Teaching Philosophy Statement

The day after I was accepted to NC State, one of my teachers asked our class to write down two things: our dream job, and our realistic plan for a career. I wrote down one answer, because I can honestly say that my dream job and my plan for an actual career are the same thing. I’m aware that everyone changes their mind many times about what they want to do in life, and I’m no exception- I’ve changed my mind plenty of times over the years. However, I’ve finally found a career that I’m truly passionate about, and I plan to hold on to it. I aspire to become a high school science teacher. Eventually, I think that I would like to become a college professor, but I want to experience college firsthand before I make that decision. I want to become

I would say I have had plenty of experiences, in many aspects of education, to know that teaching is my passion. I am involved in multiple tutoring programs, including NCVPS Upswing, in which I tutor online students across the state in a variety of subjects via video chatting. I also participate in Students of Promise, a program in which I tutor and mentor kids in the afterschool care program. Most of these kids have bad home lives and struggle in their classes; it feels good knowing that I am making a positive impact in the lives of kids who might not have anybody else there for them. I am using one of my class periods this year to work as a teacher assistant for high school biology. I chose this class not only because I want to be a science educator, but also because I know a lot of kids struggle in this class due to the teacher and the difficult material. I have taken advanced classes up to the level of Calculus II at my local community college, and I was recommended to work as a peer tutor in the college’s tutoring center; although it sometimes feels strange to tutor people that are older than me, I love helping others learn the material and succeed in their classes. In addition to helping kids learn inside the classroom, I also educate outside of the classroom. I volunteered as a teacher assistant at the Greensboro Science Center over the summer. I loved helping kids learn

As a student from a poor rural county, I have definitely experienced my fair share of bad teachers. My physics teacher is a genius, but he is not good at teaching and often gets impatient. I made my first zero ever (along with many other unsightly grades), which was frustrating because in all of my prior classes, learning had come so easily to me, but in this class I felt incompetent. I spent many hours studying and practicing problems until I finally understood the material. I then tutored my peers (who were also failing) so that we could all understand it. I realized that some students feel like this every day, in every class. I’ve sat next to students who hate school and make terrible grades, not because they aren’t smart enough, but because they have never had a person in their life that taught them to love learning. Students shouldn’t have to feel stupid in a class because the teacher does not explain material well, nor should they be afraid to ask questions for fear of the teacher getting frustrated at them. Everyone should be excited to learn, not anxious for fear of failing. I hope to carry these values with me in my career as a teacher so that others may become passionate about education as