Application

The first few month of college were like visiting the biggest candy store in the world and being told that I could walk out with as much candy as I could carry. I took everything in: biology, history, and Spanish. In a few months I was sitting in a stiff chair across from my advisor. I forgot about my annotated edition of the Origin of Species and my sketchbooks. Instead, I remembered the candy-eyed students I worked with at my internship. There are a few things I learned in my internships that I can offer the program.
My first internship was in High School at the special needs preschool. It was imperative to create a safe environment, because the students were physically mature. One day someone ripped the dresser drawer off it’s hinges. Everyday I learned something new to scaffold students: count, sort plastic fruit, or motor skills. After reviewing our records of student’s improvements we would alter lesson plans to better cater to the needs of the classroom. My job was not just about playing with play dough, and that is what I loved about it.
During my Senior year of High School I internship at another preschool. One day I looked out the window and realized that I was completely happy. My knees were in my chest because the chair I was sitting in was for someone half my size. Yet, this was happiness. In that moment I realized that in a classroom happiness could be shared as easily as colored pencils; from student to teacher. Instead of sharing reds and blues we were sharing ideas about numbers, letters, and morals like kindness and respect. It was there that I developed my philosophy of teaching; I believe that teaching and learning are inseparably joined because they are the ability to share knowledge in a joint effort to discover.
Currently, I volunteer with the TOPS program. Once a week I work with kindergarteners at the writing table. I have a student ask me how to spell words like calligraphy or ask me how trees help us breath. The students are undeniably real, really interested, really energetic, really soaking up everything. This time I can draw off ideas from Pigate and the DAP texts. I am no longer afraid to use other resources: teachers, mentors, and even my old textbooks. I realize that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
The opportunity to work in Washington D.C. for a summer would be more than memorable; it would be influential. I want to help with the program, and work with the students. While I was thinking about applying I realized that most of what I know about the world is from images trapped in pictures and magazines. This is not enough to prepare me to be the best teacher that I can be; I need experience and examples. I believe that this program would provided both, and I would be overjoyed if I was accepted into the program.