Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Personal Statement


1. Briefly introduce yourself and describe why you are seeking a position in international education. What makes you a candidate who will be successful in an international setting?  

I am a teacher who energizes her students and the whole school community.   People describe me as full of energy, gentle with children, diplomatic with adults, and well organized.  Supervisors are regularly impressed with my engaging lessons, student performances, and classroom management.

I am interested in a position in another country to have the experience of living somewhere else and immersing myself and my family in another culture and language.  I grew up in French speaking Canada with a Canadian father and British mother who have both travelled the world, and I would love for my family to have new experiences.  I have lived in several different places, and travelled a fair amount, so I think I am well prepared for living abroad and adjusting to cultural differences.

I have also worked at several different schools, including a summer job at a private school in Bangkok, and I think I am both adaptable to learning new ways of doing things and able to share a wealth of experience.

I am a pianist by training, but also a singer.  I dabble in guitar, recorder, percussion, and play a little bit of everything.  I enjoy music from all over the world, all throughout history, and in every genre.  I also love outdoor activities, and currently live a lifestyle of partial self-sufficiency with a focus on locally grown foods.

2. How do students best learn?  What is your role in facilitating that learning?

Students look forward with great anticipation to music class, where they make music through singing and instruments, listen to music with expressive movement, learn to hear, read, and write music.  This is because students learn best by doing.  Well, lots of people say that, but what does it mean?  It means that in my class students are actively making music, discussing music, asking questions, problem solving, and exploring new music and new ideas together.  You will never see me give a lecture, or even talk that much at all!  My role is to empower students to take charge of their learning.  Ultimately you will see students in my program who are conducting each other, playing and moving in various ways, and critiquing and revising their own work.

Your students will look forward to music class as their favorite class!  When you see a class in action you’ll see every single student participating in singing, movement, and (if available) instrument playing.  Through this full engagement your students will learn to be musicians, that is to say, music makers.  They will also learn how easy it is to hear music in their heads, and to read and write music.  They will experience music from their own heritage and from cultures all over the world.



3. What can you contribute as a member of a professional learning community in an international setting?

I am always open to and looking for opportunities for collaboration with colleagues, parents, and community members.  Maybe someone remembers a song or game they learned as a child that they can share.  Maybe the students can write a song to help them remember some historical or scientific information.  I have 15 years of teaching experience and a wide variety of graduate level studies to contribute to your school.  I have worked extensively on curriculum and assessment development.  I am a certified Orff-Schulwerk teacher, and this approach to teaching music unifies all art forms and draws strongly from literature so that students are using poetry and fiction to create music that includes theater and dance, relying heavily on ideas generated by the students themselves.  I am fluent in French and can use that to teach students music in a bilingual setting. 

Website

There are examples of student recordings on my school's website, as well as information about my current program:
http://www.edline.net/pages/Founders_Memorial_School/Classes/Baker

Letter of Reference from Superintendent


                                                                                                                      November 29, 2011


To whom it may concern,
I am pleased to write a letter of recommendation for Carol Baker as she pursues her professional goal of teaching in a foreign country as a music educator.
Carol is known throughout the Essex Town School District as a dedicated educator who brings passion, innovation and commitment to her work with students; with an unwavering focus on improving student skills both on and off the stage!
Having been a member of the audience on many occasions over the last two years, where Carol has organized and directed student musicians within multi-grade configurations, I have been routinely impressed with each performance based on the ability of each student musician and as importantly, as a full chorus.  Moreover, Carol’s students have developed attributes of lifelong learning as evidenced by their maturity in collaborating and communicating effectively with each other, learning how to be flexible and adaptable and learning how to take initiative as a student leader.
Finally, Carol has demonstrated leadership across the district and region as she has helped to galvanize support for the Arts through large-scale multi-school performances both in the performing and visual Arts.  Through her leadership, the Arts have taken on greater prominence in our community at a time when the national education agenda has eclipsed the importance of developing creativity, curiosity, innovation, and collaboration among our youth.
Carol Baker brings this type of vision to her work as a music educator and I am confident that she will continue to direct her energy toward developing and sustaining a vibrant Music program no matter where she lives or works.

Sincerely,

Mark S. Andrews, Superintendent, Essex Town School District


Letter of Reference from Principal





December 7, 2011

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing a letter of recommendation for Carol Baker, who is a music teacher in our school. I have had the privilege of knowing Carol for the past six years, and would like to speak to you about the qualities that she brings to our community.

