Why does the student want to be a teacher?

W: Professor Beckman, do you have a minute?
M: Sure．What can I do for you, Amelia?
W: Well, I’ve decided to apply to the teacher certification program, and I wondered-I’d like it if you would, urn, recommend me for the program.
M: Oh, so you want to be a teacher! Good, good, glad to hear it．What level do you want to teach?
W: Actually, grades six to eight interest me the most．l loved school-especially science-when I was that age.
M: Good, glad to hear it．I have a strong sense that you’ll be a dedicated teacher．Now, you say you need a letter from me.
W: Yes．Would you be able to do that?
M: Of course, I’d be happy to．But tell me more about your decision to teach, and ..．uh ..．why you think you’ll be good at it.
W: All right．Well, let’s see, urn, I guess I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to be a teacher, ever since I was in sixth grade myself．I loved science when I was a kid-still love science-and ..．I guess I, urn, want to share my love of science with kids．I’ve worked with kids before-as a camp counselor for two summers-teaching nature classes and leading nature hikes and stuff like that-and I just had so much fun with the kids! I think I’m a pretty good counselor, and I love being in the woods myself.
M: Now remind me ’cause I tend to forget these things ..．you were in my Human Development course? Is that right?
W: Yes, and also General Psychology in my freshman year.
M: Right, right．Good．I’m trying to get a handle on this．I recall that your presentation in Human Development was very well thought of by your classmates．You did a study of adolescence-is that right?
W: Yes．I talked about identity and role confusion, and I looked at two groups of kids, one eleven and the other fifteen years old.
M: Right．You showed slides of the children’s artwork.
W: That’s right．They did self-portraits．It was interesting, too, because in a lot of ways the younger kids were more expressive ..．and more positive in their image of themselves．The older kids’ art was more sophisticated technically, but in a lot of ways it was darker, even in the colors they used.
M: Hmm．Yes, I recall．Your report was very well done．I remember it well, and I’ll mention it in my letter．So, when is it that you need this?
W: My entire application is due on March 15．There’s a form for you to use ..．here．You send it directly to the Dean of the School of Education.
M: Right, right．I know these forms．You can just leave it with me．I’ll fill it out and see that it gets there on time.
W: Thanks! I really appreciate your help.
M: And I’m happy to help.