Personal Statement of Ashleigh Shinnie

As a graduating teacher of 2013 my main aspiration for my future career is simple, to become a teacher who inspires their students to learn. As a student myself I have always loved learning, whether at a primary, high school or tertiary level and I am eager to pass this love onto my future students through my passion and dedication for this profession. For this reason, lifelong learning is my ultimate teaching philosophy and something I will endeavour to pursue throughout the duration of my career. I am well aware that the young people I will be educating are the future generation of adults in our country and as a result I hope to contribute to producing healthy and informed citizens who are passionate and successful lifelong learners. In order to achieve this, I aspire to engage my students in all key learning areas of the national curriculum as well as embed cross curriculum priorities and general capabilities in a variation of interesting learning experiences. I will commit myself to ongoing professional renewal to ensure I am constantly reflecting and building upon the content of the curriculum. As a teacher, I particularly enjoy teaching mathematics and science and love implementing a hands-on approach to activities in these subjects. However, I value time spent in every key learning area and pride myself on creating flexible and engaging lessons that cater for every learning style. I am a strong believer that every child is capable of learning and extending their current knowledge. In order to make this a reality in the lives of my students, I intend to discover each individuals interests and quirks to provide them with meaningful learning experiences so they can reach their full potential. In the realm of professional ethics, my endeavour is to conduct myself in a manner that reflects and demonstrates the Catholic Ethos. In light of the Catholic faith, I will strive to embed the ecclesial identity and the beliefs, values and teachings of Jesus Christ at the heart of everything I do. In particular, where relationships are concerned I will maintain the philosophy love one another as I have loved you to teach my students the characteristics of empathy and compassion. However, whilst maintaining my Catholic values I will embrace, explore and respect the diversity of faiths and cultures apparent in my classroom to ensure all students are able to foster pride towards their unique ways of life. In order to be successful in teaching the value and enjoyment of learning to my students, it is vital to have the support and involvement of families and the community. I will achieve this by establishing and maintaining deep, constructive and collaborative relationships with all parents, colleagues and members of the wider community. I believe that these relationships are essential to a supportive and positive environment in which the key focus of learning and teaching is embraced and understood by all. In conclusion my ambitions as a future teacher are simple, to teach proficiently and learn alongside my students. I aspire to be known as the teacher that has created, driven and helped students to not only achieve worthy results, but to assist in their overall development. My enthusiasm and commitment towards this profession will allow me to achieve this and be successful in not only teaching my students but also in learning from them.