My name is Amanda Andrus, and I am interested in a teaching position at your school. I am a Language Arts and Elementary Education Major from Calvin College with a K-8 Michigan Teaching Certification. I believe that my qualifications and experiences with children would definitely be an asset to your school.
I have learned to be a professional in the school through dressing in appropriate attire, being singularly in charge of students and their behavior, and teaching a variety of curricular lessons and activities.
I have learned to be an effective teacher through the use of management skills, stimulus variation, and lesson research. I have developed my own management plan in which the main goal is for all students to show respect for their classmates and teacher, and where I show them respect by challenging the students to be responsible for their own actions.
I have used stimulus variation by designing bulletin boards and creating visual aids for the classroom itself. I have also tried to use stimulus variation in my lessons by using technology such as PowerPoint and projector, overhead projector, video camera, digital camera, record player, CD player, and TV/VCR, as well as visual aids to help with student visualization of the material and a variety of other resources.
Research has helped me in teaching lessons. I have enjoyed becoming better acquainted with the lesson material through research. It helps to prepare for student questions and to give opportunity for stronger answers and knowledge for students. I think this helps with my own knowledge of the material as well as student knowledge by reaching beyond the text. Students can also see demonstrated the use of resources other than the text which may, in turn, encourage them to do projects beyond that which is presented in class. Not that this will happen for all students, but it is a bridge to further knowledge and research.
Finally, I would like to work at your school as I plan to teach and love children to the best of my ability. This way their full growth and potential may come out, and they may use their gifts to serve in the community and life.
Sincerely,
