Recently, while applying for a position with Miami Teaching Fellows, I was asked to write a 200-400 word essay explaining why I wanted to teach in high-need schools.
The key to successfully writing such an essay for employment purposes is threefold:
1. Differentiate yourself from other applicants.
2. Show some heart and passion for the position.
3. Shows the performance of previous work and the results obtained.
Below is my essay, which I wrote for the Miami Teaching Fellows.
I want to teach in high need schools because throughout my life I have always served where others did not dare to go. Personal safety for me is not as important as having a genuine impact on my life and helping humanity.
As a human rights activist and rescue relief worker, I hacked at Ground Zero in New York during 9/11; helped rebuild a house at the epicenter of the tsunami; she comforted the victims of the genocide in Rwanda; spoke to leaders in East Timor during the war; students and monks inspired by Myanmar; promoted peace and reconciliation in Pakistan; and they’ve been so far into the jungle of rural Africa where the villagers have never seen a white man before.
As a minister who has touched over 50 countries and 6 continents, I know how to build cross-cultural bridges with other ethnicities. I understand the challenges various races face and I respectfully appreciate your fight. Because I can relate to and feel the pain of others, I can heal their hearts and empower them for greatness.
As an international transformational speaker and life coach, I am able to connect well with students and communicate in a way that ignites a passion for peak performance. As an author and poet, I effectively use words that resonate and captivate hearts.
African American students and Hispanic students love me because I have been to their countries abroad and I understand their culture. I can speak a few phrases in East African and Latin American dialects.
Young people around the world have been changed and transformed by my words of affirmation, unconditional love, and uplifting and inspiring messages. My sincere passion for students makes me a favorite in the classroom.