Tank Scott’s Neighborhood

Ok, so I am interviewed for the Teach Fellows and awaiting a decision. Now I am hurrying up to finish my Graduate School application. I had to write a completely new personal statement, as it was a different question from the NYCTF. Rutgers simply asked me to write about my plans for graduate study and my career. I have to send this statement out ASAP, so any advice quickly offered is greatly appreciated. I have not done a significant grammar check yet, so there may be quite a few errors. Let me know what you think.

            In the summer of 2003 I encountered the most challenging experience of my career to date. The museum I was employed at asked me to develop and implement a summer Theatre Camp to add to their programs. I was to be the resident Theatre expert, an area I had majored in, but had never experienced in a teaching role before. In addition, the only specifics I was given was that the museum board required a tour and history lesson about the museum, and there was to be a performance by the children at the end of the week-long program. With these vague goals in mind I set to work picking scenes, planning activities and lessons, hiring and training volunteer counselors, and making sure all camp logistics were in order. When it came to the week of camp, I saw my preparation pay off. The children worked hard memorizing scenes and making scenery while I saw their skills, vocabulary, and confidence grow each day. As I supervised an improvisation exercise I developed to teach the tour information, I was ecstatic to see the children interested in the information and learning from one another. At the end of the week, parents were in awe watching their children performing scenes from classical plays. Throughout this experience, I had the pleasure of building the children’s confidence, expanding their knowledge, and sparking their interest in history and historic theatre. I also felt envy toward the person who taught these children on a regular basis.

            I continued running the camp for the next two summers, each year trying to accomplish more in that week-long program. The summer of 2006, however, I was not able to be the camp director. I was then pursuing a career as a talent agent. By fall 2006 I had realized that agenting was not the career I desired. I saw myself faced with the question of what to do with my career. The summer camp kept coming to my mind as I contemplated my future. I missed the children; I missed teaching them and developing new ways convey the information so it was engaging for them. My envy of their regular educators came back to me, and I understood why I felt this way: I am meant to be a teacher.

            Now that I am committed to becoming a teacher, I see my way to a successful career quite clearly. I want to attend graduate school and obtain my Masters Degree and Initial Certification in elementary education. I have chosen Rutgers because your philosophy of children as active learners is in line with my own discoveries and ideas about teaching. I wish to enter a community where I can learn about new and varied methods in teaching. Ultimately, I plan on researching and developing ways to incorporate my background in the arts and BFA in Theatre into lessons, developing a teaching method that engages children, giving them new ways to think and learn. I feel that the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers will provide me with the community I desire, providing me with a place where I can grow and learn.

            While my motivation and desire to teach are in place, I see a few distinct steps I must take before I can tackle my new career effectively. Understanding that there are deficiencies in my transcript in regards to the liberal arts requirement for teaching in New Jersey, I will take an additional math class over the summer in order to meet the state requirements. With my undergraduate transcript up to par, I will be free to take the next step, and enter the Graduate Education program in the fall with full readiness to learn a multitude of teaching styles, and have the background to understand how they will apply to the material I will be teaching. The final step is to achieve my Masters and Certification with the knowledge I have researched and discovered many effective techniques, so that I can enter my new profession with confidence and inspiration.

            With my Master’s degree in hand, I will be able to enter my career with full force. I will become a teacher at a public elementary school that shares my philosophy of education, allowing me to put into practice the techniques learned and developed while in Graduate School. My students will be inspired to become responsible for their own learning, and I will create an atmosphere full of wonder and learning. I plan to continue to draw on and add to the talents of the community I entered at Graduate School, and never cease my quest to learn the newest and most effective teaching methods.

            Looking back on my most challenging moment to date has opened a path laden with even greater challenges. Excitedly, I am taking the first steps toward my new career with the confidence I will succeed in accomplishing my own education goals, and become equipped to support the children I will teach in the discovery of their own.

Thanks again guys, you all helped so much with my other statement, I am glad to have your help again.

