My students are hopeful and brave and funny and smart and caring, eager to be the best teachers they can be. These young men and women will have students coming to them hungry, homeless and abused. They will have students who have parents divorcing, who are adjusting to new siblings, and who experience blessings and disasters, illnesses and bullying. These young teachers will also, of course, have to help 25 students each year learn to read, to add, and to understand how flowers grow and what it means to be a part of a community. Some children in their classes will have mental-health needs, some will have physical needs, some will need extra attention for no diagnosable reason. Each child is part of a family, and that family might need extra support as well.