Sample+personal+statements

As promised, here's a copy of two Personal Statements that were written last semester. The purposes of the Personalal Statement are to:
 * Enable you to introduce yourself to your cooperating teacher.
 * Give you chance for you to thank the teacher in advance for helping you move along your career path in manner that can only occur in a real classroom with real children.
 * Allow you to create a document that you can use as "evidence" of meeting several program goals for TK20 portfolio you are required to complete before student teaching.
 * Get you ahead of the game for your student teaching application.

Also, you will be asked to submit a personal statement and resume when you apply for student teaching. Economy is health. If you create a Personal Statement now, you'll be ahead of the game for student teaching. You may chose to do this task in the form of a business letter. That's up to you, of course.

PS1 and PS2 were both written by real teacher education candidates here at Capital. I've removed identifying information. I know it helps me to see examples, and I'm guessing that these samples my help you too.

There are ever so many right ways to do this. Enjoy!

As a future educator of young children, my primary goals are to learn effective methods of teaching all students and to become an expert teacher. I realize that becoming a skilled teacher will not happen overnight. It takes a lot of dedication and experience in order to take on the role of a professional educator. I am dedicated to teaching for the learning of all children and am grateful to be able to gain more experience from your mentorship in the classroom. **Educational Background: **My educational career started ….. I graduated from …… and attended ……. University as an elementary education major. In the fall of 2007, I enrolled at Capital University. The courses I have taken at Capital University have given me the most practical experiences so far in preparation to obtain my teaching license. **Work Experiences and Previous Field-based Experiences: **During the summers of 2002-03 I took the opportunity to work in a youth camp that focused on vocational programs. My role was ……… I’ve had several previous field experiences to include extensive observation in a public preschool, turoring children who are in custody of the Junivile Detention Center. The experience left me with many positive ideas to use in my own classroom and the type of environment I would like to surround my students in. At the beginning of this year I helped out in Etna Road Elementary school located in Whitehall, Ohio. I worked in some kindergarten and first grade classrooms with reading and math. I was also fortunate to be able to observe a reading test in a special needs classroom during this field experience. **Recreational Hobbies and Interests/Community Service: **I have a strong desire to travel the world. I enjoy learning about different places around the world and how people live. Music and dance are important parts of my life, and I used to teach dance when I was in high school. Family is extremely important to me, so I spend most of my leisure time enjoying the outdoors with them as much as possible. I had an eye-opening encounter when volunteering for a homeless shelter in downtown Columbus. I never realized how many children were without a home until I served food to them in the shelter. **Reading Interests: **The book __Growing Minds on Becoming a Teacher__, by Herbert Kohl, has been very influential while building my teaching repertoire. Kohl talks about his real-life experiences with teaching, his struggles and accomplishments, which has helped me as a beginning teacher to realize that I will make mistakes. His writing is reassuring and inspirational, and I would highly recommend the book to both beginning and experienced teachers. **Influences to Teach:** Throughout my life there have been many people who have influenced who I have become today. My parents taught me the importance of values, morals, and caring and respecting others. I have always had a fascination with the way children learn. Whenever we have family functions I talk and play with the children instead of having conversation with adults. There have been moments when some professors have discouraged me from the teaching profession, but I was determined to follow my calling because I know the path I have chosen is self-rewarding. The goals I have set for myself are going to take time and experience to achieve. With the help of your classroom and your knowledge, I will be able to move closer and closer to achieving my goals. I am thrilled to be able to work with your students and learn all about them and how they learn best. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I know it will be the most rewarding experience I have gained so far. Growing up in a mostly rural environment, my family and I were not faced with many challenges. My parents worked extremely hard to provide my sister and me with the majority of the things we needed or wanted. We were a middle class, generally happy, caring and very close family. I was raised by both of my parents, in the same house, which was different than a lot of my peers. I was very involved with sports and school activities, which created a path that my younger sister has followed. I could always count on my parents’ presence at all of my school events, soccer, volleyball and basketball games, and could always count on a “way to go” or “great job” from them on our way home. I was the first in my immediate family and the third in my extended family to graduate from college. This lifestyle that I was given was very different from my parent’s early life experiences. They were raised with more than 6 other siblings each in troubled households. Yet, they found the inner strength to work hard to provide a life for their family that was far better than what they had. At some point in their lives they were faced with a decision on which path they wanted to take. Both had the option to follow their friends and siblings on an easy and complacent life, or to take the road less traveled. They chose the latter, which is the root of why I want to be a teacher in an inner city school. My parents could have followed the easier route, and would have ended up with an ok life, but they didn’t. They chose to work multiple jobs, budget their money, study hard, set goals then reach them, and strive for a successful life. This is the attitude that I want to impress upon my students. At some point they will need to make the decision that my parents made. I want to encourage them to take the path that is challenging and sometimes hard, because the end result will be priceless. I feel that it is my job to instill in them the courage and drive to stray from the path that is common among their family and peers, and to find their path that will allow them to be successful and to be a positive factor throughout their society. My experiences in life and the parental leadership that I have been given have created a desire in my heart to be the voice, support and educator for our youth. I believe it is the education, taught through standards and through the positive influence I strive to be, that will guide my students on the path that will challenge them and strengthen them so that they will have the skills and dedication to succeed in every aspect of their lives.
 * Sample Personal Statement 1**
 * Sample Personal Statement 2**