Liz isn't back yet. I told her to call if her plans changed. She hasn't. This isn't like her. I wish she would answer her damn phone... or call me. It's late and I miss her.

Fuck. This sucks.

What are your top 5 movies/DVDs of 2006?

Of the movies I have seen...

1) Little Miss Sunshine

2) Talahega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

3) Stranger Then Fiction

4) Borat

5) An Inconveniant Truth

So here is the newest draft of my personal statement, please let me know what you think. I have tried to consider all of my advice, but if you think I fell short... let me know.

I have learned many things throughout my education, the most important being I am able to achieve anything I put my mind to.  My educators have encouraged me to pursue all subjects that interest me, given me the skills and determination to work through those which do not come naturally, and taught me to use my creativity and persistence to achieve in facets of life. Most importantly, they have given me the confidence to work my way through a career change so I can pass these same lessons on to the children who need them most.

            The career change I speak of is to become a teacher. I am pursuing this profession because I want to offer children a successful future. There is nothing more fulfilling than motivating children and watching them accomplish more than they thought possible. While Program Coordinator/Camp Director at the Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum, I would present children 8-12 years old with scenes from Shakespeare and several early American playwrights with the expectation they would understand, memorize, and perform the scenes 5 days later. Each child would look at me through scared and unsure eyes, but my unwavering confidence in them gave them what they needed to achieve. We worked through the scenes, and by the end of the week astonished parents who had just seen their children performing classic literature told me they never expected so much to be accomplished in a week. It was incredibly rewarding to have taught the children so much, and I envied the person who taught them on a regular basis. After exploring other career options, I consider my work with children to be the most rewarding and successful time of my life. I want to teach children not just the value of the arts, but all of the skills and lessons they need to become successful adults. I have the ability to motivate and teach children, and I want to see how far I can take it. I want to expand children’s minds, build their confidence, and show them paths they never thought possible.

            Out of many skills and abilities I possess that will make me a great educator, one stands out as being an essential tool to assure all my students will succeed academically:  I am able to develop new and creative ways to teach information so it is fully understood and applied. The clearest example of this is a lesson I taught at Theatre Camp. The curriculum required a tour of the museum and history lesson of Late 19^th – Early 20^th Century Taverns. Understanding the campers were more interested in theatre games and performing than history, I developed an improvisation as part of the lesson. The children were informed the tour information would be used in the next exercise, and then taken on a tour told through the eyes of the characters that lived in and worked at the tavern, as well as visited there. After the tour the children picked out of a hat one of the workers, guests, or townspeople described in the tour, and performed an improvisation where they used the rooms of the museum and the information from the tour to “re-enact” life at the tavern. It was exciting to see them remembering which characters would be in what rooms, and what they would be doing. Each child picked up different bits of information during the tour and the improvisation was a way for them to put everything together and understand it as a whole. I developed this game as a way for each camper to fully comprehend the period of history the museum focused on; It was successful because the history became fun for the children:  they wanted to learn the information because they were enjoying the lesson. My goal as a teacher is to apply this philosophy to my lessons. I want to use my background and education in Theatre to develop new ways for the information I am teaching to be fully absorbed and enjoyed by my students. Once children have an effective way to comprehend and apply information, doors are opened for them to accomplish anything.

            As a writing tutor at Pace University I came across many college students who did not fully understand and grasp fundamentals of writing and grammar. It was discouraging that so many students had “fallen through the cracks” of the education system and may never reach their full potential. I saw a need of skilled and motivated educators to teach essential skills to children early on, so they would be equipped with the tools to succeed later in life. Now that I am becoming a teacher, I want to help the children who need me most. By becoming a teacher in a high-need area I will have the opportunity to give knowledge and power to students who need it, and teach them that intelligence and success have nothing to do with were you are from and how much money you have. Throughout my life I have been motivated and taught by skilled and enthusiastic teachers, and as a result I see a world of opportunities ahead of me. Students in high-need schools do not always see life this way, but by giving them a good education I can open their minds and show them the paths life offers.

