passion inspired in me by an excellent teacher.  I also enjoy cooking and travelling, and recently spent a month in the Himalayas.  I believe that teaching is a profession which involves the whole personality of the teacher, and that the rewards are not just for the pupils.  I am sure that the teacher’s role will help me to develop myself, both academically and personally.  The teacher has a privileged position, making an impact on a child’s life that will form that child, and stay with him or her through adulthood.  I have every confidence that I have the necessary qualities to become a very successful student and primary school teacher.