Urban Teacher Personal Statement

I spent most of my time at underprivileged schools. Being from a school district where every student received the same education without considering the student’s race, gender, and/or ethnicity. The one experience that has stood out to me was when I was helping a fifth grade student with his math homework. This student was really struggling with multiplication. I recalled working on more advanced math when I was in the fifth grade. This opened my eyes to see that these children were more than likely not receiving the same education I received when I was their age. After spending all afternoon with this student, he thanked me for taking the time to help him, saying that no one, not even his parents have ever invested that much time into his education. This was one more thing I did not experience; I had two parents who were constantly helping me with homework even to this

I currently teach 90 sixth grade students. By communicating with them on a daily basis, I have developed a positive student/teacher relationship with them on a personal level. My students shared their background information as to who they are in an autobiography assignment that was given the first week of school. I learned additional information through communication with their fifth grade teachers and their parents. After reading the book, Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, I could see parallels between my own childhood and Jeanette’s. I too grew up in a lower income family, as did my parents before me. Ruby Payne points out throughout her book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, that “the cycle of poverty often repeats itself” (2005), however my parents

In a community of low-income families and few successful people it can be challenging to look forward to a bright future. With students being set up for mediocre careers and few expectations it may not be easy to imagine yourself as a doctor, lawyer, or entrepreneur. My community may not have the necessary funding to provide out of state field trips or new uniforms for school teams, but if I am optimistic enough to see the glass half full the possibilities are endless. With free education at my finger tips, I have the necessary means to do well in school, participate in clubs, and give back to my community. On the other hand, as the oldest of three girls I have learned countless lessons from my family due to comprehending and living with distinguishing

For the first informational interview, I interviewed a credentialed teacher, who is part of a program called Urban Teachers. I selected her because I wanted to know other ways or path to become a teacher. Additionally, I always dream of becoming a teacher, but I am hesitant on whether I have the skills to teach students. Lastly, my interest assessment showed that one of the possible careers that are suitable for me is teacher. Therefore, I decided to interview a teacher, who was referred by my mother. The interview was done through Skype because she is currently working at Washington D.C since the program Urban Teachers is from John Hopkins University. The question that I asked were: what was her hesitation in becoming a teacher, what is her

As a young child, I learned that education would be beneficial to not only myself but also all humankind. Growing up in a Northeast Florida housing project my father and mother did the best they could to raise nine children. My father worked seven days a week in the service industry as a waiter and bartender while my mother worked as a domestic employee in the homes of more affluent people in the south. My father had an eleventh grade education and my mother had not passed the tenth grade before she bore her first child. Neither parent completed high school but they had dreams of their children far exceeding their educational accomplishments. I was child eight of the nine and I knew early on that I did not want to live

I believe that with motivation and guidance, children of all backgrounds can harbor success in the educational world and receive the skills they need to have a successful and prosperous life. It is a teacher’s duty to encourage lifelong learning, consider individual learning styles and aptitudes, and self-reflect on how to improve. My experiences as an engineer, a person of color, a pre-service teacher, and a STEM advocate have culminated together to form my educational values and philosophy.

The stereotypes of people living in poverty in America are so deeply imbedded in our society. We as educators may need to examine our beliefs and open our mind to new interpretations of the behavior of those struggling without basic needs. Doing so, however, is the first step to improving our success and effectiveness with educating students in poverty and helping end the cycle of suffering. Educator’s attitudes and beliefs shape you tone of voice, your body posture, your facial expressions and your actions towards students. Working daily with students who are classified as living in poverty. I believe it is our duty as educators to work with student’s effect by generational poverty. One thing I do not see a lot of is help

I am interested in becoming a teaching assistant in the UTEP sociology and anthropology department partly due to my interest in, the undergraduate students I would be teaching, and my ability to connect to them. A TA can fill a vital role in reaching students who lack the social and culture capital to interact confidently with professors. I have the background, skill and experience to fill this role. As an undergraduate student in this department, I was an unofficial mentor to students who was new to the Women and Gender Studies department, as well as to a student who was new to the Sociology and Anthropology department. As someone who had initially lacked the social and cultural capital to effectively communicate with my advisor, I understood their need to connect with someone who would be able to offer them advice, and help them learn how to communicate with their professors/advisors.