            It is very exciting to realize what you want to do with your life, and even more exciting know how to achieve it. I am determined to become a teacher for all of the reasons described above, as well as a feeling this is a path I am supposed to take. The New York Teaching Fellows program offers me a way to achieve my own goals while teaching students who need my creativity and motivation. Throughout my life I have been given a good education, and I look forward to the day I stand in front of a class and share it with them.

Show us pure emotion.
Submitted by Roxy. 

Here is a close to final draft of my personal statement...let me know what ya'll think...

When I entered the field of music I was doing it for myself. Now I realize that what I truly want to do is use music to help others.  When I was eighteen years old I made the decision to devote my mind, my education, my life, to music.  I wanted to pursue an academic field in which I thrived.  I felt comfortable with music, it inspired me, it motivated me. I could express myself and feel confident with my abilities and accomplishments. 

            As a child music was always a part of my life.  At home and at school I was exposed to an array of musical experiences and I learned music was the subject in which I could shine.  At ten, I took up the trombone and at twelve I began singing in my first choir.    In sixth grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia.  The diagnosis shattered my self-esteem.  I turned to music as a means of mending my academic uncertainties.  Spelling is not required while playing the trombone, and I liked it that way.  In the music classroom, my learning differences were a non-issue. 

During my first semester at Mount Holyoke I began volunteering at Berkshire Hills Music Academy, in a post secondary music program for the developmentally disabled.  Berkshire Hills Music Academy provided students a place where they could pursue their passion in an environment appropriate to their abilities.  A student with Downs Syndrome spent his days dancing, students with Williams Syndrom played in jazz bands and sang in the choir.  Students were given opportunities that would not have been afforded in most institutions.  I spent time with students, discussing their lives and their music while observing classes and daily routines.  I was inspired by their determination and love of music.  It brought them joy, expression and self-esteem.  I began to appreciate not only the impact music had in my own life but how  powerful it is in the lives of others. 

I enrolled in coursework in psychology and education and ultimately decided to minor in education so that I could pursue state licensure in music education and become a music educator.  I found myself drawn to educational techniques that involved the integration of movement, art and poetry with music.  I learned classroom management skills, how to create and run a lesson and techniques to uphold equity within the classroom in order to create a fair and inclusive classroom environment.  I particularly enjoyed learning how to use music with children and adolescents.  The more I worked with music, the more I understood the benefits it could bring to any classroom, especially a developmentally diverse classroom.   I was drawn to this aspect of music education and began planning to seek a teaching position where I could work with a variety of learning styles and levels.   The more I explored this, the more I realized that music therapy was what I was truly interested in pursuing. 

I graduated from Mount Holyoke and decided to take a year before entering  graduate school.  I wanted time to gain experience in the work world and explore my future plans.  I am currently working as a music teacher at a Montessori school in Amherst Massachusets .  When I took the position, I had never worked with young children before.  My experience was with adolescents and I wanted to learn more about elementary education.  I am learning, first hand, the joy children find in music, the abilities they discover and the effect that music can have on young children. These children find joy in singing with their peers.  Musical games allow them to explore their social environment while developing their ears and voices.  They feel accomplished after learning a new song on piano and invigorated after moving their bodies to various rhythms.  These children realize the emotional changes they experience after listening to Moussorski and are able to talk about their feelings relating to the music and their own experiences.  I love what I am doing with these children, and it only motivates me more to pursue music therapy.

 I would like to be able to work with a wide range of ages and abilities.  I am interested in all stages of development, from the young, through adolescents, adults and the elderly.  I would like to work in a variety of environments including community centers, retirement homes and prisons, I would like to use my knowledge and experience, go beyond the pedagogical benefits of music, and further explore the psychological.  I feel that by studying music therapy, I will expand my knowledge, expertise, and will afford myself the opportunity to work with a much larger population. 

