Men and women in teacher preparation programs, in addition to about a hundred other things they are required to do, almost without exception have to write a statement that describes why they want to be teachers. Some colleges call this the "why I chose teaching as a career" statement. Regardless of what it's called, the statement is really about the student's ability to describe the reasons for his or her choice, and sometimes, that's not an easy thing to do.
In many colleges and schools of education, this statement is included with the application for student teaching. In my role as adviser, I have read and edited many hundreds of such statements. It is obvious that education students sometime struggle to explain themselves and their choices, and often compose awkward statements they believe are what the readers want. It can be stressful and frustrating.
The statement below contains grammatically correct, substantive information that conveys, in a generic sense, what many education students try to express. If appropriate, use it for your own purposes, making the personal modifications you believe are necessary. I used the pronoun "he" in the statement only as a device. The use of "he" is certainly not meant to diminish women who might use the statement, but only to avoid awkward he/she verbiage. Please substitute the feminine pronoun "she" as appropriate. Notice that nowhere in the statement below does it say education was chosen as a career because of "loving kids." The reason? That is one of the most overworked, and increasingly meaningless phrases in the profession.
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