Imagine yourself seated in a classroom with 30 of your peers. Passing the state proficiency exam is required for graduation; your grade will affect your hopes for college acceptance. You battle anxiety, straining to listen and understand the differences between meiosis and mitosis…

Typical? No! Your family recently moved to Ethiopia. Your teacher is explaining these processes in Amharic. You don’t speak Amharic!

My students—English language learners struggling to master complex content and a new language simultaneously—inspire me daily. Their efforts are inexhaustible; their attitudes endlessly positive; “Thank you” forever on their lips….Utterly amazing determination and appreciation!