I have a personal connection with the children in these areas because I am too come from a low income, impoverished, rural area. I understand the hardships that many kids will face because of the lack of educational resources and quality teachers. I believe that many of the obstacles can be abstained if each student is able to be impacted by a teacher who is resilient and passionate as I was impacted by Ms. Gloria Brantley. As a child growing up in rural Georgia I had no aspirations in furthering my education. I did not dream of being a doctor, teacher or lawyer because I did not have the encouragement from my family or other teachers. It was not until I met my sixth grade English teacher Ms. Brantley that I started to believe that I could actually do something with myself and that I did not have settle for the life that I was accustomed to. She saw the determination

Living thru my struggles as a single parent, my experience in developing and implementing urban programs, as well as my drive and determination, can add value to the learning environment of the Perkin’s academic community. In addition, I am confident that the M.A.M Urban Ministry studies will augment my capacity to fulfill God’s plan for me and my purpose as a change agent in our ever-changing urban communities.

I know understand how privileged I am to have a good community that supports my academic endeavors and gives me the opportunity to meet my maximum potential. Helping students who do not meet the national literacy standards is a way to give them the chance to excel in life. This opportunity, something I didn’t value at first, showed me how small acts of kindness can transform the lives of others. My time at Birch Grove not only made those struggling students go home with better communication skills, but it also gave me a lot of satisfaction and made me proud of what I was doing. I felt as though I was changing the world one child at a time and volunteering at elementary schools is now one of my strongest passions.

Having experience working with low-income communities, I understand a lot of the hardships that the children face. Being connected with the communities makes it a second of home for me as well. Whatever the students go through, I go through it with them. Working for Richmond Public Schools and along with Communities in Schools has given me a glimpse about why students behave and do academically the way they do. Sometimes it stems from home or the thing that happen within their neighborhoods. A lot of the time it stems from the deficit of hope. One thing I have tried to do for children within low-income communities is build that sense of hope for them. Whether it be bringing in their favorite musical artist at their 8th Grade Moving On Ceremony,

I write in pursuit of becoming a teaching assistant for EG-1003 beginning this fall. I seek this position wishing to further develop my skills in communication and collaboration. Furthermore, I would admire watching student creativity in action when they work in the labs and interacting with others when helping them solve problems. I believe my previous experience and personality enable me to be an effective teaching assistant.

Over the years I have served as an educator, mentor and art instructor in the urban community both part time for about five years and fulltime for the past two and a half years both locally and abroad. From teaching art at my local community art center in downtown Atlanta to traveling to inner city Hyderabad, India to teach impoverished youth, I have always found a way to remain an active in urban education. Giving back is a 360 practice, I am educator of color because I remember what it was like to be an inner city youth of color. My passion lies within urban communities because I was once an inquisitive student greatly impacted by educators and professionals and if such experiences made me the person I am today I can only hope that I can

Teaching children of poverty can be very challenging. These children are more likely than their peers to experience poor nutrition, parents with low educational attainment and underemployment, broken families, child abuse and neglect, drug abuse, teen-age pregnancies and high rates of dropping out (Holt & Garcia, 2016). It has been my experience that these students are a little rough around the edges which may cause an educator the inability to see beyond the exterior of the child thus treating them more harshly than their peers. Being employed in a Title 1 school, I have had the pleasure of working with students and families whose major source of income is welfare. They often came from a single-parent household and arrived at school improperly dressed and usually hungry. I found that meeting the child’s basic needs helped them focus on school and took some of the stress off of their parents as they knew their child was in a safe, caring place. One thing that was vital in our classroom was firmness and consistency. Unfortunately, many teachers and schools do not possess the knowledge and experience required for success in these more challenging schools. Impoverished students often do not care about their education nor did their parents seem to care how their children perform in school (Holt & Garcia, 2016). I feel this can be attributed to distraction from just trying to survive. In order to have greater success in the classroom of impoverished students, teachers need to