Example Teaching Personal Statement
I have had a successful and varied professional and academic career, through which I have gained a wide variety of technical and inter-personal skills. However, I have always wanted to work in a role in which my primary responsibility is encouraging others – above all young people – to fulfil their potential, at the same time as imparting my knowledge of mathematics and physics, two subjects that have been an important part of my life for several years now.
I recently graduated from a B.Eng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Greenwich. I greatly enjoyed the demands of undergraduate study, and I am equally enthusiastic about returning to university to gain a similarly in-depth knowledge of teaching theory and practice.
Although not linked to the education sector, I feel that the professional experience that I have gained over the last decade has helped me to learn skills that will be very useful in a classroom. For example, in my current role of Highways Materials Technician, I am required to ensure that quality targets and standards are met, and also effectively communicate complex information to colleagues. Teamwork is also an essential part of my current work, which I feel is an essential element of working as part of a teaching team.
Having used mathematics and physics in my previous work and studies, I am very comfortable discussing these subjects and explaining them to others. Leaving aside the question of teaching for a moment, what I find so satisfying about these subject are their applications in the real world; if understood properly, they can demystify so much in our daily lives. The challenge of teaching these subjects, in my opinion, is guiding students to be able to relate them to theireveryday experiences.
I think that one of my most positive attributes is that I am able to empathise with young people and understand their outlook on the world, a skill that I believe is essential for teachers to have. Just as importantly, the challenge of making a positive impact on children’s lives through teaching them academic skills that will open future doors to them greatly motivates me. In recent months I have been reading up on teaching techniques and educational theories to learn more about the teaching profession and to prepare myself for my upcoming classroom work experience placement. In February I will be undertaking a two-week placement at Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School. I am enthused by the prospect of observing the learning strategies deployed by established teachers in areas such as classroom management, lesson planning and assessment. I am also looking forward to interacting with the children and conveying my enthusiasm for mathematics and physics. I hope that I will be able to follow up this placement with others prior to beginning teacher training.
Aside from the knowledge and passion that I have for my subjects, I believe that the skills and experience that I have acquired to date would allow me to play an important role outside of the classroom. With project management and administrative experience, I feel that I am equipped to handle the managerial demands of school life. At the same time, I also have excellent IT skills, gained through both a City and Guilds qualification and through working with computers in my previous jobs. I firmly believe that computing skills are essential for children growing up today, and I would be eager to contribute to this area at any school in which I worked.
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