Graduate School of Education

My dream job, to begin with, is to be a special education teacher in information and communications technology (ICT) for either an inclusion class of students with learning disabilities or those with behavior problems (Opposition Defiance Disorder). Touro GSE mission statement represents practical educational opportunities for transformative and empowering candidates. After reviewing all the courses offered in UFT/Touro, it is my desire, as well as the mission in my teaching career, to complete my Master’s Degree in Education in this institution. Many graduate students have been finding jobs in Special Education in their first year in graduate school, which has been leading to Permanent certification. This trend is an excellent road map for one to follow. I want to learn as much as possible about the discipline of educating young children from the first to the sixth grade. This area concerns classroom instruction and maintaining order with or without a paraprofessional or a co-teacher in the ICT environment. Currently, I work as a substitute instructor in several public schools in New York City (NYC), handling students from the kindergarten class all the way up to the eighth grade. I have done this work for more than 2009 hours to date. I have also worked as an adjunct lecturer (called professor by many of my students and members of my faculty) in Bramson ORT College for 17 years. I have learned from experience that the most enjoyable special education learning environments, and which are also the easiest to manage, comprise classes from the first to the sixth grade. My philosophy on teaching is to make students enjoy school, laugh, and have fun but do serious hard work through lessons, practice, and games. I cherish hard work. I also purpose to achieve the highest possible grades in the classroom courses and field work as a student teacher. I want to obtain all the New York State (NYS) certification requirements to be able to work as a full-time instructor. The regular classroom teacher better understands the students, their disabilities and challenges, as well as their parents, and takes time to deal with the students and their deficits, which are pointed out in students’ Independent Education Programs (IEPS). Many students receiving special education have unique talents, including those with autism spectrum disorders. All through my working life, I have worked with persons from diverse ethnic backgrounds and races whose beliefs have differed from my own. I am a product of the public schools of the 1960s and early 1970s. I had a complex and diversified experience working as an analyst and researcher with the Department of Finance on the NYC and Federal tax laws. I have worked well with multi-cultural co-workers, taxpayers, superiors for over 34 years – 1980-2014. I am skilled and experienced in computer detailing search warrants, Lexis-Nexis computer programs, and industry study. I have worked with bill board taxes and real property transfer taxes, in which case I was required to use a computer to determine the wealth data of taxpayers using various audit programs, as well as my knowledge about the internet. I received an “A” in my latest Touro/UFT Course, Touro 650, Technology for General and Special Education. My GPA since 2015 is 3.83 in all education courses. My teaching experience in Bramson ORT College involved teaching in a multi-cultural atmosphere. My first goal in joining Touro GSE is to attain the highest possible grades in the online Master’s program. My second goal is to be gainfully employed as a Special Education classroom teacher/co-teacher in an ICT inclusion class with children with mild or more severe learning/behavioral problems. I would also like to teach regular special education students with disabilities from the first to the sixth grade in which case I would be the only instructor in the classroom. In both scenarios, paraprofessionals (paras) will assist me with part of the administrative work in individual educational programs (IEPs) and classroom management. I believe students in the first to sixth grades are only starting out life and their school career. I feel I can make a significant impact on their lives by setting an example through teaching in the classroom and conversing with their families, therapists, paraprofessionals, and my superiors in the school. The main objective in the classroom is teaching. Morals, ethics, and thorough discipline are secondary. It is very crucial to teach good citizenship. My average points in 1980 in Long Island University Graduate School of Business was 2.87. This score boosted my morale in Accounting and Business, and so I began my long career at the NYC Department of Finance as a tax auditor while simultaneously doing my MBA program in 1980. I excelled in two areas of NYS Certified Public Accountant Examinations in May/1987, which were Business Law and Auditing. I taught Law, Auditing, Economics, and various Accounting courses at the college. Pursuing MBA in Accounting boosted my motivation in business, and I maintained B’s throughout the program. My success in the field of education has continued to date. I look forward to continuing this legacy in the NYC Public Schools. I studied quite hard for the Graduate Record Examinations (GREs) that immediately followed the completion of the technology course on June 5, 2017. The GRE percentile (which was below 50% in the Literacy segments) means that I will need to work much harder in graduate school. I am certainly up to the challenge. Based on my tentative evaluation of all my college transcripts to date, I will be required to take an undergraduate history course (American) or any history course and a drama course or Art courses. I intend to use my experience as a student/sub-teacher to create exciting and enjoyable lesson plans. Lastly, I have an Orthodox Rabbinical Degree from Agudas Achim, which I obtained in 2007 and was approved by the New York Board of Rabbis. I have applied the knowledge and experience of this degree to Chaplaincy. I worked as a volunteer chaplain intern at the St John’s Hospital for 18 months between 2007 and 2008 after being placed there by the New York Healthcare Chaplaincy School. I also worked as a chaplain intern at New York Hospital in Queens for about 18 months between 2008 and 2009. I provided holistic care to many people (mostly strangers) in both hospitals.  The experience prepared me to work as a substitute teacher in the public schools in New York - making rounds with strangers. It is my desire to be accepted in Touro’s Graduate School of Education online program. I possess all the qualities of a productive candidate, which among others include enthusiasm and relentless effort. My grades from Brooklyn college, CLEP, Touro/UFT, and St Rose College (CITE) testify to this assertion and so do my reference letters. As such, I believe I would make an ideal candidate. I conclude with the assurance that my admission to the college would not be a disappointment.

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