My Personal Essay to the EPIK program
All my life I have lived in the same town with the same people; under the same roof with the same family. I have grown to understand my current environment as my “comfort zone.” Although I value everything that my family has given me, I believe it is time to step out of that comfort zone and broaden my horizons. I’ve always enjoyed making connections with new people and I believe that my drive to enlighten and educate is contagious. Being a Social Studies major has given me the opportunity to become a well rounded individual that can incorporate all disciplines into one subject matter. I would like to join the EPIK team for a variety of reasons both personal and professional. Personal reasons include the experience that comes with a chance to teach in another country; I wish to experience the culture, eat the cuisine, sightsee and familiarize myself with the geography of the country. Professionally, EPIK would provide me with additional tools to add to my teaching repertoire by conversing and understanding principles by which foreign teachers utilize. Furthermore, the dedication that I would show with EPIK would enhance my growing resume for future ventures either through the EPIK program or in another district.
I consider education to be a collaboration of life experience that occurs inside and outside of the classroom. My teaching philosophy can be considered to be humanistic. A humanistic teaching approach values each student as an individual and promotes the idea that all students are able to succeed. As a future educator, my core values are the backbone of how I pursue my lessons. I expect that every student engages to their utmost potential and respect all other students and educators around them. The core values of any teacher should include but not be limited to the following: a feeling of physical and emotional safety for students and colleagues alike, the teachings of different perspectives, the importance of working together and to critically evaluate problems and questions proposed in the classroom. The success of my students can be measured in a variety of ways. Formal assessments such as tests and quizzes are quantitative and can measure what a student knows while qualitative assessments such as presentations, essays and personal reflection can measure how well a student understands. As a Social Studies educator, I tend to focus on the understanding of a topic rather than the “knowing” of facts, figures and dates. If a student is able to understand a topic, they are able to critically evaluate the essence of that topic and answer the “why” and “how” questions rather than just the “Who, what, where, and when.” Furthermore, I feel that students need to be made aware of the world that surrounds them and to encourage society to advance as a whole. For this to happen, proper scaffolding needs to be given to the students to be built on prior knowledge.
As for encountering cultural differences, I believe I am the type of person that can easily mold to different environments. My father was originally born in Indonesia and has lived in New Guinea and the Netherlands as well. His experiences have been passed down through life stories and have given me an idea of how different cultures are. I have left the country only three times in my life, twice to visit family in the Netherlands and once for vacation in Mexico, I tend to ask many questions prior to leaving to make sure I do not offend the locals of the community that I encounter. I have great respect for people in general and like to learn from them. I consider myself to be a happy individual overall and preserve the idea that a smile can go a long way. Although it sounds cliché, everyone smiles in the same language and if I seem receptive towards different cultures, I believe that I can learn how to act in a different society. Clearly, if accepted into EPIK, I would research the ways to act appropriately in South Korea however reading books and searching on the internet can only go so far. To grasp the essence of the culture, I will have to learn and experience it myself first hand.
My aspirations as a teacher extend far greater than inside the classroom. I am dedicated enough to put in the extra time and preparation needed for my students to succeed. I want to be the teacher that students and colleagues for that matter come to, in times of need. The bottom line of education is to enlighten those who are willing to accept and trust the teachers that they are brought to. It takes a certain type of person to become a teacher who is student centered and charismatic enough to keep up with the reality we live in today. I believe I can fulfill these requirements and I look forward to excel in any classroom and overcome any obstacle.
P.S. Although I am limited to two pages on my ideas as an educator, I am able to elaborate on any of these ideas if desired.
I consider education to be a collaboration of life experience that occurs inside and outside of the classroom. My teaching philosophy can be considered to be humanistic. A humanistic teaching approach values each student as an individual and promotes the idea that all students are able to succeed. As a future educator, my core values are the backbone of how I pursue my lessons. I expect that every student engages to their utmost potential and respect all other students and educators around them. The core values of any teacher should include but not be limited to the following: a feeling of physical and emotional safety for students and colleagues alike, the teachings of different perspectives, the importance of working together and to critically evaluate problems and questions proposed in the classroom. The success of my students can be measured in a variety of ways. Formal assessments such as tests and quizzes are quantitative and can measure what a student knows while qualitative assessments such as presentations, essays and personal reflection can measure how well a student understands. As a Social Studies educator, I tend to focus on the understanding of a topic rather than the “knowing” of facts, figures and dates. If a student is able to understand a topic, they are able to critically evaluate the essence of that topic and answer the “why” and “how” questions rather than just the “Who, what, where, and when.” Furthermore, I feel that students need to be made aware of the world that surrounds them and to encourage society to advance as a whole. For this to happen, proper scaffolding needs to be given to the students to be built on prior knowledge.
As for encountering cultural differences, I believe I am the type of person that can easily mold to different environments. My father was originally born in Indonesia and has lived in New Guinea and the Netherlands as well. His experiences have been passed down through life stories and have given me an idea of how different cultures are. I have left the country only three times in my life, twice to visit family in the Netherlands and once for vacation in Mexico, I tend to ask many questions prior to leaving to make sure I do not offend the locals of the community that I encounter. I have great respect for people in general and like to learn from them. I consider myself to be a happy individual overall and preserve the idea that a smile can go a long way. Although it sounds cliché, everyone smiles in the same language and if I seem receptive towards different cultures, I believe that I can learn how to act in a different society. Clearly, if accepted into EPIK, I would research the ways to act appropriately in South Korea however reading books and searching on the internet can only go so far. To grasp the essence of the culture, I will have to learn and experience it myself first hand.
My aspirations as a teacher extend far greater than inside the classroom. I am dedicated enough to put in the extra time and preparation needed for my students to succeed. I want to be the teacher that students and colleagues for that matter come to, in times of need. The bottom line of education is to enlighten those who are willing to accept and trust the teachers that they are brought to. It takes a certain type of person to become a teacher who is student centered and charismatic enough to keep up with the reality we live in today. I believe I can fulfill these requirements and I look forward to excel in any classroom and overcome any obstacle.
P.S. Although I am limited to two pages on my ideas as an educator, I am able to elaborate on any of these ideas if desired.