¶ … knowledge, by seeking to enter graduate school in education? Why now, at this juncture of my life and in the educational life of this nation? I believe that currently, the nation is in a state of crisis, in terms of its evolving attitude to education. America hopes to make its students widely competitive in the global marketplace of ideas and the professional, global market of business, yet it also wishes to keep its focus on creativity and individuality in education.
I wish to become a part of the current educational revolution that is transpiring in the world around me. I wish to answer that challenge to American educators, to find a way to merge the practical focus of American education with a form of education that truly nourishes a child as a unique moral individual. Both are necessary for every individual to truly realize his or her potential in the classroom and in life.
A also know that, having established a sound foundation for my education as an undergraduate, I require a more extensive background in educational theory before I can truly feel confident as a professional educator. Over the course of my graduate education, I hope to receive a sounder background in educational theory, psychology, and educational praxis. I also hope to become a more effective and able administrator, and to use these abilities in my professional educational life.
Ideally, every day in the classroom is an education for the teacher as well as for the student. By going back to the classroom for one final time myself, before embarking upon the classroom of life, for life, I think I will better be able to negotiate the delicate balance of helping children to learn how to learn, to beyond the tried-and-true emphasis on rote knowledge of facts, without depriving them of the discipline and foundation of learning the basics. There are many controversial issues, from safety in schools, to the amount of homework students require, and the issues of student bullying and diversity, that are debated amongst educators today. Before I am forced to take a stand upon these issues on a daily basis in my professional life, I hope to be able to have a place to reflect upon them with my fellow and future educators.