 I am interested in the study of movement, poetry, yoga, and the ways in which these can be applied to music therapy.  I plan to observe and explore the diverse environments where music therapy is practiced.  I will also use this time to conduct research in music therapy, particularly the effects of music and music creation on self esteem. After obtaining my masters degree I will pursue a career with music therapy working in clinics, hospitals, women's shelters, and youth programs.  I want to see what other therapists used in their practices in order to better my own.  My long range goal is to open my own music therapy center.

  I envision this center being in my own home.  A large, older home with dedicated space for a music therapy center which includes offices for individual and family sessions, a community room with ample windows to provide an accepting and calming environment.  The community room will have group sessions; community choirs, children’s choirs, weekly walk-in "Jam sessions", drum circles, public performances, and a support group for women to  explore forms of expression.  The group will focus on building a woman’s self-esteem and confidence in her body, mind and life.  The center will also serve as a “safe space” for the community.  It will be a place where people seek counseling, socialize, and explore music within their comfort zone. 

I believe my experience with music, and my training in music education has provided me with a solid background for the successful completion of a master’s program in music therapy.  I have never taken a class in music therapy, nor have I any experience working with music therapists, but I am confident my commitment to music, as well as my interests in psychology and education will allow me to thrive in the field of music therapy. 

to add to the personal statement postings, I am adding my own. This is for the New York Teaching fellows program, and they want you to address all of these three questions...

So here is my response, I feel like there may be a few things to tweek, but I want your opinions before I expand on my own. I really appreciate the feedback I know you all will give...

My education has taught me many things, the most important being that I am able to achieve anything I put my mind to. This is a lesson I was fortunate enough to have been taught early and reinforced throughout my academic career. My educators have encouraged my me to pursue any and all subjects that interest me, given me the skill and determination to work through those subjects which do not come naturally, and taught me to use my creativity and persistence to reach many people in many facets. Most importantly, they have given me the confidence to work my way through a career change in which I can pass these same lessons on to the children who need them most.

            The career change I speak of is to become a teacher. I have chosen this profession because I want to offer children a successful future. There is nothing more fulfilling than motivating children and watching them accomplish more than they think possible. While Program Coordinator/Camp Director at the Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum, I would present children 8-12 years old with scenes from Shakespeare, and several early American playwrights with the expectation they would understand, memorize, and perform the scenes 5 days later. Each child would look at me scared and unsure, but my confidence in them gave them the confidence to achieve. We worked through the scenes together, and by the end of the week astonished parents who had just seen their children performing classic literature told me they never had expected so much to be accomplished in a week. It was incredibly rewarding knowing that I had taught the children so much, and I envied the person that taught them on a regular basis. After exploring other career options, I consider my work with children to be the most rewarding and successful time of my life. I want to teach children not just the value of the arts, but all of the skills and lessons they need to become successful adults. I have the ability to motivate and teach children, and I want to see how far I can take it. I want to expand children’s minds, build their confidence, and show them the path to places in life they never thought possible.

            Out of many skills and abilities I possess that will make me a great educator, one stands out as being an essential tool to assure all of my students will succeed academically. I am able to develop new and creative ways to assure information is fully understood and applied. The mostclear example of this is a lesson I taught at Theatre Camp. The curriculum required a tour of the museum and history lesson of Late 19^th – Early 20^th Century Taverns. Realizing the campers were much more interested in theatre games and performing than history, I developed an improvisation as part of the lesson. The children were informed the tour information would be used in the next exercise, and then taken on a tour told through the eyes of the characters that lived in, worked at, and visited the tavern. After the tour, the children picked out of a hat once of the workers, guests, or townspeople described in the tour. What followed was an improvisation in which the children used the rooms of the museum and the information they learned to “re-enact” life at the tavern. It was exciting to see them remembering which characters would be in what rooms, and what they would be doing. Each child picked up different bits of information during the tour, and the improvisation was a way for them to put the information together and understand it as a whole. This game was developed as a way for children to fully grasp the history the museum focused on, and was successful because the history became fun for the children. My goal as a teacher is to apply this same philosophy to my lessons. I want to use my background and education in Theatre to develop new ways to assure the lessons I am teaching are being truly learned and understood by my students. Once a child has a way to comprehend and apply information, doors are opened for him to achieve.

