| Hello, are you Dr Lindsey? |
| The Returning Students Advisor? |
| Yes, that's right. Are you Frank? |
| Your appointment wasn't until 2:00, but that's OK. |
| Please come in and have a seat. |
| Thanks, I like to arrive early whenever I have anything to do. |
| That's certainly a praiseworthy habit. |
| Let me see, it looks like you've taken a long break from school, |
| and I understand you wanted to have a chat about what you should study |
| if and when you return for further classes. |
| It's such a big challenge. |
| I don't know if I'm crazy for doing this or not! |
| Believe it or not, I know exactly what you mean. |
| Before I began working here at the university, I taught primary school for nearly 10 years. |
| It takes a lot of courage to go back to school! |
| I feel more shy and scared than the primary students I teach! |
| In the schools I taught, I found today's youngsters are very sure of themselves. |
| In terms of intelligence, I have a lot to teach them. |
| And the maturity level of much of my class leaves something to be desired. |
| But in terms of confidence, wow! |
| A lot more confident than I am now, that's for sure! |
| Stop fretting. |
| "A brave man is a coward who refuses to run". |
| Let's talk about your strong points. |
| You seem an intelligent man. |
| What is it you would like to study? |
| You see, I've been teaching children for a few years, |
| but I think I'm happier teaching adults. |
| I think teaching students in middle school is much more satisfying |
| because they end up being much more grateful for your work. |
| If I may ask, what got you interested in teaching adults? |
| A lot of things, I guess. |
| I met my future wife back in my first year of college. |
| She always complains that I was more interesting then. |
| She says that now I talk like I'm 7 years old! |
| That's probably from being with children all day. |
| Haha! Again I know just what you mean. |
| My husband used to say the same thing about me when I taught kindergarten. |
| Anything else? |
| Well, yes. |
| Fairly often now I run into former students and we talk. |
| Some of them are getting close to being grown up. |
| I guess I think more and more about how people develop over time. |
| So, I'm interested in the results of education, you know, the final stages. |
| I see. |
| Well, coming back to the university can be both difficult and very rewarding. |
| There are some problems unique to returning students, you know, older students like yourself. |
| What do you think is your greatest weakness? |
| Well, I actually think my confidence is getting better. |
| I'm definitely overcoming my introversion |
| and starting to be much more comfortable in front of a class. |
| To tell the truth, I'm afraid I'm rather behind the times about many things. |
| It's more difficult for me to chase after the popular things youngsters are fond of |
| such as Iphone, Twitter, if you name it! |
| I think I understand. |
| How old are you, 35? |
| People at your age still go back to school for further education. |
| I was a bit the same way. |
| I mean I didn't study at university till after I had a family: a husband and one child. |
| My point of view was a lot different from your average eighteen-year-old girl's, I can tell you! |
| Gee, that sounds pretty rough. |
| A family and college? |
| Clearly you weren't unsuccessful though! |
| It was, Frank. It truly was. |
| My first term at school was extremely stressful. |
| But excuse me! You're not here to listen to my life story. |
| We're talking about your plans. |
| Is there anything unique I should know about you or your past experience or plans? |
| I'm afraid not. There is nothing interesting about my career or plans. |
| It's really not too impressive. |
| Now, I forbid you to talk like that. |
| This is your one life, and if you're not interested, why bother living it? |
| Don't be so humble, Frank. |
| OK, OK. My wife says I'm a wimp. |
| Let's talk about your dreams a bit. |
| You want to teach adults, you said. |
| What would you like to teach them? |
| Well, when I first came to college, I really liked Languages and Literature. |
| A lot of people have told me that for practical reasons, |
| it'd be more rewarding to choose Business Management as my major, |
| but I made up my mind to study Liberal Arts once I got the idea of going back to school. |
| I must say it's refreshing to meet someone who knows there's more to an education than computers and finance. |
| Let's have a look at the university course catalogue... |
| Excuse me, Dr Lindsey. Before we do that, |
| could I maybe ask you some questions about changes in university life? |
| I think I need to discuss that so I know what to expect. |
| Of course. I'm here to help you. |
| The biggest thing to get used to is the change in technology. |
| Professors present things on huge screens, |
| many of which are interactive computerised whiteboards. |
| You can write on them still and use them like a touch screen. |
| They're really handy! |
| No more sloppy scribbled notes on the projector. |
| Let's see, I doubt you'll be living in student housing, |
| so I won't go into all the improvements there. |
| Another major change that you'll enjoy is the plethora of resources available for students. |
| As a student, you have 24-hour access to the gym, |
| and library privileges that include the use of school computers to scan, copy, and print, |
| and of course the Media Library, which contains movies from all genres |
| and most of the movies listed on AFI's Top 100 Movies of All Time. |
| The dining facilities are also not what they used to be. |
| They offer choices for all diets, and you can expect a hot meal any time of day. |
| Wow, things really have changed! |
| I'll be sure to utilise all those great facilities in my time here. |
| Thanks for all your help, Dr Lindsey. |
| I think that's all the questions I have for now. |