First of all, Carol has great leadership skills within the school. She has been an invaluable member of our school scheduling committee, she has worked hard across the district to further the K-8 music curriculum, and she has facilitated many a faculty discussion around decision-making about fine arts events. She is articulate, both in writing as well as speaking, and is an effective communicator. She exhibits the ability to listen well to others, and take their feedback and ideas, to create workable and meaningful outcomes.

Secondly, Carol is an excellent music teacher. She is aware of a variety of approaches to teaching music, and is constantly broadening her pedagogy based on best-practice. As you will certainly see from her resume, she has attended numerous workshops and courses designed to build her professional knowledge. She regularly integrates this best-practice into her lesson designs, and works to keep the music program fresh and stimulating. She has worked to create interdisciplinary experiences as well, by integrating song, instrumentals, and dance with literature, through performances for the school. As a colleague, she is always more than happy to share her knowledge with others, through a free exchange of ideas.

Lastly, although certainly perhaps the most important, she enjoys children and brings wonderful excitement to their music experience. She creates relevant lesson plans that tap into student interest, and incorporates movement and other modalities into her music lessons. If you walk into a music lesson, students are moving and making music! They are engaged! They are engaged in class, they are engaged in her chorus (which is very well attended), and they are engaged in their numerous whole school performances throughout  the year.

I heartily endorse Carol for any music position for which she is applying, and if you have any questions at all, I am more than happy to talk with you in order to answer them.

Sincerely,

Katherine Barwin, Principal


Resume


Carol Baker

Objective          
Position as a Music Teacher, General, Choral, Keyboard

Certification
Vermont, expires 2015

Experience
General Elementary Music Teacher and Chorus Director

Founders Memorial School, 2000-present
Direct chorus of 100 students grades 3-5, perform for several festivals
Online computer composition and mentoring with public performances

Chatwittaya School in Bangkok, Thailand, Summer 2004
Essex Middle School Chorus Director, 2000-2002
Waterville Elementary School General Music Teacher, 2000-2002
Lamoille Union High School and Middle School Chorus Director, 1998-1999
Hyde Park Elementary School General Music Teacher, 1997-2000

Conference Presenter, Vermont Music Educators' Association, 2009, 2003

Tour Guide
Smugglers’ Notch Mountain Bike Tours, 1998-2003
Green River Canoe and Kayak Tours, 1998-2003

Relevant Interests
Member of Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus, 2009-present
Village Harmony Summer Camp, 2011
Private piano studio, 1997-2005

Education

Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Certification, George Mason University
Graduate Courses in Music Education and Music Technology from:
Castleton State College, Johnson State College, University of Vermont, Hartt School of Music, St. Thomas University, Champlain College
McGill University, B. Mus. Ed., 1997



Monday, January 2, 2012

Allow me to introduce myself...

My name is Carol Baker and I am a music teacher with 14 years of experience.  I have taught primarily general music and chorus in elementary schools, but I have also taught preschool music, middle school and high band and chorus, beginner orchestra, and private piano.  I currently sing with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus and am raising two budding little musicians of my own.  My husband, Geoff Baker is also a musician (violin and classical guitar) as well as a fabulous teacher of social studies and outdoor education.

What my colleagues and parents most appreciate about me is my energy, enthusiasm, organization, cooperation, collaboration, and excellent planning.  Oh, they also love the many cool programs I put on with the students every year ranging from my chorus of 100 students singing traditional and pop music to my general classes telling folk tales through song, movement and music that they have created themselves, or a classroom concert for parents that shows off students playing recorder or violin.

My students will tell you that I am fun, a little zany, have even more energy than they do, sing well, have great ideas, and encourage them to find their own voices, move their own bodies, and make their own music.  They enjoy the variety of experiences I bring them and learn quickly to understand that they won't like everything (who does?), but that they will always like something, and that everyone has musical ability that gets better with practice.

My greatest hope as a teacher is that my students come to believe that every person is a music maker.  If you can talk you can sing, if you can walk you can dance, and if you can type you can play an instrument.  Just like everyone can throw a ball, the more you practice the better you get.  We're not all going to Michael Jordan or Adele, but we can all improve and we can all enjoy tossing the ball around the backyard and singing with our family and friends.

That sounds so simple, but the details require very careful planning, preassessment, resource research, collection, and organization, and all kinds of on-going work to pull it off!  Please check out some of my videos and sound files for examples, or keep reading to see my letters of reference and my resume.

I hope to talk with you about whether I would be a good fit for your school!