Writing an Effective Teaching Statement – Dos and Don’ts
Being able to write a teaching statement is almost a necessity if you are planning to apply for a teacher’s position. However, most of the times, it is seen that even people who have great writing abilities fail in creating an impressive teaching statement. This is because there are some qualities that decide if the teaching statement is good or bad, and you should know them and remember them while writing the statement. Here are some dos and don’ts for writing a perfect teaching personal statement.
Don’t Make it Too Long
Experts are of opinion that a teaching statement should not be longer than a page. This is because a teaching personal statement is a supplementary document to a longer job application, already including a C.V., a job letter, references and probably a writing sample. It is just not reasonable to expect the members of the search committee to hobble through a 3-, 4- or 5-page teaching statement above all that. There is a great possibility that your teaching statement will remain unread if it is too long. If you want it to be read, keep it short and sweet, because that can accommodate just everything you want to tell.
Don’t be Excessively Humble
Using words like “It was a heavenly opportunity for me”, “I was so honored when I”, “I always strive to”, etc are excessively humble and though on the face of it, they may look mannerly, but actually they look either downright submissive and confidence-less or pretentious. Make it a point that you should look confident in what you are saying. You should not appear aggressive, but also should not look overly meek.
Don’t Be Excessively Emotional
This too causes more or less the same effect as that of being excessively humble. Sentences containing phrases like “I am so thrilled”, “It’s absolutely exciting”, “Oh, how delighted I am” may seem to be friendly; but in fact they either look self-humiliating or pretentious.
End the Statement with a Definite Conclusion
Your statement should end with something that should direct the readers towards a definite conclusion. Let the last sentence make a statement about how you look at yourself, teaching profession, your students and the future. For example, “All in all, I am committed to make my students think deeply on the (subject) even after they leave my class.” or “To conclude, my idea of teaching is to make students understand (subject) and evoke them to be interested so much that they themselves will try to explore its various facets.”
Even after this, if you are not feeling confident that you can write a good teaching personal statement, don’t worry! TeachingStatement.net is an excellent source from where you can get a professionally written teaching statement. Other sites that offer such type of statements either copy the statements available on the internet or get it written by inexperienced freelancers. Experts at TeachingStatement.net are highly specialized in writing teaching statements and so, they are a great peace of mind for you.