            As a writing tutor at Pace University I came across many college students who did not fully understand and grasp fundamentals of writing and grammar. It was discouraging that so many students had “fallen through the cracks” of the education system. I saw a need of skilled and motivated educators to teach essential skills to children early on, so they would be equipped with the tools to succeed later in life. Now that I am becoming a teacher, I want to help the children who need me the most. By becoming a teacher in a high-need area I will have the opportunity to give knowledge and power to students who may otherwise “slip through the cracks.” Throughout my life I have been motivated and taught by skilled and enthusiastic teachers, and as a result I see a world of opportunities ahead of me. Students in high-need schools do not always see life this way, but by giving them a good education I can open their minds and show the paths life offers.

            It is a very exciting thing to realize what you want to do with your life, and even more exciting know how to achieve it. I am determined to become a teacher for all of the reasons described above, as well as feeling that this is a path I am supposed to take. I feel that the New York Teaching Fellows programs offers me a way to achieve my own goals while teaching students I can reach with my creativity and motivation. Throughout my life I have been given a good education, and I look forward to the day when I stand in front of a class to share it with them.

Here is a rough draft of my personal statement for grad school.  It lacks a conclustion, and certainly needs a LOT of work...but I would appreciate any feedback!

RoseAnna P. Cyr

Personal Statement      

At 18 years old I made the decision to devote my mind, my education, my life, to music.  There were various reasons I made this decision.  I wanted to pursue an academic field in which I thrived.  I felt comfortable with music, it inspired me, it motivated me.  With music, I could express myself and feel comfortable with my abilities and accomplishments.  When I entered the field of music I was doing it for myself…and since then, I have come to realize that what I truly want to do is to use the field to help others. 

            As a child music was always a part of my life.  At home and at school I was exposed to an array of musical experiences that fostered a deep interest in the art.  At ten, I took up the trombone, and at twelve, I began singing in my first choir.  While I was academically adept, music was the subject in which I shined.  In sixth grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia.  While I had already developed a learning style which could compensate for my learning disability, the diagnosis shattered my self-esteem.  While I had been fairly successful academically, I knew that overcoming my learning difficulties would be difficult….(I stil need to write more here)

My first semester in college I began volunteering at a post secondary music program for the developmentally disabled.  The Berkshire Hills Music Academy afforded students a place in which they could pursue their passion in an environment appropriate to their abilities.  I spent time with these students, discussing music, school, friendships.  I was inspired by their determination and love of music.  It brought them joy, expression, self-esteem.  I began to realize that the impact music had on my own life was even more powerful in the lives of others.  As my undergraduate experience continued I developed a deep interest in psychology and education.  I ultimately decided to minor in education so that I could pursue state licensure in music education.  I felt that I could use my own experience with music education to better myself as a music educator.  Through my training, I learned how to use music with children and adolescents.  I found myself drawn to educational techniques that involved the integration of movement, art and poetry with music.  I learned classroom management and how to create and run a lesson.  I learned techniques to uphold equity within the classroom and create and fair and inclusive classroom environment.  The more I worked with music, the more I realized the benefits that it afforded for a diverse classroom.  A music classroom is a wonderful way to socialize and educate individuals that may not always be found in a mainstream classroom.  In my own high school, we had a number of special needs learners in our chorus class.  While many of these students would not have been successful in an academic class, music gave them a subject in which they could learn and interact with their peers.  I was drawn to this aspect of music education and began planning to seek a teaching position in which I could work with a variety of learning styles and levels.  It was February of my senior year in college that I realized that what I really wanted to do, was be a music therapist. 

