First Application Essay

So I guess that link didn’t work. This is the second option, and again, I would appreciate it from the bottom of my heart if you’d read this. The prompt is: Explain your commitment to the teaching profession. Part of your response should address why you want to be a teacher. The other part of your response should address any related experiences you have had that exemplify your desire to teach.

This is my very first draft, so I know there’s a lot that needs to happen. Sentence structure, flow, etc. Let me know what you think if you possibly could. I hope you read the story I posted just before this. So beautiful and inspiring!

I’ve always known that I wanted to be a teacher. Well, that’s not true. I went through my lawyer phase, my paleontologist/ archeologist phase, my graphic designer phase, my author/ editor phase, my Olympian phase, and of course my world- traveling professional gourmet food-tester phase. But as I think back, I realize that being a teacher is the only thing I ever really wanted to do. I remember playing School for hours and hours in my basement with my sisters and other friends, and even on my own with an imaginary class that would pay close attention and do everything I told them to. And now that I’m older, I can see that I’ve been happiest teaching others, and there is nothing I’d rather do.

I want to be a teacher because of the great influence each of mine had on me. The opportunity to pass on the wealth of knowledge and the gifts I’ve been given is one that I wouldn’t ever want to miss, and even one I feel I must take because of all I’ve been taught. I understand that it is in the early years of life that a child develops a sense of identity and perception of life, and I want to help them discover their own potential. My commitment to teaching is a commitment to unlock things rather than create them.

I’m also majoring in music, and that is because of the phenomenal music teachers I’ve had in my life, who helped me unlock the music within me, taught me everything I know about it, and gave me the tools to share these gifts. I’ve had the opportunity to pass them on with my piano students and children’s choirs I’ve helped with. I have a pedagogy emphasis because I have no desire to be a concert performer; I want to teach! The more children I’ve worked with, the more I realize that this is where I love the music the most, and this is where I’m the happiest. It’s so satisfying for me to see the progress each of them can make, and their own satisfaction when they master certain skills or pieces.

Mother Teresa said, “I’m just a little pencil in the hands of a God who is writing a love letter to the world.” I know that teaching is very closely connected to love, and is in many ways simply loving and guiding someone. I am committed to sharing this love that a child may not get anywhere else, and that is why I want to be a teacher.