Thomas Compton

Details

My background

Through a strong history of working with children, working in theatres, and work experience in Television companies, I have a great interest in the place Literature has in modern society. Taking an English language module at University and working for Voice magazine reviewing plays at the Edinburgh Fringe has given me a good understanding of the creative aspects of the language GCSE and A-Level. There cannot be equality of outcome without equality of education and through my mother being a TA and my Aunt being a teacher I understand the role of tutors and their ability to change the lives of their students.

Experience

Through both my professional experience and my education I have pursued my passion for literature. Studying English and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham and producing a documentary for the Birmingham REP theatre has enthused my passion for education and shown the importance of giving students the ability to articulate and actualize their voices. As a student of English Language and Literature, Maths, and Chemistry at A level (achieving BAB respectively despite having diagnosed with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia the following year) I will bring a strong level of numeracy and methodology to my teaching role. In volunteering for the festival BE Fest, I gained the opportunity to work with a large team in a high-stress environment. The Festival was an intensive week, where activities were held each day from early morning until past midnight. As a result, I was given the feedback ‘Open to working alongside other members of the team with a cheerful attitude, Tom also has strong leadership skills - able to guide the group,’ on my feedback form. At my local theatre, I assisted in running youth drama groups (for 11-16 year-olds) throughout my time at Sixth Form. Following this, I began leading group workshops at their festival RYTF, which gave me a strong set of tools for keeping children engaged in activities. This improved my confidence in working with children and built on the knowledge I gained from volunteering at St Mary’s Church’s Holiday Clubs and youth events for many years. Volunteering to help children of different ages has developed my passion for working with Secondary School children. The English GCSE is incredibly important to all students, I wish to help those underachieving to become passionate about literature and relate the course to their own experience. I have had six month’s work in a digital marketing agency, giving me incredible attention to detail, the ability to manage paperwork and the ability to operate in a creative atmosphere. Working with models, clients and other photographers improved my verbal and visual communication. I wish to bring an appreciation of aesthetics to the lessons and a strong understanding of language analysis and how it relates to the marketing industry. With the coercive nature of Instagram Influencers and YouTubers, I think it is a crucial role of the English teacher to educate the children in their critical thinking and understanding of the manipulative use of language. I founded the Shakespeare Society at University. From this, I gained a strong ability to work in a team and to run events for students. I ran a seminar discussing whether ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a satire, attended by two lecturers who were impressed with the preparation and execution of the session. I have attended numerous talks from leading Shakespeare scholars and members of the RSC through the University’s Stratford Upon-Avon campus teaching me the new ways the company has been applying Shakespeare to modern contexts to keep his work relevant.

Reviews

No reviews yet.