I had planned on taking a year off after earning my bachelors.  I wanted time to experience the work-a-day world, save money, and complete my licensure for music education.  It is now November and I am currently working as a music teacher at a local Montessori school.  In the spring, I will be leaving my position so that I can complete a semester of student teaching.  The last requirement of my teacher licensure.  For now, I am learning more about working with music and children everyday.  I am learning, first hand, the joy that children find in music, the abilities they discover and the effect that music can have on any child.  The excitement on a three year old’s face when he plays his first song on the piano.  The accomplishment a four year old feels when she corrently identifies a variety of pitches as being “same or different”.  The energy that emerges in a group during a musical game or activity.  I love what I am doing with these children, and it only motivates me more to persue music therapy.  I would like to be able to work with a wide range of ages and abilities.  I am interested in all stages of development, from the young, through adolescents.  I would also like to gain experience working with adults and the elderly.  I would like to do more then just work in the classroom setting.  I would like to work in community centers, retirement homes,  prisons, a variety of environments.  I would like to use my knowledge and experience, and expand it.  I would like to go beyond the pedagogical benefits of music, and further explore the psychological.  I feel that by studying music therapy, I will expand my knowledge, expertise, and will afford myself the opportunity to work with a much larger population.  Should I choose to return to the music classroom, I feel that a background in music therapy would allow me a better rounded approach to my profession. 

In recent months I have begun thinking of an overall plan for the future.  Throughout graduate school, I would like to take advantage of opportunities to study various schools of thought pertaining to music therapy.  I would like to study movement, poetry, yoga, and the ways in which these can be applied to music therapy.  I would like to observe and explore various environments in which music therapy is practiced.  I would also use this time to do research in music therapy, particularly regarding the effects of music and music creation on self esteem.  I would focus on various groups for this research, men, women and children.  After obtaining my masters degree I would get myself involved in the therapy world, working in clinics, hospitals, women's shelters, youth programs with music therapy.  I want to see what other therapists used in their practices and begin to use my own experience to add to my therapeutic curriculum.  In time, I would gain the experience and support to persue the next stage in my overall plan…opening a music therapy center.  I envision this center being in my own home.  Owning a larger, older home and constructing a section of it into a music therapy center complete with large offices for individual and family sessions, and a large community room with large windows, an open and calming atmosphere.  In this community room I would have various group sessions; community choirs, children’s choirs, weekly walk-in "Jam sessions", Drum circles and finally, a support group for women in which women with express themselves through movement, singing, drumming and poetry.  This group would focus on building a women's self-esteem and confidence in her body, mind and life.  These groups would focus mostly on enhancing the lives of those participating by allowing them to express themselves through music, as well as movement and prose.

so, I have started my application to the NYCTF program. This is my first choice route, since It would have me teaching in the fall, and not just taking classes. Not to mention, the children I would be teaching would truly benefit from having a good teacher, which is a motivating thought. Anyway, I am begining my personal statment, and when I am done would like to get some feedback. it is just the statement and my resume that will determine if I get an interview, so it's really important. I feel if I can get an interview I will really get to show my stuff, and then accepted or not, I truly showed everything I can do. I am really excitited about this, but also ask for your continued support, as you've already given me so much confidence and clarity about the whole situation. Thanks alot guys...

I hope to meet up with my MA peeps soon... unfortunatley I will not be able to make it this weekend, but hope to see you all soon. Also, I'd like to pose the question of the soon-to-be season. What are your plans for christmas?

have fun, and remember, I did not proofread this. any and all errors should be forgiven!

William the saint

This is a picture of me and william that was taken at the party for the last night of the lion king back in june. It was just sent to me by one of my friends at work, and I wanted to share it with you. check out william's halo! I am starting to think there's something he's not telling me. I mean he's really sweet to me, bu I never expected this... or maybe I can post it around and convince people i am dating a saint, or even jesus himself!  It's a miracle...anyway, I just thought this was a cute picture, and since I have nothing posted as far as pictures go I'd post it up.

Let me know what you guys think.