Joseph

Currently, I am working as an English teacher at a secondary school in a disadvantaged area within the Bournemouth area. I have been in the role for two years having originally started working at the school by overseeing their marketing & communications.

With my background and qualifications in the domain of communications, I had no initial intentions of going into the teaching profession. However, when I started working as the school's marketing officer, I noticed I felt little challenge in the role and wanted to transition into a more demanding role. I believe this is testament to my dedication and determination that I am continually pursuing more challenging, and more responsible, opportunities.

I have always had a passion for the English language and with historical literature texts so I decided to take the next step and start teaching. I have always considered myself a highly driven, enthusiastic and quietly confident individual who relentlessly demands more of himself. Teaching has had a discernible impact on my communication skills, leadership qualities and conflict resolution management.

Tutoring Experience

I have been teaching English in a secondary school setting for the past two years having previously worked as an academic mentor in the same school. My teacher training has been completed through the rigorous Teach First training programme which includes working on a full-time timetable from the first day, alongside completing my academic studies in order to obtain my PGCE and then PGDE.

Throughout my time in my school setting, I have been well supported by my department, who have entrusted me to each all year groups including Year 11 in advance of their GCSEs. Subsequently, I have developed and embellished my knowledge of various GCSE literature texts having taught the likes of An Inspector Calls, Macbeth and Jekyll & Hyde.

Due to my background, in a language-specific domain, I have a particular affinity towards language-based skills and especially non-fiction writing. I achieved a First-Class degree in Journalism and previously worked as a journalist so I have published many articles prior to my teaching career. I would regard this as my particular area of expertise although I feel highly confident and competent in teaching every aspect of the English language and literature secondary curriculum.

Tutoring Approach

I have always considered myself to be a very calm, composed and patient individual so I take a great degree of pride in exhibiting those qualities within a teaching profession. Despite the demanding nature of being a secondary school teacher and the behaviour management responsibilities that come with it, I have always maintained my natural persona in being cool and collected, rather than adopting a particular 'teaching persona' as such.

This has had a monumental impact on enabling me to manage high-stress situations and not only facilitate positive working relationships with peers, but also build a positive rapport with the students that I teach.

While I have a very calm and collected persona, I am a highly demanding individual who requires maximum effort from my students and always pushes them further to unlock their full potential. I am a huge advocate of constructive criticism ad always finding an area to improve and never simply 'settling'. My intention is always to encourage and nurture my students but to always instil belief that there is always more that can be changed. I consider myself a highly positive individual and I hope this can rub off on my students - many of which are lacking in self-belief and self-esteem.