Teach for America Letter of Intent - Essay Example

Dear Teach for America, I am a dedicated, highly motivated, diligent person who consistently strives for the best outcomes in life, work, and school. This is one of the many reasons I have decided to apply to the Teach for America program. I fervently believe that all individuals should have successful educational experiences, and I want to participate in a program that shares that belief. As a corps member, I would make the classroom a place for growing and learning, filled with respect, comfort, and understanding.

This will ensure that each student is provided with the best learning environment they could possibly have. I will understand that students work in different modes and levels, learn at different paces, have different interests, come from different backgrounds, and possess different abilities. But that is not enough. I will stress group work with individual attention. I believe that it is important to work together, learn about your peers, and learn from your peers. As a young student I remember how important it was for me to receive individual attention.

Having a teacher crouch down to help you and treat you with respect can make all the difference. Throughout my own volunteer activities, I strive to follow this example. Volunteering at a local soup kitchen, I often spend time talking to children, asking them about their lives, trying to make them feel special. No student should ever feel like a number. Determining success as a member of the corps will not always be easy, but I will largely base it on the success of the students I teach. Leaving any child feeling uneasy, uncomfortable, ashamed, or left behind in my classroom is unacceptable.

Children spend a great deal of time in the classroom, and so it should feel like a second home to them. After all, it is where they will learn many important lessons, socially and academically. I want them to be successful in their lives, and it is a teacher's duty to seek to develop caring, open, diverse, and knowledge-thirsty individuals. Success is more than just good grades, it means being comfortable to speak and learn in the classroom. My classroom will be decorated with students' artwork and will resound with their laughter.

They should feel like they are in their second home. No child should ever feel inadequate, inept, or forsaken, and every child has an important contribution to make in the classroom. They deserve positive recognition for their contributions, no matter how big or small. In my classroom, I’ll strive to ensure that all students feel accepted and comfortable. I will praise, acknowledge, and discuss differences within my class. In my studies I have always focused on diversity, the joys and complexities it brings.

My thesis, for example, was about African-American literature. In my classroom I will stress and enforce the importance of acceptance and inclusion to all of my students. I will expect that these students will then, in turn, demonstrate these actions to their peers. I would make a great addition to your program, and I promise to give it my all.       I believe my teachers and my parents had an equal hand in forming the values I have today. I had many great teachers who also challenged me and taught me to look beyond that that which was served to me in a lecture or in a book.

They taught me to think outside of the box and to build my own thoughts and ideals. That is the kind of teacher I want to be, and this is why I want to be a member of the corps. Thank you for your consideration, Chadwick Thomas Seiter