Teaching Personal Statement

A great primary school teacher is like a great artist who uses basic tools to transform raw materials into valuable assets of society. However, great artists may not have the best tools or best skills - they are recognized because of their passion and their unique perspective of the world. Great teachers are not just ones who transmit information, teach skills, and help students earn the best grades. They are those who share their passion for knowledge and curiosity with their students, inspire the students' creativity, develop their critical thinking ability, and prepare them for the complex world they will face after stepping out of campus. Teaching is part of the process in discovery and it also provides an opportunity to learn, where knowledge and critical thinking are shared by teachers with their students, and enthusiasm and creative ideas are shared by students with their teachers. Reflecting on my own experience as student, I am truly inspired by the good role-model of my mentors and hope to relay this process to the younger generation and to influence their lives through my teaching and advising.
My undergraduate major is in chemical education, which provides me the fundamental principles of the English and Spanish language to engage and guide my future teaching practice in elementary school levels. For classroom teaching, my goals are not only to give clear and insightful lectures, but also to motivate students' enthusiasm and encourage discussion and interaction in the lectures. This provides students the skills in communication, critical thinking and problem-solving, which are necessary training to pursue future professional careers. For mentoring student research, my goal is to guide them in research lab and motivate the students to give their best efforts. As students come in with different background and interests, I will provide them with the freedom to explore and to think about problems in new ways. In the mean time, I will also actively engage in their learning process and guide students' discoveries. The value of research advising is so rewarding because we continue generating new ideas during the discovery process and push forward the research.
Teaching Experience: I have gained valuable experience as a Prekindergarten and Elementary school teacher in an Early Childhood Development Center and as well as a Charter School where I was able to tutor children in my both native languages.